Negotiation Styles: Managing aggressive behaviours

Negotiation Styles: Managing aggressive behaviours

As a negotiator you can choose to be cooperative or competitive. Making the right choice can be the difference between building relationships and value, and destroying relationships and value. When you next receive demands from work colleagues to make their issues your priority, try to understand the impact your styles choices will have and to consider some of strategies that will help to motivate cooperation.

So how do skilled negotiators protect their interests and maintain an ongoing relationship?

Firstly they have the situational awareness to know that how they respond will have a direct impact on how the other person responds.

Secondly they avoid damaging ongoing relationships by modelling cooperative behaviours. This is because demonstrating patience and understanding, and discussing options, increases the other person’s feelings of a win/win outcome, which in turn makes them feel more empowered and motivated to contribute to the discussions. In contrast, modelling competitive behaviours that include imposing solutions, impatience and judgement, increases the risk that the other person will view the outcome as a win/lose, and by doing so, feel vulnerable, become angry and frustrated, and focus on their next best alternative.

Thirdly skilled negotiators build strong alternatives that enable them to walk away if their cooperation continues to be exploited by the other party.

Self-coaching tips

  • Reward behaviours you want repeated and place consequences on behaviours you want to change
  • Remember people leave discussions with feelings ahead of facts
  • Start from the other party’s perspective, to demonstrate empathy and encourage participation
  • Build on the common ground that brings you together
  • Agree on a negotiation process, which includes objective criteria and, if required, behaviour protocols

Archive  

Avoiding Buyer's Remorse: Knowing when to close

Breaking Deadlocks: AFL resolves stalemate

Changing Perceptions: Shane Warne recalls advice

Collaborating to Create Value: Power to the people

Coping Strategies: Managing difficult Negotiators

Creating Alternatives: Flying fresh milk to China

Creating Points of Influence: Russell Crowe gets his leading lady

Cultural Differences: SONY Walkman designed for harmony

Defining Fairness: US German trade negotiations

Difficult Conversations: Thalidomide sufferers seek empathy

Elon Musk: When to negotiate

Engaging the Enemy: US and Taliban peace talks

Finding Common Ground: US Firearm reforms

Gun Tragedies: We hear you

Hostage Negotiations: A frontline perspective

Identity Needs: Tobacco now a nobody

Influencing Timelines: The brave new world of regulators

In Focus: Black Friday Negotiation Strategies

In Focus: Negotiating Roles

In Focus: Winning Together

Leadership Without Authority: Reducing domestic violence

Managing COVID-19 Renegotiations

Managing Power Imbalances

Managing Uncertainty: New freeway gets a red light

Measuring Negotiation Costs

Mindsets: It’s a choice!

Negotiating Teams & Coalitions

Negotiating with Agents

Negotiation Preparation: Prime Minster wins election

Negotiation Styles: Managing aggressive behaviours

Price Haggling: Strategies to position value

Problem Solving: Calm in the cockpit

Problem Solving: Delivering outcomes

Restoring Relationships: Saying sorry

Setting the Scene: Automotive executives fly into a storm

Shaping Mindsets: AVIS We try harder

Taylor Swift: Giving others a voice

The Authentic Negotiator

The Power of Language: A statement or a question?

Timing Concessions: Bangladesh factory tragedy

Traits of Skilled Negotiators: Nelson Mandela

Verifying Trust: World soccer cup and gulf of Mexico oil spill


Topics