October 2005 Program:
Using Negotiation Strategies to Get What You Want in Your Career
We negotiate all day, every day, even if it's as simple as determining who cooks and who cleans up. But when it comes to our careers, we forget how to negotiate and want to avoid it altogether.
Cheryl I. Niro, a partner at the law firm of Quinlan &
Carroll, Ltd.
and October’s guest speaker, says that good training
and practice can make us more comfortable when negotiating.
She says that “at the heart of negotiation is trying to get someone else to do
what you want them to do.” But the challenge remains, how do you get
the negotiators to say yes? To succeed in negotiation, you have to know
what you want and then prepare for it.
When she speaks to professional women about negotiating, Ms. Niro admits that she is not overly feminist or assertive, but kind of shy and quiet, dignified, and willing to hear other viewpoints. To be effective in negotiations, she determines what she wants and utilizes the seven elements of preparation from Roger Fisher’s Getting to Yes.
Fisher and his colleagues describe the following seven elements for
successful negotiation. A negotiation should be better than our BATNA,
or Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement; identify and satisfy the
interests of the parties involved; generate a laundry list of solutions,
from which the best option can be selected; have legitimacy, or an
objective standard that everyone would agree is fair; include commitments
that are well planned, realistic, and operational; have effective
communication, which includes active listening and concise speaking; and
help build a good working relationship. Ms. Niro expanded on Fisher’s
points by outlining what a negotiation should look like in six steps.
Step 1: 
Ask for an appointment in person, because the request can’t be ignored. Indicate your cooperative intention to talk and not interfere
or interrupt when the other party is speaking.
Say, “I’d like to know a
convenient time that we could talk without interruption about my
compensation/promotion.” Visualize yourself sitting down confidently to
discuss what you want. The discussion is the opportunity to communicate
what you need and learn what they need.
Step 2: Define the problem. Once you understand what the problem is, get the other party to talk about it. Absorb what she or he is saying. Be explicit: “I want to hear everything you have to say and I’ll interrupt only to clarify my understanding.” Practice active listening: eye contact, nodding. Then summarize what you have heard and ask if you heard it correctly. If you check how much integrity the conversation has, you’re more likely to get it right in the end.
Step 3: Find common interests. What do we share? For instance, both parties want the company to prosper. The problem is the enemy, not the person on the other side. Sometimes people need to be shown what their interests are.
Step 4: Brainstorm all possible solutions to meet both needs. List all the ideas – the crazier the better. It could work; you could try something you’ve never thought to try before.
Step 5: Evaluate and select which solutions are really going to work.
Step 6: Write an agreement. Build in the level of commitment that you’re looking for. To ensure that the commitment will be met, talk about it. You’ll feel good in the end because you asked someone to give their time, energy, and respect. You each talked about and acknowledged the existing problem, had good solid communication, came to an understanding of the problem, and discussed solutions and fairness. Now choose one solution, which leaves each of you satisfied.
Ms. Niro closed by saying, “the best agreements are
when both parties
leave equally disappointed. Go into the difficult discussion to learn,
to ask questions, to equip and empower yourself.” Practicing planned
negotiations allow you the opportunity to hear the other side without
interruption. If they’ll do the same for you, you can begin to explore
your options together and ultimately have each of your needs met.
Heather McLane is a volunteer writer for Clips and is currently an Editorial Services Coordinator at Anthology, Inc. in Arlington Heights, IL. She can be reached at heatherjmclane@hotmail.com.