Negotiating at Work: Turn Small Wins into Big Gains
Deborah M. Kolb, Jessica L. Porter
Language: English
Pages: 288
ISBN: 1118352416
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Understand the context of negotiations to achieve better results
Negotiation has always been at the heart of solving problems at work. Yet today, when people in organizations are asked to do more with less, be responsive 24/7, and manage in rapidly changing environments, negotiation is more essential than ever. What has been missed in much of the literature of the past 30 years is that negotiations in organizations always take place within a context—of organizational culture, of prior negotiations, of power relationships—that dictates which issues are negotiable and by whom. When we negotiate for new opportunities or increased flexibility, we never do it in a vacuum. We challenge the status quo and we build out the path for others to negotiate those issues after us. In this way, negotiating for ourselves at work can create small wins that can grow into something bigger, for ourselves and our organizations. Seen in this way, negotiation becomes a tool for addressing ineffective practices and outdated assumptions, and for creating change.
Negotiating at Work offers practical advice for managing your own workplace negotiations: how to get opportunities, promotions, flexibility, buy-in, support, and credit for your work. It does so within the context of organizational dynamics, recognizing that to negotiate with someone who has more power adds a level of complexity. The is true when we negotiate with our superiors, and also true for individuals currently under represented in senior leadership roles, whose managers may not recognize certain issues as barriers or obstacles.
Negotiating at Work is rooted in real-life cases of professionals from a wide range of industries and organizations, both national and international.
- Strategies to get the other person to the table and engage in creative problem solving, even when they are reluctant to do so
- Tips on how to recognize opportunities to negotiate, bolster your confidence prior to the negotiation, turn 'asks' into a negotiation, and advance negotiations that get "stuck"
- A rich examination of research on negotiation, conflict management, and gender
By using these strategies, you can negotiate successfully for your job and your career; in a larger field, you can also alter organizational practices and policies that impact others.
(2013): 383–412. Miles, Edward W. “Gender Differences in Distributive Negotiation: When in the Negotiation Process Do the Differences Occur?” European Journal of Social Psychology 40, no. 7 (2010): 1200–1211. Miller, Claire Cain. “The Motherhood Penalty versus the Fatherhood Bonus: A Child Helps Your Career, if You're a Man.” Accessed March 3, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/upshot/a-child-helps-your-career-if-youre-a-man.html?ref=business&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1. Miller, Jean Baker. Toward a
based on multiple trades; honing an organization's message during the; hypothetical testing questions asked during; identifying the other José's incentive to negotiate; integrating interests during; interruptions used as strategic turn in; the issue to be negotiated in; negotiation stance described during the; promoting organization change by sharing stories from; questioning strategic turn during; raising the cost of the status quo in; transparency regarding clear rewards during; use what you
flexibility to create options that meet mutual needs, and marshal the support of their organizations to back them up.2 But n-Negotiations Are Different in Kind. I then shift the conversation to what we call lowercase n-negotiations: those exchanges in which we're negotiating mostly for ourselves. I ask what difference it makes to negotiate for oneself as a principal versus negotiating as an agent for an organization—and people never hesitate to describe these differences. When negotiating
can be prone to backlash for violating feminine gender stereotypes. 19. Goffman, Interaction Ritual, 7. Erving Goffman wrote extensively of face, bringing broader attention to a concept whose origin is Chinese. Goffman explained the tension that maintaining, or saving, face can present in situations such as negotiation: “Thus while the concern for face focuses the attention of the person on the current activity, he must, to maintain face in this activity, take into consideration his place in the
to do something. Negotiation over asks is important so that you, like Isobel, can keep focused on the work that matters to you and is recognized. And if you do respond affirmatively, you need to think of it as a “Yes, and…” in order to ensure that you are not overloading yourself. It's critical to figure out what the “and” is. For Isobel to continue to do the extra work would not be good for her or the organization. That's part of how you prepare yourself to come up with creative options and