3 Types of Negotiators
Essentially
there are 3 personality types in any negotiation, each with their own
skills and style, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. How they
interact can have a great impact on the negotiation outcomes, and a skilled
negotiator will learn to recognize each style in his counterpart and use it to
his advantage. But they do not exist exclusively and there is an element of
each style in every one of us, recognizing that and controlling the triggers
can be very influential in negotiations.
The Competitor
The first
is possible the most easily recognized because he is the guy most people
associate with negotiations. He is the hard ball player, who thrives on the cut
and thrust, on the competition and who wants to win everything. This is the guy
who will advocate stronger than he will empathize, he likes to be purposeful
and in control, rarely patient he seeks out an ambitious position and fights to
protect it, he wants the biggest slice of the pie. In a distributive argument
he has some advantages but he is also the person most likely to produce a
stalemate or escalate a dispute. He is less likely to worry about relationships
and may cause damage to them if the other side resents his actions. He is the
man who is most likely to get riled up and lose his temper. He may be the man
you want on your side for tough distributive questions but he may be the man
who breaks down the negotiation. In a dual party negotiation team he will be
the bad cop, having recognized him many times in past negotiations, knowing
which buttons to push can be useful. If the other side want to use a delay
tactic then all they need to do is to wind up the competitor until he loses
self-control, then is the time to call for a recess. He is not to be discounted
though, when the tough decisions need to be made, he may be the guy to make
them. If it is a once off deal, and you have expanded the pie to create all the
extra value, he may be the guy for the divisional process.
The Accommodator
More likely
to empathize than conflict, this negotiator puts serious emphasis on the
relationship between the parties. They need to be liked and will often
negotiate in a style that is easy on the participants to find a quick
resolution that doesn’t damage the relationship. These guys are good listeners,
and they tend to have better relationships. They may even be trusted more by
the other party, so if you are looking for a negotiator for a long term or
repeat business deal this may be the person you are looking for. Sometimes,
though, they can get played, if a tough negotiator on the other side tries to
hold the relationship hostage, or makes it part of the negotiation collateral
then the accommodator may give in on some value issues, or some of the
distributive issue. They may not create all the value possible because they may
not engage in some of the tough stuff.
The Avoider
These guys
think conflict is rarely advantageous or productive and will do their utmost to
avoid it. They neither over empathize nor assert, instead they tend to
disengage when conflict arises. They can appear distant and uninterested. So
what are they doing negotiating? Well they can have significant strategic advantages;
some of the conflicts can be just avoided. Some issues do just go away without
being escalated.
The avoider
may carry more weight when they speak and are listened to. However like the
competitor they tend to struggle with relationship building and they may leave
money on the table because they don’t use the difference in conflict to its
full advantage.
What
happens when these negotiators meet?
First of
all it is important to recognize that none of these traits are stand-alone
people, they don’t exist exclusively and we each have some element of these
three characteristics. How we recognize them in ourselves and in our
counterparts is crucial, and recognizing the triggers that move us from one
style to the next is just as important. Know what presses your buttons and sets
you off in competitive mode, this is often just as simple as a personality
clash, but you need to control it. Know that when you like someone you
negotiate with, at work or in another company that you may be more inclined to
accommodate than to test, and definitely know who you avoid issues with. This
can often be the boss, if she is a strict, no nonsense type of boss, it can be
very prevalent in a small working environment, and for us all it often involves
family disputes and negotiations.
Competitor Meets Competitor:
This makes
for an exciting negotiation, like a strategic dance, with offer and counter
offer flying back and forth, both sides trying to win. Really high energy
stuff, unfortunately with nobody listening to the other side they tend to blow
completely or they reach a stalemate. They need to trade control and be very
careful how they share information and interests.
Competitor Meets Avoider:
There are
usually two outcomes, the competitor becomes hugely frustrated and ends up
making concessions to invite the avoider in, and so becomes exploited, or the
avoider becomes completely alienated and doesn’t engage at all. The challenge
for the competitor is to make the negotiation inviting enough for the avoider
and for the avoider to become more comfortable with assertion.
Competitor Meets Accommodator:
A nightmare
for the accommodator, where has the relationship gone? The competitor can often
exploit the accommodator’s will to get results quickly by forcing concessions.
The accommodator needs to improve assertiveness to match empathy before he
gives in and misses opportunity to advocate his own cause.
Accommodator Meets Accommodator:
There will
be resolution and usually quite quickly, but not all the value will be gleaned
from the process and it might be better to sometime engage in the differences
and use them to expand the pie.
Accommodator Meets Avoider:
It either
goes nowhere fast, because the accommodator looks after the avoider’s issues
and they just avoid the discussion. However a skillful accommodator will keep
the temperament in the right zone and will coax the avoider into discussion.
Avoider Meets Avoider:
What
conflict? We don’t see any conflict here. They just won’t face up to the issues
at all, not a good plan in the long run.
Source: Medation Practice
