Negotiations Unleashed
By Lindsey Robertson Lentz, WTS-DC
September 2021
According to the Harvard Business Review, at least 20% of women have never negotiated at all, and almost half of employees in the U.S. do not feel confident with their negotiation skills. Elizabeth Suárez, leadership and negotiations strategist and author of The Art of Getting Everything, joined members of WTS-DC on September 28 to share how we can expand our negotiation capacity and ask for what we need to advance our careers. Attendees learned the importance of remaining dynamic in one’s communications, especially within negotiations, and being prepared to switch sides (from passenger to driver) in any discussion. Attendees also learned that, though we all have different negotiation strengths, no one type is better than another. To be an effective communicator, you need to employ all five styles: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. Suárez highlighted the importance of self-awareness in the negotiation process, which enables you to recognize when you are reverting to your default style and to pay attention to the reactions and responses of those participating in the negotiation process.
In advance of the two-hour interactive workshop, each attendee completed the Bargaining Styles Assessment (BSA) to understand their preferred negotiation style(s). This assessment informed the skill-building, group discussion, and break-out conversations during the workshop.
In small break-out discussions, attendees shared the results of their own BSAs and discussed what steps they would like to take to increase their effectiveness utilizing the other negotiation styles.
The workshop concluded with a discussion of the value of being an influencer within your organization and the importance of effective networking to build relationships and connections. Suárez reminded attendees that leaders cannot operate in a vacuum and emphasized the importance of developing relationships by “making communication exchanges as human as possible.”
WTS-DC thanks its Mentoring and Professional Development Committees for organizing an informative and productive event!