In today's global B2B marketplace, negotiations are becoming more complex. Negotiation skills are a core competency of every successful team member. It is the avenue to sustainable business growth, cohesive teams, strong business relationships and commercial value. With increased complexity comes the need for more team negotiations. But team negotiations can be fraught with difficulties.

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The Power of
Team Negotiations:
How to Make them Work
Link to eBook: The Power of Team Negotiations
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Problem
In today’s global B2B marketplace, negotiations are becoming more complex. Negotiation
skills are a core competency of every successful team member. It is the avenue to
sustainable business growth, cohesive teams, strong business relationships and commercial
value.
With increased complexity comes the need for more team negotiations. But team
negotiations can be fraught with difficulties.
©Gordian Business 2017
The Future
In more complex team negotiations the need for each individual to fully understand their own
role as well as the team goals is crucial. The team leader needs to assign people based on
individual skills and their ability to work in your team dynamic.
The process of a team is fast moving and ever changing so you must be aware of the signs
of trouble. At the first sign of trouble you need to take the appropriate action that works best
for the whole team. Be creative and make your next team negotiation a success.
Link to eBook: The Power of Team Negotiations

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“Football is football and talent is
talent. But the mindset of your
team makes all the difference."
R o b e r t G r i f f i n
A U T H O R
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If you’ve been involved in team negotiations, you
know they can be fraught with difficulties, but are
vital for great success.
Team Negotiations

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Successful teams are well-prepared
There are several aspects of team building you need to examine:
• The importance of teams in the negotiation process
• The dynamics of a normal team preparation process
• The problems that arise in team negotiations
• The behaviour of teams in the negotiation process
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“People are complicated. Our
behaviour towards one another is
strange."
M i c h a e l F a s s b e n d e r
A U T H O R
Trying to understand why people behave the way
they do and why people respond to challenge in
different ways has kept humanity fascinated for
centuries.
How do behavioural styles affect negotiations?

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“Great things in business are
never done by one person.
They’re done by a team of
people."
S t e v e J o b s
A U T H O R
To build a good team you need to select people
who complement each other and challenge each
other to come up with better ideas.

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Characteristics of each style
Dominance Communicates directly and has a high sense of urgency and
focuses on achieving results. They tend to be competitive and
may come across as blunt and impatient.
Influence Communicate with energy and enthusiasm and tend to be very
open and optimistic. Can be very persuasive, and may lack
attention to detail and follow through.
Steadiness A good listener, they place a high value on supporting others.
They are persistent and patient, staying on the task until
completion. They tend to avoid situations which may result in
conflict.
Compliance Communication is clear, factual and structured. They place a
high priority on accuracy and quality, therefore they need to
know the detail. They can have difficultly dealing with emotion.
Four Behavioural Styles of DiSC

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“Trust is the lubrication that
makes it possible for
organisations to work."
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Wa r r e n B e n n i s
A U T H O R
Managing Roles
Within the Team

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Different Roles
The Team Leader This role is to get the team working as one; planning and knowing
how to execute your plans at the negotiating table. They do not
necessarily conduct the negotiation.
The Spokesperson This individual will do most of the talking during the negotiation. They
normally call upon the rest of the team at various stages to be
involved in the discussion.
The Numbers Person This person keeps track of all the facts and figures during the
negotiation. The team leader should never agree to a deal until they
have conferred with the numbers person. Sometimes what appears
to be attractive at the table, when projected over five years, only
allows from very small profits.
The Specialist These are bought into the team on complex issues when legal,
finance, marketing, manufacturing or other issues may need their
expert opinion or decision.
The Observer It is possibly the most difficult role. They normally do not speak or
become involved in the actual negotiation. Their job is to observe the
other side and give feedback to the team during any of the breaks
throughout the negotiation. Their role is of great importance. If by
chance, you or the other side starts to become emotional, they can
remain objective.

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P a t r i c k L e n c i o n i
A U T H O R
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Dysfunction: How become cohesive:
Absence of Trust Trust one another
Fear of Conflict Engage in conflict
Lack of Commitment Commit to decisions
Avoidance of Accountability Hold one another accountable
Inattention to Team Results Focus on achieving collective
results
The Five Dysfunctions of Teamwork

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Building a powerful team
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Know the
individuals
Select the players for your team where
possible. Spend time and energy to get to
know them. Identify and understand
individual’s motivation.
Define your
expectations
Define what you expect of people in the
negotiation and establish everyone’s
expectations.
Develop a big
picture
scenario
Develop the big picture. Make sure team
members know what their involvement will
mean in time away from their normal
activities.
Methods of
assessing
results
Explain how the organisation will assess
the team member’s results and what their
payoff will be for their time, energy and
dedication. This could be money,
recognition or promotion.
Team members Internal politics will play a part, but don’t
play favourites or succumb to blackmail.
Choose the best person for each role.

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Team Dynamics
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The Icebreaker
Stage
The ice-breaking stage should be a relaxed, enjoyable time
for the team members and the team leader. Relationship
building is an important task to ensure future success.
The Competitive
Stage
Egos are on the line. Expect conflict, confusion and a
degree of resistance in this stage. Sooth ruffled feathers
and reaffirm the importance of every team member in their
assigned role.
The Results Stage Encourage the team to use their initiative to solve problems
and take calculated risks in reaching decisions.

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Signs of Team Trouble
Losing sight of performance. This is a problem when there is a lack of
cooperation from the rest of the organisation.
Share the group’s successes with the organisation and give positive
feedback to the team.
Frustrated with clarification of roles and team leader making all decisions in
isolation.
Decreasing confidence with corridor meetings and members distancing
themselves from decisions.
Delays from team members carrying out action points.

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Questions to Challenge You
1. How did you decide this is a team negotiation rather than a one-on-one negotiation?
2. How did you decide who would be the team leader for this negotiation?
3. How did you decide the members of your negotiating team?
4. How did you decide who would be assigned to each role?
5. What do you have planned to ensure all team members get to know each other prior to
the negotiation?
6. How did you clearly define the expectations for each individual and the team?
7. How will you assess the result of the negotiation? Have you clearly communicated this to
the team?
8. How do you plan to identify if the team is in trouble? What actions will you take to get the
team back on track?
©Gordian Business 2017
Link to eBook: The Power of Team Negotiations

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Referen c e s
Ayers, K.E. (2008) Engagement is NOT enough, Elevate.
Crett, J.M. & Friedman, R. & Behfar, K. (2009) How to Manage Your Negotiating Team, Harvard Business Review.
Ertel, D. (1999) Turning Negotiation into a Corporate Capability, Harvard Business Review.
Hildreth, A. & Anderson, C. (2016) Powerful People Underperform When They Work Together, Harvard Business
Review.
Katzenbach, J.R. & Smith, D.K. (1993) The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organisation, Harvard
Business School Press.
Kraybill, R. (2006) High Power Teams: Strategies to move from Conflict to Cooperation,
www.RiverhouseEpress.com/blog
Lencioni, O. (2002) The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, Jossey-Bass.
Lowenstein, J. & Thompson, L. & Gentner, D. (2003) Analogical learning in negotiation teams: Comparing cases
promotes learning and transfer, Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2 (2), 119-127;119.
Meyer, E. (2014) The Culture Map: Breaking through the invisible boundaries of global business, Public Affairs.
Moffitt, M. & Pepper, E.R. (2004) Action science and negotiation, Marquette Law Review, 87 (4).
Mouvis, H. (2007) When individual bargaining skills aren’t enough, Negotiation, 4-6.
Panagiotou, R. (2007) India – The World’s Largest Democracy: The Elephant Unshackled, Insead.
Perkins, N.T. & Holtman, M.P. & Murphy, J.B. (2012) Leading at the Edge, 2nd Ed, AMACOM.
Nick, M.J. (2011) The Key to the C-Suite: What you need to know to sell successfully to top executives, AMACOM.
Polzer, J.T. (1996) Intergroup negotiations: The effects of negotiating teams, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 40 (4),
678-698;678.
Salacuse, J.W. (2000) The art of advising negotiators, In M.Wheeler (Ed), Focus on negotiation pedagogy teaching
negotiation: Ideas and innovations, Cambridge: PON Books.
Scullard, M. & Baum, D. (2015) Everything DiSC Manual, Wiley.
Sebenius, J.K (2001) Six Habits of Merely Effective Negotiators, Harvard Business Review.
Suesse, K.M. (1997) Building Coalitions, Harvard Business School, (9-497-055) April, 1997.
Susskin, L.E. & Rozeiczer, L. & Fuller, B. (2005) What we have learned about teaching multiparty negotiation,
Negotiation Journal, 21 (3), 395-408;395.
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@GordianBusiness
Link to eBook: The Power of Team Negotiations