How do you reach a win-win solution with your team or stakeholders?

When the larger picture & objectives are clear to the team, it’s easier to explain them their roles in it. A win win solution does not mean someone is winning, it should mean everyone is winning collectively for the organisation. The biggest facilitating factor is TRUST and BELIEF in the goals and the approach Each member is motivated to contribute As they say, only those Leaders succeed, who have a team with every member having the hunger to make the team succeed. Make a plan, monitor the plan, adjust for deviations and catch up and collectively make it happen. Selection of the team is equally important so as to have a diverse background and mindset to chip in when a member is finding it difficult. Celebrate the smallest of wins.

Capitalizing on my background as a pharmacist, here's a prescription for problems identification: 1-Listen Actively to concerns and viewpoints of stakeholder Understand their needs and objectives. 2-Identify Common Goals as they will form the basis of a win-win solution. 3-Identify most critical problems needing resolution. Focus on those that have significant impact. 4-Generate Options by brainstorming solutions that could address the identified issues. 5-Evaluate each option's potential benefits and drawbacks. 6-Communicate your perspective clearly and honestly. 7-Engage in constructive negotiation to find solutions that benefit everyone. 8-Keep your promises, be reliable, and demonstrate integrity throughout the process.

Relationships can only be long-lasting when built on Transparency, Trust and Respect. Each takes time to earn and can be destroyed in seconds!

It is important to align on the objectives, generally decided by priorities, which are in turn affected by incentives (and of course inner drive). As a teacher turned manager trying-to-turn entrepreneur, I had to move from focusing on the client (students) to both the clients' and the business' interests, leading to a more robust plan, focusing on improvements (small wins) for everyone, instead of a big win for one stakeholder.

We practice the "WIN-WIN," technique : Willingness to Understand: We understand the concerns, needs, and perspectives Identify Common Ground: it can serve as a foundation for collaboration and agreement. Negotiate Creatively: We Explore creative and mutually beneficial solutions that address the interests of both sides. Win-Win Agreement: We Strive for an agreement that genuinely benefits all parties, ensuring that no one feels disadvantaged. Involve Open Communication: We maintain open and honest communication throughout the negotiation process to build trust and transparency. Neutral Mediation: If necessary,we consider involving a neutral mediator to facilitate discussions and help find common solutions.

Give each team member the respect and courtesy of listening to them without interruption. Look out for the loud ones that just want to hear themselves talk

While this "brainstorming" technique can bring many different ideas and solutions to light, I find that frequently, especially in situations of differing opinions, this can lead to decision paralysis.

My first step was to divide the problem into minor aspects, now this will allow me to find various solution paths part by part, in other words, I have the disposition that those interested will participate in minor aspects, thus we will resolve the aspects gradually, Finally, by having various aspects, we will have various solution paths, thus we will arrive at a total solution which will be the sum of the intermediate solutions. The leader must be located on the larger plane, in the Forest and not in the individual tree.

The selection that I propose must have interaction of the parties involved, that is why they are made to participate in the previous phases of solving the problem, the idea is that everyone feels that they are part of the solution and sees their contributions reflected. The leader must have that ability to lead interested parties to that solution to the problem.

Criteria to select the best option is important as setting the right expectations on how the best option will be chosen. After all, you are dealing with people, here, and you need to make sure everyone leaves happy from that situation, even when they are not "winning". A great example is when you have a buyer and a seller of a certain product, and you are the middleperson: seller wants to sell as high as possible, and buyer wants to buy as low as possible: the best solution might be to meet them in the middle, but you need to make sure they are both aware that the prices they had in mind might change. One way of communicating that is something like:"I will try to sell your house AS CLOSE as possible to the price you have in mind..." :)

I love tools that can demonstrate to advantages, risks, and costs of the various decisions at hand. A SWOT analysis is an excellent, brief, visual way to help to guide stakeholders to the best overall decision.

Always take the time to consult with the applicable stakeholders before making the final decision. Ensure that it will be well-received and that all bases have been covered. Receive feedback well, act on it, and communicate dissent very clearly and respectfully.

It is the point that I maintain in my contributions, I consider that the interested parties must participate in the identification, assessment and contributions to the solution of the problem and subsequently the monitoring and control. Planning is also relevant in these last stages of the process.

Communicating and collaborating with stakeholders to achieve a win-win situation requires several tactics. First, active listening is necessary to comprehend everyone's wants and opinions. Building rapport and trust requires empathy and openness. Establishing common goals and expectations requires open and transparent communication. Meetings, comments, and timely updates keep everyone informed. Thirdly, identifying common ground and inventive ideas can promote cooperation. Finally, recognising and appreciating stakeholder contributions fosters collaboration. Effective communication, understanding other perspectives, and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes can lead to a win-win situation.

Applying relevant project management principles will really help in creating clear objectives, project plan, allocate resources, and establish a timeline. I might be more in favor of mentioning this first as my current role is a Project Manager, but I had many reflection moments where I wished I implemented those principles in previous jobs as the outcomes would have been much better. Delegate tasks to team members based on their skills and expertise. Trust them, guide them and they will do great. Maintain open, transparent communications and provide regular updates on status. Define clear timelines and milestones with accountability to track progress. Establish feedback loop for stakeholders to provide inputs and suggest for improvement.

Planning and executing the solution go hand in hand at this stage, the implementation of solutions can be very drastic or difficult if we do not involve the interested parties, the leader must persist and be very persevering in ensuring that everyone commits to supporting the implementation and execution of the plan that provides solutions to the problem, be it a restructuring, modification or changes that occur within a company or an organization to improve.

Feedback Surveys can be helpful to collect feedback from stakeholders Ask about their experiences, what worked well, and where there is room for improvement. Reflection Journals: Encourage participants to maintain reflection journals which help in analyze their own behaviors, decisions, and emotions. Celebrate Achievements: Recognize and celebrate the achievements and contributions of team or stakeholders. Document Lessons Learned and summarize key takeaways. This tactic really helped me in my job as a Project Manager. Apply Learnings and adjust approach, strategies, and communication style based on the feedback and insights gathered.

It's important to use our experiences to help us to guide others in their decision making process. It's also important to remember that this decision is not all the decisions that have been made before. Always be open to learning new things and adding to your experiences.

Win-win is not a good perspective as it indicates two factions are there: you and your team. Rise or fall together - there is no other way ahead for a team.

I am capable of thinking, LINKED IN, I appreciate your suggestion on "some ways to getting started", thank you. I'm not able to provide feedback if the platform will auto-delete my drafts.

Realistically, win-win is a poor strategy. The strategy should better be described as making the best decision. Maybe that is a win-win, maybe it is a win-lose, maybe it is a compromise-compromise. No matter what you call it, the goal is to make the best overall decision.