How important is a growth-mindset in negotiations?

Introduction

Have any of these things ever happened to you during a negotiation:

• It's getting heated, your anxiety levels increase and you find yourself defending your position.
• You've become blind to the needs of your counter-party as you strive to simply get the deal done.
• Your preparation was extremely limited prior to the negotiation; you find yourself out-manoeuvred with a fixed mindset of simply repeating what you want.

The comforting news is, you're not alone. A vast majority of people negotiating deals have no consistent framework and/or templates. They don't carve out enough time to prepare in advance of the discussions which leads to surprises and a feeling of being out-manoeuvred.

However, there's another message here. Negotiations are also about having emotional resilience and embracing a challenge; both of which are key attributes of a growth-mindset. In preparing for a negotiation, you're constantly making assumptions about your counter-party. When you actually start negotiating, you find out information that challenge these assumptions and/or highlights things you simply missed.

If you research "growth mindset", you'll likely find this fantastic article by Carol Dweck, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Here's an excerpt about the characteristics of a Growth Mindset:

“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking with it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”

Let's look at the typical characteristics of successful negotiations and their relation to a Growth Mindset

• Preparation delivers >80% of the value of your negotiated outcomes. Negotiations are complex, with many variables and lots of unknowns. Growth mindset orientated people thrive on stretching themselves and thinking deeply.
• Emotions have no place at the negotiating table. Being emotionally charged will get in the way of focusing on the real opportunity and encourages a tendency to rush to the finish. A growth mindset is about sticking with it and being prepared to take time to construct a mutually beneficial deal.
• Viewing negotiations as a fixed size pie to carve up. This is about deal creativity during the planning and negotiation process. There’s a good explanation on the Harvard PoN site . A growth-mindset encourages you to really stretch your thinking in the pursuit of mastery.
• Objective criteria make a huge difference. Mutually agreed, objective criteria, enable both parties to assess if this is a good/reasonable/fair deal. Being open to constructive feedback about your proposals is a critical trait of a growth mindset.
• Asking open questions and probing assumptions. You’re aiming to understand what lies behind the statements people make. A growth mindset is about learning and adapting.

Conclusions:

So, the next time you're facing a negotiation, try these easy to adopt ideas:

• Prepare in advance, even if initially it's only 15 minutes of deep-thinking time.
• When you're at the negotiating table, maintain a sense of composure. If your counter-party tries to push your buttons, breathe, pause and simply say "Can I suggest we stay focused on the problem at hand and identify a way that works for both of us".
• Always look for ways to make the opportunity bigger for both parties. Think about creative options to expand the size of the pie.

Any questions or thoughts, please message me on Linkedin or email me.

Thanks, Mike Lander, CEO, Piscari