“Value yourself and others; collaboration and assertiveness is a heady potion, albeit rare” – Jagmohan Bhanver, co-founder – TRUEtest
Negotiations are a necessary evil. Our research shows that every third interaction a person has, involves a negotiation in some form or the other. Some of these are subtler and hence not recognized as one. Any interaction that requires bargaining with an entity other than you constitutes a negotiation opportunity. Our research also suggests that majority of people exhibit moderate to high degree of discomfort when it comes to negotiation. This is perhaps owing to the fact that negotiation involves a perception of ‘conflict’. And people in general are not very comfortable when it comes to dealing with conflict. There are various ways in which we negotiate with each other. Knowledge of our dominant negotiation style helps us understand how we would behave in different situations with different people. That knowledge is vital in being able to adapt our mental framework and consequently our behavioural responses. In some cases, a person might have more than one dominant style of negotiation, and it would be prudent to be aware of the characteristics of each of those styles in order to adapt better.
The TRUE Negotiation Style profiler not only helps you understand your own preferred Style. Knowledge of the different styles could also provide insights into other people’s dominant Negotiation Style. This is why a lot of leaders not only take the TRUE Negotiation profiler themselves; they also prescribe it to their teams so there is better understanding and sensitisation to everyone’s preferred Style of negotiation.
The TRUE Negotiation Style Profiler measures an individual’s potential behaviour on two dimensions; the degree of Assertiveness and the extent of Partnering. Based on how one scores on these dimensions, an individual’s Negotiating Style could fall somewhere along the continuum of Challenging – Partnering – Settling – Abstaining –Obliging.
