The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

DEALING WITH MANY PARTIES / 433

Case study

CHAIRING MULTIPARTY

TALKS

The central challenge for the Chair

of a meeting is to gain the trust of

the negotiating parties. Former

Senator George J. Mitchell, US

Senate Majority Leader, stated that

in mediating the dispute in

Northern Ireland, his ability to be

effective ultimately depended more

on gaining the delegates’ trust and

confidence than on his formal role

and authority. The Chair should

be clear about his or her role,

introduce the agenda, introduce

ground rules, provide parties

with opportunities to express

themselves, and distill common

interests. The Chair should

also regularly summarize the

progress that has been made

in the negotiation.

>> Forming or joining coalitions

>> Resisting group pressure to

modify your core interests

>>^ Being clear when you disagree

>> Monitoring the positions of all

the parties

>>^ Insisting on acting independently

>> Settling too easily when faced by

a coalition

>>^ Keeping quiet: silence may be

interpreted as assent

>>^ Focusing on only one part of^

the negotiations

SUCCEEDING IN MULTIPARTY NEGOTIATIONS

Do’s Don’ts

Informational complexity

The number of parties involved

produces multiple exchanges of

information, proposals, and

multiple trade-offs. You need to

develop a solid information system

that can record and recall all the

information exchanged in the

negotiation room.

Procedural complexity The design

of the negotiation process may be

fraught with difficulty. Its structure,

the rules of engagement, selection

of venue, sequence of issues, and

how decisions will be made, must

be perceived to be fair. In high-value

negotiations, it is wise to employ

an expert to facilitate the process

more effectively.

US_432-433_Dealing_parties_1.indd 433 30/05/16 3:07 pm