The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

NEGOTIATING AS A TEAM / 431

Avoiding the pitfalls

Working in a team can lead to a lack of focus

and consistency, so appoint a chief negotiator to

lead your team and agree in advance each

member’s roles and responsibilities. Avoid

falling into “group think,” when team members

feel pressured to conform to an existing group

mindset and reluctant to present ideas that

conflict with it. It can also be easy for a team to

create a false sense of cohesiveness: “us,”

the good team, versus “them,” the bad team.

If this happens, genuine conciliatory attempts

made by the other party can be dismissed as

dishonest “tricks” and rejected, resulting in

missed opportunities to make a deal.

US_430-431_Negotiating_team_2.indd 431 30/05/16 3:07 pm