Grace Johnson is the Director of Human Resources at Symer, a five-year-old architectural firm recognized by many as one of the fastest growing and successful companies in its field. Symer places a high value on customer service and on recognition of staff whose performance is superior. The Company’s annual meeting is a week away and the President of Symer, Jim Juniper, plans to recognize outstanding employees.
The HR Department is responsible for the awards and Grace delegated the task of ordering designer crystal and engraved plaques (with the Company logo etched on them) to one of her direct reports, James See. James chose Metrix because Symer has used them previously and Metrix specializes in high quality gift items for businesses and is a company whose values are compatible with those of Symer.
In their weekly meeting, James informed Grace that “there is a problem.” The Metrix contact person, Gerald Lyons, called James to tell him that they are behind in their production schedule and “may not be able to have the specialty plaques completed in time.” He suggested they could use something that Metrix already has in stock. James doesn’t think this is an acceptable alternative, but before sharing his opinion decided to talk with Grace.What should Grace do?
Options:
A. Call Gerald Lyons at Metrix and demand they meet their contractual obligation. B. Give the problem back to James to solve. C. Approve the alternative of using a plaque in stock rather than the specially designed ones. D. Talk with her boss, the CEO of Symer, about the problem and get this opinion on acceptable options.
Ki ThoughtBridge’s Counsel:
First, take a deep breath and stay centered. She shouldn’t go to the boss with the problem because she needs more information; without clarity about the problem and options, it will appear that she is opting out of being responsible or capable of handling the problem.
In the interest of developing mature, responsible staff, the supervisor shouldn’t take over. If you delegate authority to staff, they need to be allowed to accept it. So we choose option ‘B’ with some adaptation.
Our recommendation is to coach James in how to deal with this problem. He needs to understand this is a negotiation. The first thing that he needs to do is focus and gain clarity about the problem. He needs more information and needs to ask questions that help him to understand why Metrix thinks they may not be able to deliver what they originally contracted to do. Most important, he will be able to share Symer’s interests* and hear those of Metrix.*Example of Interests: - Preserve reputation for quality - Continue the growth and brand of the company - Retain good relationships with vendors - Meet its obligations and deadlines - Have the trust of staff - Have staff feel valued - Have a successful company meeting
In listening, he and Gerald will be able to discern more options for how to meet their mutual interests.This will move the parties away from positional bargaining, demands and threats which could be destructive of the professional relationship in the long term. The focus can then shift to ways of meeting the goal of delivering the plaques, and the motivation to do so will be strengthened through cooperation rather than coercion.
In coaching James, Grace can help him gain clarity about Symers alternatives before entering into the negotiation. Examples of alternatives are: provide framed certificates; use another company capable of delivery under these time pressures; present the plaques from Metrix at another meeting; cancel the order and give staff present paper weights, etc. The list can go on and on, but at some point one would be selected that best represents the interests of Symer. This alternative can be exercised without ever negotiating with Metrix. We call this the BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) and whatever the decision turns out to be it should be as good or better than the BATNA. Our counsel to Grace and James is to think long-term as well as short-term. The effective leader does both, and crises don’t turn into catastrophes.
Katherine Tyler Scott is the managing partner of Ki ThoughtBridge. Katherine is the founder and former President of Trustee Leadership Development, Inc., a resource center for governance leaders and not-for-profit organizations, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has more than 30 years of experience in leadership education and development, consultation, coaching and facilitation. Katherine is a nationally recognized speaker and has written extensively on the topics of leadership, trusteeship, organizational development, and change work.
For more information on training your company’s leaders to negotiate successfully, visit Ki ThoughtBridge at www.kithoughtbridge.com.