The Five Types of Negotiators Outlined and How to deal with conflict in business

While the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) is a useful tool for analyzing conflict styles, it can also be used to analyze negotiation styles. By preemptively using the TKI in relation to negotiations, it can reduce the number of conflicts that could occur and the severity of the conflicts.

TKI Chart

Chart from edbatista.com

The two types of behavior (assertiveness and cooperativeness) pair with different traits to create five types of negotiators.

Competitors

Competitors are assertive and uncooperative. There is a strong desire to satisfy the individual’s needs vs. a weak desire to satisfy the needs of others. Competitors negotiate to win. They know when they’re right and won’t hesitate to let others know that their decision is best. It is best to use a competitive negotiating strategy when making a quick decision for an emergency, defending an unpopular opinion and protecting oneself from others who seek to take advantage of nonassertive/noncompetitive behavior.

Accommodators

Accommodators are unassertive and cooperative. They are the opposites of competitors. During a negotiation, an individual will often sacrifice the fulfillment of his or her own needs in order to satisfy the needs of another person or a group. Accommodators can and will use negotiations to build stronger relationships. They will negotiate to solve another person’s or group’s conflict instead of their own. It is best to use an accommodating negotiating strategy to avoid a disruption. Accommodators will acquiesce when they know they are wrong to show that they are reasonable/cooperative, and when an issue being discussed is much more important to another person than it is to them.

Avoiders

Avoiders are unassertive and uncooperative. The need to satisfy themselves, and others, is very low. They do not like the negotiation process at all, and tend to avoid it if they can. They will sidestep negotiations and/or postpone them until a better time, and will withdrawal from any negotiations that seem threatening or aggressive. Avoiding a negotiation is a good strategy to use when more information is needed to make a decision, other issues are more pressing and different parties can better handle the situation.

Collaborators

Collaborators are assertive and cooperative. They are the opposite of avoiders. Collaborators will negotiate to find a solution that satisfies their concerns. Collaboration between two or more parties can involve exploring a disagreement to gain a new perspective. Use a collaborative negotiating strategy to find an integrative solution, merge different perspectives together and build commitment to a solution by including other points of view and concerns.

Compromisers

Compromisers are moderate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness. Negotiations are done in order to satisfy all involved parties as much as possible. When negotiating, compromisers aren’t as aggressive as competitors, but are more assertive than accommodators. They will address an issue instead of avoiding it, but they will not negotiate in depth as much as a collaborator will. It is best to compromise during a negotiation when each party has equal power and is strongly committed their idea, and competition and/or collaboration has failed. Negotiators should also compromise to reach a temporary or permanent solution when time is a pressing factor.
By understanding the different ways people negotiate, the amount of conflict that occurs can be reduced. If an individual knows what type of person they will be negotiating with, they can plan and/or adjust accordingly.
Some types of negotiations are better than others. A compromiser and a competitor will have an easier time negotiating than a collaborator and a competitor. Over the next few months, The Ambulatory M&A Advisor will provide more articles outlining circumstances, real-world examples and how to handle them.

How to deal with conflict in business

Conflict in the business world is more challenging for women than for their male counterparts.
Women are socialized into being the nurturing kind. And that aside, we prefer to have everyone working together and getting along. That is why conflict can not only make the business world uncomfortable, but make more work for women – because we feel it is our duty to solve the conflict even it means sacrificing our own goals or opinions to do so.
However, there are strategies a woman can use to deal with conflict in a productive way so it can work for them, build up a reputation for being someone who doesn’t stand for this behaviour — and prevent it from happening again.
The pragmatic guide on how to deal with conflict in business:

Conflict can be solved by first identifying the What, Who and the Why.

Identify the conflict

The smallest of things can become the biggest of issues. When there is conflict (or you can sense there is), look at the big picture first. Work out what the actual conflict is. This requires you to remove all emotional outbursts, gossip and knee-jerk reactions so you can see in black and white what the issue is.

Find the source

The second step is to find out where the conflict started. Was the conflict a result of a person’s dislike for a decision? Don’t underestimate what people will do in order to get their way … or what they will do when they don’t. The saying ‘divide and conquer’ is very real in the business world today and you can’t escape having to deal with conflict started on that basis sometimes.
Finding out who was the instigator of the conflict is crucial. This way you can take them out of the situation and have a one-on-one discussion with them. The key here is to listen to their concerns and find a solution. Yes, you will need to help them navigate a way out of the corner they feel they are in.

Why did they start it?

The reason for starting conflict is often down to greed, jealously or rejection. People feel they are missing out on money, promotions, opportunities or feel they are being left out of a decision.
These reasons are easily fixed. There is always another option to the above list and conflict born from them is often a result of miscommunication in the first place.

When there is no chance…

All the strategies above will help you solve conflict. However, there is one type of conflict-starter you cannot appease. The narcissist or ‘workplace sociopath’. Think of them as a workplace arsonist. Their entire life is built on lying, manipulating and bullying people to get to where they want. There is no ’solving’ this conflict unless you make a very quick decision to remove that person from your business dealings immediately.
If you want to build yourself a reputation of someone who stands their ground and can solve a conflict swiftly then remember the saying: if in doubt, throw them out.
source : http://www.ambulatoryadvisor.com/breakdown-five-types-negotiators-outlined/
           : http://www.thebusinesswomanmedia.com/dealing-with-conflict-in-business/