Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or contributing parties so that a consensus can be reached. The consensus itself is an agreement between those parties reached in the process. Parties involved in negotiation process are said to have compromised the earlier agreement or to reach a win-win solution when issues are encountered/arose from the earlier agreement.
Throughout project lifecycle, there are times when a project manager will have to negotiate with project's stakeholders. The negotiation might occur when there is/are:
- Gaps to fill between stakeholder's expectation and the agreed scope (scope negotiation as well as stakeholder's management)
- A need to select/include team of expert to execute a project (human resources negotiation)
- Conflicts of interest between team members (team development)
- A need to procure a certain work/module to third party (pricing negotiation)
- etc
In a negotiation process, most of the time debate can't be avoided. A project manager might involved in an extended debate with stakeholders to reach a consensus. In time like this, the project manager's expert power will play a very important role in negotiation. With expert power, a project manager can explain/reason better with his/her stand to stakeholders.
Winning a tough negotiation will require not only expert power, or any given references (reasons) but also a management skill called Influence. A project manager with great influence will have the odds of winning more than just an ordinary, by-the-book project manager. Without influence, a negotiation will turn out to be a just a meeting place where a project manager nodding 'Yes' all the time.
Please note that project manager IS an agent of change but it doesn't mean that he/she has to nod all the time; a project manager should have power of influence to control and manage the proposed changes so that the project he/she is managing will not turn into chaos
Please note that project manager IS an agent of change but it doesn't mean that he/she has to nod all the time; a project manager should have power of influence to control and manage the proposed changes so that the project he/she is managing will not turn into chaos
"Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships, that is why good ideas are always initially resisted. Good ideas come with a heavy burden. Which is why so few people have them. So few people can handle it." -- Hugh Macleod
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