During a session with a culture change client, the organization’s president had an epiphany: “For 30 years I thought my job was to manage processes and results. This culture change journey has helped me redefine my job – to manage people’s energy.”
Do you feel extreme discomfort, anxiety, and apprehension whenever you have to reach an agreement with others on contractual terms? You may not realize this, but low self-esteem might be damaging your deal-closing success rate. Your self-esteem is tied to your negotiation skills in a number of essential ways.
Imagine giving such a response to your boss when they offer you a promotion or to take the lead on a strategically significant project for your Government agency. Imagine saying “sure, I’ll get onto that as soon as I’ve had a vacation with my family!” Too often we fear that such a statement will lead to such a career changing offer going towards someone else. We fear that it sends the wrong message! Does it though? The simple answer is that it does not necessarily have to be sending a negative message and creative leaders most likely know this!
Cornell University professor Dr. Tony Simons’ powerful article, “The High Cost of Lost Trust,” appeared in the Harvard Business Review in 2002. In that piece, he described his team’s efforts to examine a specific hypothesis (“Employee commitment drives customer service”) in the US operations of a major hotel chain. They interviewed over 7,000 employees at nearly 80 properties and found that employee commitment drives customer service, but, most critically, a leader’s behavioral integrity drives that and more.
Imagine a fireplace blazing on a cold winter’s day. It could be a gas fireplace, like mine, or a wood fireplace like my friend’s. While both fireplaces warm the room, the experience feels different depending on the fireplace. (Many would say there’s no substitute for a “real” fireplace.)