Advocating for Representation: A Negotiation For Applicant Gender Diversity

To Fill A Vacancy On An All-Male Sales Team

By Andrew Haas

Teachers College, Columbia University

ORLJ 6350

Dr. Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams

March 31, 2021

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Without the practice of critical reflection, our personal identities can form seemingly

invisible tripwires ripe for explosion within our interpersonal conflicts. As Rothman (1997)

highlights, identity conflicts are difficult to recognize since they are often “misrepresented as

disputes over tangible resources” (p. 6). However, seemingly surface level differences can carry

linkages to much larger personal identities like sexuality, gender, race, class, fairness, and power.

For example, an argument over whether Saudi or Iran’s national soccer team is better could, in

truth, be linked to deeply held religious views on Sunni and Shia Islam. Reflection offers the

opportunity to stop and consider the other person’s deeply held identities and how they might

perceive your own . In preparing for this negotiation, contemplating my boss’s identities

strengthened my ability to respect and speak to the values that she held dear while creatively

pursuing a positive outcome. Along the way, I gained important insights into where I needed

even greater clarity going into the negotiation. This paper will first outline the two identities at

play within the negotiation. Next, I will analyze both the strengths and weaknesses with which

my character asserted his point of view, actively listened, identified common ground,

implemented collaborative processes, and managed emotions. I will finish with a review of Ron

Taylor’s feedback and reflect on how I might implement his suggestions in further negotiations.

The characters’ identities and the power structures they worked in both played central

roles in the negotiation. When acknowledged and appreciated for both their strengths and

challenges, these identities became a force for goodwill (a point I will address later). The

manager negotiated from the nexus of both power, as SVP of Sales, and marginalization, as the

only woman in business development. As the only female within the sales department, she prided

herself in excelling amidst a male-dominated world. Given the harmful patriarchal perceptions

she likely battled to succeed in her career, she considered herself to be someone who intimately
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understood the difficult realities women face in New York business development. Based on her

own trials, she believed herself to be fair. On the other hand, I negotiated out of the identity of

one who strongly upholds the values of inclusivity and integrity to the customer base. I found my

all-male sales team to lie at odds with our female identifying client base and my own broader

beliefs in the positive strength and moral necessity of team diversity. My identity as a person

committed to equity, inclusion and customer representation, and my status as leader of an all-

male sales team could not co-exist.

My opening statement attempted to begin with building rapport before clearly outlining

my two main objectives: to hire a consulting company to help with advertising the sales position

to women and to create a new all-female list of potential candidates. Although I achieved both

objectives, my execution could have been cleaner. With a short-clock for the negotiation, my

opening statement sought to heed Kolb and Porter’s (2015) suggestion to ‘schmooze’ by

thanking my boss for the opportunity to lead the sales committee and for making time for our

meeting. My words failed to elicit a discernable reaction in my boss, but they did let her know

that I appreciated her at the outset. I then moved into creating cultivated support by mentioning

my excitement for a shared initiative over our company’s new body-inclusive clothing line

(Coleman & Ferguson, 2014). Where my communication slightly lost focus was in outlining my

objectives. Although, I communicated them clearly, I forgot to use the type of collaborative “we”

and “us” language that would clearly present the issue as “ours” (Coleman & Ferguson, 2014).

However, I remained gentle, yet, assertive which laid the groundwork for refocusing the

conversation later on.

From the outset, implementing active listening skills proved essential in de-escalating

conflict, fostering mutual understanding, and presenting common goals. I particularly leaned on
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reflection, as practiced by transformative mediators, to affirm my boss and acknowledge the

difficulties she faced. At the outset she expressed the feeling of having done all that she could to

advertise the position, and she stated that she was making the best of what she had received. In

response, I immediately replied, “I hear you saying that a lot of this is outside of your control”.

In speaking with Eliana (the other role player) afterwards, she mentioned that my recognition of

not only her effort, but also feelings of helplessness helped to ease her initial angst. I also

implemented “fogging” by affirming her statements that she intended as paternalistic attacks and

then refocusing the discussion on my goals. Listening to her confrontational responses closely

elucidated that she felt that her identity as a ‘fair’ boss was at stake in our confrontation. With

this understanding, I could then avoid those trip-wires and seek to affirm her while also

searching for common interest.

Although I carried a BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement), I wanted to

avoid using it if possible in order to maintain our relationship. As the company’s top sales

manager, I knew that threatening to quit and writing a complaint to human resources would force

my boss’s hand. However, similar to Pruitt and Rubin’s (1986) dual concern model, my high

level of concern for our working relationship determined at the outset that I would prioritize

collaboration. Thus, I came into the negotiation with a couple of suggestions. One, I wanted to

see if there was budget for improving our hiring process. Two, I planned on better understanding

her needs (i.e. increased sales quota, hiring timeline, and hiring an intern to write the weekly

newsletter) in order to focus on creative problem solving. Eventually, I discovered that the

budget I sought was being redirected to hire an intern to write a newsletter. With this

information, I offered an integrative solution in which my team would write the newsletter in
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return for utilizing the extra-budget to help us advertise the vacancy. We ran out of time to

finalize the agreement, but I sense that the offer was mutually acceptable.

A prominent critique of my negotiation is that I could have been more direct in offering

creative solutions to my boss. I did eventually offer my own services to her, but the suggestion

took place towards the end of the negotiation. For example, I continuously inquired if there was

budget for hiring consultants without also offering to help my boss with her workload. By

candidly proposing to help my boss, I could have sent a strong signal of my desire to collaborate

earlier in the negotiation. This may have saved both of us from some of the more repetitive back

and forth communication that took place between minutes four and ten.

Even though this was a roleplay, it was interesting seeing how easily my own identity, as

a competent and equity-oriented manager, could be quickly offended. Managing my own

emotions during the negotiation proved to be surprisingly challenging. Although I hid my

internal feelings behind a calm exterior, I felt my heart beat growing more rapid and my chest

tightening as my boss continually dismissed my concerns and treated me like a child. In order to

stay calm, I remained hyper-focused on my goals. I realized that if I fought back, I would

endanger the opportunity to pursue an integrative solution and be forced to use my BATNA.

Focusing intently on her words and perspective also helped to ease my own self-centeredness

and enabled me to re-employ her words for my own purposes. For example, after hearing her

state that the team might not even be a good cultural fit for a woman, I responded by gently

admitting that she was right and noting that this was another reason for why a consultant could

be useful. Although this reaction mirrored ‘fogging’, I intended to simply demonstrate a level of

humility and add her own insight to strengthen my argument. By acknowledging my own
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discomfort and setting it aside, I was able to more clearly hear her very real concerns and the

pressures she faced.

Ron Taylor’s feedback on my negotiation offered insights into both my strengths and

areas for improvement. The vast majority of his positive feedback underscored the way I

navigated emotions within the negotiation and spoke to her values. For example, his analysis

commended my emotional regulation in the midst of my boss’s challenges and my clear

presentation of why hiring female employees mattered to the company. He also noted the

empathy I showed for my boss in actively listening to the pressures she felt within the hiring

process.

However, Ron also noted key areas for improving both my assertiveness and also

implementation of “power-with” during the negotiation. For example, he pointed out that I used

soft approaches to obtaining my goal by “voicing my concern” instead of “asserting the need for

gender inclusivity”. By not clearly standing behind my argument, I unnecessarily weakened the

strength of my words and the clarity of my rationale. The lack of assertiveness I demonstrated

likely stems from my conflict profile as someone who prefers accommodation to direct

confrontation. Along the theme of becoming more direct, Ron also suggested that it would have

been helpful for me to offer more concrete examples of how outreach/recruitment could be

improved in order to stop our negotiation from going in circles. Finally, Ron highlighted

opportunities where I could have more clearly sought ‘power-with’ my boss by emphasizing

moments in which she stated dissatisfaction with the lack of women in sales and using her

sentiment to create a solution. By becoming more direct and concrete in the future, I can

continue to grow as both a negotiator and communicator to the benefit of all persons involved.
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References

Coleman, P. T., & Ferguson, R. (2014). Making conflict work: Harnessing the power of

disagreement. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Kolb, D. M., & Porter, J. L. (2015). Negotiating at work: Turn small wins into big gains. John

Wiley & Sons.

Rubin, J. Z., & Pruitt, D. G. (1986). Social Conflict: Escalation, stalemate, and settlement  (1st

ed.). Mcgraw-Hill Book Company.

Rothman, J. (1997). Resolving identity-based conflict in nations, organizations and

communities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, chapters 1&2, pp. 5-32.