Negotiation

Decision-Making and Communication Strategies That Deliver Results

A Newsletter from
Harvard Business School Publishing
and the Program on Negotiation
at Harvard Law School

ARTICLE REPRINT NO. N0505A

Strength in Numbers:
Negotiating as a Team
BY EL I ZA BET H A . MA N N I X

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 A C R O S S T H E TA B L E

Strength in Numbers: Negotiating as

a Team
Here’s how to make the team approach pay off.

BY EL I ZA BET H A . MA N N I X

P
is about to enter a
AULINE, THE CEO OF A BIOTECH START-UP,
major negotiation with another company to license one
of her firm’s technologies. She is hoping to form a long-
term relationship with the other company, which is much
bigger and more established. The end result of these talks,
she knows, could make or break her firm. Pauline could go
into the negotiation alone, but she’s tempted to bring
along the entire VP team—marketing, sales, finance, IT,
and legal. Is the team approach wise, or is she better off
going solo?
The widespread belief in “strength in numbers” sug-
gests that having more players on your team should be a
benefit, not a burden. But this belief can lead team mem-
bers to underprepare for negotiation, a common mistake.
Think about the times during a negotiation when you
wished you could retract a concession or bit of informa-
tion that slipped out of a teammate’s mouth.
The key to taking a team approach to negotiation is un-
derstanding the psychology of how teams work. Here I’ll
show you how, with thorough preparation, you can ensure
your team negotiations run smoothly.
When teamwork is the best option
Bringing a team to the table offers several benefits. First,
negotiating teams can create new opportunities for inte-
grative solutions. Researchers Leigh Thompson, Erika
Peterson, and Susan Brodt compared three types of nego-
tiation situations: teams versus teams, teams versus solo
negotiators, and solo negotiators versus solo negotiators.
The presence of at least one team at the bargaining table
led to higher joint gains. Teams stimulate more discussion
and more information sharing than individuals do, partic-
ularly concerning issues, interests, and priorities.
Teams also feel more powerful and more advantaged
than solo negotiators. Even under highly stressful situa-
tions, as when they’re accountable to constituents, team
negotiators feel less competitive and pressured than do
solo negotiators, professor Kathleen O’Connor of Cor-
nell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management has
found. With greater numbers comes a sense of security.
However, the promise of teams can elude us. Suppose one
team member has strong analytic skills, another has vast
technical and industry knowledge, and a third has strong
relationship-building skills. These ingredients should add up
to a formidable team. But if members disagree on the key is-
sues—such as when to make concessions—they are unlikely
to take advantage of their differing skills.
Teams whose members had not worked together be-
fore were unable to pool information and failed to solve a
problem, Deborah Gruenfeld, Margaret Neale, Katherine
Phillips, and I found. Team members who are less famil-
iar with one another lack the preestablished group norms
needed to engage in high-level problem solving without
destructive consequences. In contrast, teams made up
of individuals who were familiar with one another had
little difficulty pooling unique information and effec-
tively solving the same problem. Familiarity with one
another allows team members to share divergent infor-
mation and engage in the constructive conflict neces-
sary to find a solution.
Clearly, teams can be an effective presence at the negoti-
ating table—but only if team members are able to uncover,
leverage, and efficiently coordinate their diverse abilities.
Better teamwork through preparation
Creating a true team environment requires a great deal of
preparation, coordination, and internal negotiation be-
fore you even meet the other side. Then, much like a per-
fect golf swing, the negotiation itself becomes all “follow-
through.”
Some executives protest that too much preparation
crowds out creativity. Actually, the opposite is more likely
to be true. As my colleagues Randall Peterson of the Lon-
don Business School, Kristin Behfar of Northwestern’s
Kellogg School of Management, and I have found, the
most adaptive teams are those that meet often and work
intensely, developing effective methods to face and resolve
their conflicts. The deep knowledge created through prep-
aration is likely to result in greater flexibility and creativity
at the bargaining table.

Copyright © 2005 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 3
This document is authorized for use only in Dr. Sushant Bhargava's Conflict Management and Negotiation_MBA at Indian Institute of Management - Jammu from Jul 2022 to Oct 2022.
 According to professor Roy Lewicki of Ohio State Uni-
versity’s Fisher College of Business, when a deal is very im-
portant, you should spend at least twice as much time on
preparation as you devote to the negotiation itself. One
team member should facilitate the preparatory meeting
and another should serve as secretary, taking notes for
later distribution to all team members.
A new negotiating team’s preparation phase should in-
clude three components: (1) a substantive discussion of
the negotiation, (2) a skills assessment of the team mem-
bers and assignment of team roles, and (3) a plan for the
negotiation process.
1. Discuss the negotiation’s substance.
Before entering into the negotiation, the team must
agree on the basics of the negotiation substance, striving
for complete unity. After all, at the first sign of cracks in
your armor, the other side will try to divide and conquer.
Imagine an American couple in Fez, Morocco, brows-
ing in a shop at the medina that is piled high with colorful,
luxurious rugs in all shapes and sizes. They choose a few
rugs and brace themselves for what is sure to be a fairly
tough negotiation. After all, the rug seller has been hag-
gling day in and day out for years. If the wife likes a partic-
ular rug more than her husband does, she may agree to a
price before he’s ready. Is it possible to take back that “un-
wanted concession”? Of course not! The rug seller has
made a deal, and the couple has bought a rug—and per-
haps an argument on the way out of the shop.
Such missteps are always a hazard in group negotiation.
For this reason, you should begin your preparatory meet-
ing by brainstorming a list of issues that you would like to
discuss in the negotiation—rug size, quality, price, and
shipping, for example. Next, prioritize the issues and con-
sider potential tradeoffs. The couple may figure out they’re
willing to pay a bit more for a high-quality rug if shipping
isn’t a hassle.
How can the issues be packaged? At this point, it’s time
to agree on your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated
agreement); your reservation point, or the worst outcome
you will agree to; and your aspiration level, or the best
outcome you can imagine. The team can use these criti-
cal limits to discover alternative scenarios, search for dis-
confirming information, and test its assumptions. For
example, the couple in Morocco may realize that their
BATNA could be to wait to buy a rug during a planned
trip to Turkey. This alternative might lead to an entirely
different search, thus raising their aspiration level for a
Moroccan purchase.
Now it’s time to consider the other side. What infor-
mation do you have about them? Generate a list of the is-
Copyright © 2005 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
This document is authorized for use only in Dr. Sushant Bhargava's Conflict Management and Negotiation_MBA at Indian Institute of Management - Jammu from Jul 2022 to Oct 2022.
sues they are likely to find most critical, and do your best
to estimate their priorities, BATNAs, reservation point,
and aspiration level. This is where a team can be ex-
tremely helpful; be sure to explore your full range of
knowledge and expertise. Next, make a list of information
that you wished you knew. You may be able to find some
answers before the actual negotiation, or else seek them
out during talks.
Finally, agree on the information your team is willing to
reveal to the other side and the information that must
never be revealed. For example, suppose that Pauline’s
biotech firm is considering an alliance with another firm.
At what point should this be revealed during the negotia-
tion, if at all? Remember, you can’t take anything back
once it’s been spoken. Make sure that everyone is on the
same page before the negotiation begins.
2. Assess skills and roles.
Now that you’ve assessed the negotiation’s substance, it’s
time to figure out how to take advantage of the diverse skills
of your team members. Begin with a skills assessment. What
technical knowledge is required? It would be helpful if one
member of the rug-buying couple were capable of assessing
the value of Moroccan rugs—their age, workmanship, and
so on. Other important abilities may include listening and
other relationship skills, a knack for observing and analyz-
ing behavior, patience, foreign-language skills, acting ability
(to convey toughness, for example), and past negotiation
experience.
WHEN TO USE A TEAM
Working as a team can be particularly beneficial in the
following situations:
1. The negotiation is complex, requiring a diverse
set of knowledge, abilities, or expertise.
2. The negotiation has great potential for creative,
integrative solutions.
3. Diverse constituencies and interests must be rep-
resented at the table, as in union negotiations.
4. You want to display your strength to the other
side, for example, in international contexts where
teams are expected.
5. You want to signal to the other side that you take
the negotiation very seriously, as in a merger or
acquisition.
6. You trust and respect available team members.
7. You have sufficient time to organize and coordi-
nate a team effort.
4
 Negotiating as a Team (continued)
The next step is to match skills with essential roles.
First, you’ll need a team leader—the head decision maker
who ultimately runs the show. As the CEO of her com-
pany, Pauline is likely to take on this role. For a less formal
negotiation, such as the couple haggling for a rug, it can
still be useful to appoint a leader ahead of time.
The leader typically, though not always, serves as the
team’s chief negotiator. In certain complex negotiations,
you may want to separate the two roles, particularly if
the leader is not an experienced negotiator. The spokes-
person must be articulate, not easily rattled, and able to
follow the team leader and the team’s predetermined ne-
gotiation plan. Pauline might choose to make her corpo-
rate counsel the chief negotiator, for example, if she
doesn’t feel confident about her own negotiation experi-
ence. The couple in Morocco might also split these roles,
perhaps making the wife the team leader and the hus-
band the spokesperson. This role assignment would fit
the local culture; the rug seller would expect to negotiate
with a man but would not be surprised to see a woman
examining the rug’s quality.
Data analysis and relationship building also deserve at-
tention. Suppose the start-up’s marketing VP is known for
his ability to listen, observe, and read other people. This
would make him perfect for the role of relationship analyst.
The finance VP is obviously comfortable working with
numbers, so she is likely to take on the role of number
cruncher. As for the couple in Morocco, they will have to
divide up their roles depending on their skills.
3. Plan the negotiation process.
The substance of the negotiation and the diversity of
roles come together in the third step as the team makes de-
cisions about the central process features of the negotiation.
What opening offer should they make? When should they
make the first concession? How many concessions should
This document is authorized for use only in Dr. Sushant Bhargava's Conflict Management and Negotiation_MBA at Indian Institute of Management - Jammu from Jul 2022 to Oct 2022.
they make? Whether you’re working with a group or flying
solo, such questions deserve to be worked out in advance.
One process feature is unique to the team: the recess,
or caucus. Teams should take advantage of opportunities
to break away from the other side, whether to raise new is-
sues, do a “reality check,” or resolve internal disputes. The
team leader may need the relationship analyst to report
on the other side’s reaction to a recent offer or ask the
number cruncher to analyze and assess new data. Any dif-
ferences within the team should always be handled in a re-
cess, out of earshot of the other party. The team leader
should ultimately resolve any arguments about conces-
sions or tradeoffs.
You can also call a caucus for strategic reasons—to sig-
nal your willingness to abandon the negotiation, for ex-
ample. The couple in Morocco might prearrange a
strategic caucus and walk out to “argue” about the price,
simply to see if the rug seller will rush after them with a
concession. Caucuses can also slow down talks that are
moving too fast, giving both sides time to consider options
and make offers. Plan out signals to use to request a caucus
in advance. You might communicate electronically via lap-
tops or handheld computers, or simply pass notes on slips
of paper.
By committing to a strategy of rigorous preparation—
which includes an analysis of the negotiation’s substance, a
wise division of labor, and a plan for the process—your
team will gain the communication and coordination capa-
bilities it needs to achieve optimal solutions. ✧
Elizabeth A. Mannix is a professor of management and organizations at
Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. Her
research and teaching focuses on negotiation in teams, the performance
of diverse groups, coalitions, power and alliances, and knowledge
sharing in teams. She can be reached at negotiation@hbsp.harvard.edu.
Negotiation May 2005 5