Negotiating for Women: Lean In

All of us realise that we tend to hesitate and hold back when it comes to negotiating for our requirements in daily interactions. Failing to get what we truly need, want and deserve due to unsuccessful negotiations can be a deterrent to our individual progress. Though a tricky task for those who aren’t naturally good at it, negotiation can be learned with adequate practice.

This LeanIn meeting was based on the video series “It Pays to Negotiate” (available at leanin.org/negotiation-pays) which talked about taking concrete steps to negotiate for a raise, a promotion, more vacation days, or a better schedule.

Women need to negotiate and break out of the general gender stereotypes that influence the outcome of goals. It’s pertinent that we make the first offer and we make it convincing. The necessary confidence to aim higher and ask for more must be developed.

While negotiating, the need to hide our emotions and stay tough has been disproved by research. We’re more likely to strike a deal — and gain more — if we show warmth and empathy. Framing our negotiations as a cooperative effort and using positive emotions, body language, and tone of voice to achieve our negotiation goals works wonders.

Putting ourselves in our boss’s shoes can also lead to a win. When we use a collaborative mindset, we’ll consider what our manager wants and use that information to strike a deal that works better for both.

We discussed instances from our personal lives where we attempted to negotiate and discussed how we could improve our ways to succeed.

The key takeaway from the meeting was obtaining a toolbox of strategies to help us overcome any fears we might have around negotiation and being better negotiators in life.