Women Leaders as Negotiators: An Assessment of Power: As an Interpreter of Emotions, Performance, and Results at the Bargaining Table

Abstract

The main aim of this research paper is an exploration and recognition of negotiation as a leadership skill in the hands of women and how women take up negotiation differently than men. The paper addresses accounts of female leadership using the example of a large U.S. organization, which is considered a pioneer in its inclusiveness policies. The research methodology is based on a qualitative approach, which includes the use of interviews in the working environment of the target group of eight women individuals aged 41 to 57 (members of the prominent female pool - partners/leaders at the above organization), a global leader in professional services. The results show that negotiation skills can serve as a most effective means to women at the bargaining table on the path to leadership and help them unleash their hidden power. It also suggests that women differ in their negotiating approaches. The research implies that emotions and the ways in which women can learn to better use their emotional intelligence skills at the bargaining table can decrease the negative backlash phenomenon. The paper concludes that gender is an important factor on the path to power and the exercise of leadership. Negotiation is an imperative skill for women leaders to possess and to constantly improve. Recent research evidence suggests that the application of aggressive masculine ways in organizations and economies so far has proven unsustainable given the size of today’s globalized economic crisis. Helping women pursue their new roles as leaders, by making improved use of their principled way of thinking during negotiations and innate emotional intelligence skills can have long-term positive results for their organizations and eventually, economies and societies. Men who desire more work-life balance in their lives can help in sustaining results too. The results indicate an opportunity for policy makers and governments to create policies that will encourage women to remain a strong part of the talent pool developing into future leaders.