The Emotional Advantage: The Added Value of the Emotionally Intelligent Negotiator

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21127
• Author: Neil H. Katz,Adriana Sosa
• Date: 01 September 2015
• Published date: 01 September 2015

C R Q, vol. 33, no. 1, Fall 2015 57

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the Association for Confl ict Resolution

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/crq.21127

The Emotional Advantage: The Added Value of the

Emotionally Intelligent Negotiator

Neil H. Katz

Adriana Sosa

In surveying past negotiation literature, successful negotiators were often

portrayed as calculating and factual with a stress on keeping a poker

face throughout negotiations.  is article summarizes key features in

the literature on emotional intelligence (EI), refutes the notion that

the suppression of emotion in negotiation is desirable, and recognizes

the value that EI can contribute to the repertoire of eff ective negotia-

tors.  e article describes key competencies associated with EI and how

these skills help negotiators work with confl ict if it emerges, develop

creative options for potential agreements, facilitate trust, and contribute

to aff ective and substantive satisfaction.

In surveying numerous publications and training materials over the past

three decades on the art of negotiation, one is impressed by the prev-

alence in both scholarly and popular literature of the supposed need to

“keep one’s cool” in negotiations.  e best negotiators are often described

as those in whom only calculated factual analysis prevails; by contrast,

emotions are depicted as at best “impediments to reaching constructive

agreements” (Leary, Pillemer, and Wheeler 2013, 172) and at worst “to be

avoided at all costs” (Shapiro 2006, 164). Keeping a “poker face” and “self-

control, especially of emotions and their visibility,” seems to be one of the

essential elements of a successful negotiator (Raiff a 1982, 120). Although

more recent literature challenges this notion and addresses the role of emo-

tion in a positive manner, this article addresses the value of the emotionally

intelligent negotiator to negotiation eff ectiveness and suggests how train-

ing and skill enhancement can assist in mediation.

58 KATZ, SOSA

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Many negotiations involve elements of interpersonal or group confl ict,

“defi ned as an expressed struggle in which two or more parties are expe-

riencing strong emotion resulting from a perceived diff erence in needs or

values” (Katz, Lawyer, and Sweedler 2011, 81). Even if the heightened

emotion is limited to only one of the parties, strong emotions are pres-

ent in many negotiations. Given this fact, negotiators need a skill set for

addressing emotions beyond conventional wisdom, which encourages the

elimination or minimization of emotions. A growing body of research in

the area of emotional intelligence now off ers a more realistic perspective

on the integral role of emotions in successful negotiation (Lewicki, Bruce,

and Saunders 2015).

Negotiation involves both defi ning the process and exploring key ele-

ments of desired outcomes. When two or more parties discuss how to share

or distribute a limited resource, they negotiate to create an innovative alter-

native that none of the parties could obtain otherwise (Lewicki, Saunders,

and Barry 2011;  ompson, Neale, and Sinaceur 2004).  e behavior of

all parties to a negotiation is part of an attempt to agree “on the distribu-

tion or exchange of benefi ts or costs” (Pulido-Martos, Lopez-Zafra, and

Augusto-Landa 2013, 408). In general, though, two or more parties might

seek to achieve contradictory objectives (Pulido-Martos, Lopez-Zafra, and

Augusto-Landa 2013). Not surprisingly, negotiators are stereotypically

portrayed as “calculating, calm, and in control” individuals who behave

rationally and intelligently in order to mitigate any emotional interfer-

ence with the process of negotiation (Lewicki, Saunders, and Barry 2011;

Ogilvie and Carsky 2002). However, most negotiations tend to involve

multiple motives (including elements of both integrative and distribu-

tive bargaining) where the process of confl ict resolution “cannot be free

of emotion or anxiety” (Ogilvie and Carsky 2002, 382). As such, parties

to a negotiation may experience positive or negative emotions depending

on whether they anticipate an outcome that would serve their interests. As

Ogilvie and Carsky (2002) point out, “Where goals are blocked, negative

emotions result; where goals are attained, positive emotions result” (382).

To ignore the role of emotions is to overlook fundamental conditions

of mental ability and the negotiation process (Fulmer and Barry 2004).

A negotiator must be emotionally intelligent in order to acquire informa-

tion, make decisions, and deploy eff ective tactics throughout (Fulmer and

Barry 2004). In this article, we examine how the burgeoning research and

literature on emotional intelligence (EI) can lend valuable insights that can

add value and enhance the negotiation process. It is fundamental to realize