This week, and on the day where we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I return to teaching again after a week of snow holidays. I am thrilled to be teaching a class in negotiation and conflict resolution for the first time at my college, nestled in the home on the (US) Civil Rights Movement!
We will begin with the art of negotiation, something that I observed when interviewing the subjects for my book, Sinn Fein Women.
A good negotiator is a listener and an even better observer.
Negotiation is often about getting to the heart of the underlying issues in conflict, rather than debating the positions that one brings to the table.
Being disingenuous is counter-productive. Trying to be something that you are not is disingenuous. Feeling entitled will not achieve success either.
The art of negotiation is a delicate process of acknowledging what you bring to the table and what other stakeholders do as well. The limits of conflict resolution are made by the parameters of set expectations, but the goals of conflict resolution are defined in the process itself.
On this Martin Luther King Jr Day, I pause to think about the goals he set for our society - the truth and equality that he sought, the openness he pursued, and the content of character that he displayed in the pursuit of social justice and peace.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. " -MLK Jr.
So, let the content of our character guide our negotiations, for it will be revealed in our endeavors.
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