Types of Power in Negotiation

Adapted from “Power Plays” by Adam D. Galinsky and Joe C. Magee for the Negotiation newsletter July 2006.

Social psychologists have described types of power that exist in society, and these types of power emerge in negotiation as well.

Two types of power spring from objective features of the bargaining process.

First, power is often defined as a lack of dependence on others.

In negotiation, this form of power corresponds to one’s BATNA or best alternative to a negotiated agreement. When an individual has a strong BATNA going into a negotiation, she is less dependent on the opposing party to reach her needs than she would be if she had a weak alternative or no alternative at all.

Second, some positions, roles, and titles grant power simply due to the authority or control they exert over a wide range of important outcomes. This type of power, referred to as role power, is often found in organizational hierarchies.

There is a third form of power that you can bring to your negotiations: psychological power.

In fact, it’s possible for you to have a psychological sense of power even when you lack objective power.

Professor Cameron Anderson of Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, has shown that although people differ in the degree to which they feel psychologically powerful in the world, they can create a temporary sense of power.

When your confidence is low, you can give it a boost by thinking about a time in your life when you had power.

Interestingly, being powerful and feeling powerful have essentially the same consequence for negotiations. Regardless of its source, power has consistent and predictable effects – both positive and negative – on negotiations.

Source: Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation