PMI-ACP Lesson 07 Soft Skills Negotiation

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PMI® & ACP are the registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.
Soft Skills Negotiation
PMI®—Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®

● Describe the importance of Emotional Intelligence for Agile managers
● List the collaboration technology choices
● Identify the ‘doing agile’ tools
● Identify five conflict modes
● Describe the characteristics of Agile servant leadership
After completing
this lesson, you will
be able to:
Objectives

Agile Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EI), often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), is a measure
that describes the ability to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of
groups.
Agile Emotional Intelligence is a soft skill which every project manager should possess while
handling projects in unpredictable environment.
● This skill is applied by project managers to promote collaboration in agile teams.
● It encourages leadership of the projects that are flexible and can be adapted to a customer’s
requirements.

Emotional Intelligence is an important skill for the agile project mangers for various reasons. Agile
project managers:
● need to build relationships and understand how to get the best from others in a matrix
environment.
● need to be able to motivate staff, build teams from disparate sources, and manage conflict.
● need to understand and manage the impact of a technical solution on a user population.
● need to provide leadership decisions based on the analysis of the situation and understanding of
the impact of that decision.
● must be able to deliver results by understanding one’s emotions, the emotions of others, and
how those can be most effectively managed.
EI and Scrum Masters/Agile Project Managers

Emotional Intelligence Skills Assessment Framework
Emotional Intelligence Skills
Assessment (EISA) framework is
based on “Reuven Bar-On’s
Emotional Quotient Inventory
(EQ-i)” model. It identifies:
● five areas for understanding
EI-based behaviors

If Agile project managers take efforts to improve on the emotional quotient, they can be better
prepared for performing their role in the following ways:
● Improved leadership
● More effective handling and resolution of disputes
● More effective development of team working
● Improved negotiations
● More cost-effective decision making
● Better quality problem solving and decision making
Benefits of Emotional Intelligence

Collaboration is the basis for bringing together the knowledge, experience, and skills of multiple team
members to contribute to the development of a new product. It requires some level of interaction.
The following are some guidelines on how to use interaction modes to foster greater collaboration:
● Use a wide variety of interaction modes
● Match interaction needs with collaboration practices
● Use lower-cost modes to the extent possible
● Use higher effectiveness modes on critical, higher-risk activities
Collaboration and coordination are both required for a project:
● Collaboration is working together collectively as a team.
● Coordination is simply the act of sharing information among the team members.
Collaboration and Coordination

Collaboration Technology
Collaboration can happen in two ways:
Asynchronously where participants view
information and provide feedback at
different points in time.
For example:
● Email, exchange of drawings, project
information, and models
● Workflow and groupware software.
Synchronously where all participants view
information and/or meet at the same time.
For example:
● Teleconferencing and videoconferencing
● Web-hosted meetings
● CAD collaboration sessions

Adaptive Leadership
Adaptive leadership is a practical leadership framework that helps individuals and organizations adapt
and thrive in challenging environments. Inspect and Adapt are two common themes in Agile project
management. It can accelerate and sustain the organizational agility.
Adaptive leadership has two aspects:
● Doing Agile: This requires leaders to understand strategic agility from a business perspective
as well as specific principles and practices to help build Agile organizations that can weather
business turbulence.
● Being Agile: This requires leaders to be adaptive; inclusive leaders; exploring; and adopting a
facilitative leadership style.

Agile leaders should use the following execution levers to achieve business goals of responsiveness,
agility, profitability, market share, and customer satisfaction.
Adaptive leadership—‘Doing Agile’ Tools
Quality
Managing the
technical debt
which, if not
addressed correctly,
would lead to high
cost and high risk.
Doing Less
The project teams
should do the
simplest thing
possible that delights
the customer.
Engage/Inspire
Agile leadership
should encourage and
promote the concept
of self organizing
teams that have
autonomy, mastery,
and purpose.
Speed-to-Value
The three
components of Agile
triangle need to be
managed properly to
realize the value.

Negotiation is a process in which two or more entities in conflict may embark on a process to
discover a mutually acceptable resolution to the conflict.
Agile Negotiation
Agile Negotiation
Separate People
from the Problem
Focus on Interests,
not Positions
Invent Options for
Mutual Gain
Use Objective
Criteria

Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann identified five conflict modes:
Agile Negotiation and Conflict Management
Agile focuses on the Collaborating Mode as the preferred conflict mode instrument.!
Competing
High assertiveness and
low cooperativeness.
The goal is to “win.”
Avoiding
Low assertiveness and
low cooperativeness.
The goal is to “delay.”
Compromising
Moderate assertiveness and
cooperativeness. The goal is
to “find a middle ground.”
Accommodating
Low assertiveness and high
cooperativeness. The goal is to
“yield.”
Collaborating
High assertiveness and high
cooperativeness. The goal is to
“find a win-win solution.”

Conflicts are inevitable
and even desirable in any
team.
Five levels of conflict are
identified by Speed Leas
depending on the
intensity of the conflict:
Five Levels of Conflict by Speed Leas
1
2
3
4
5
Problem to Solve
The team remains focused on
determining what’s awry and how to fix
it.
Disagreement
Team members distance themselves
from one another to establish a position
for compromise that might come.
Contest
A compounding effect occurs as prior
conflicts remain unresolved. People
begin to align themselves with one side
or the other.
Crusade
Team members believe the people on the
other side of the issues will not change.
The attitude is righteous and punitive.
World War
At this level, it is not enough that one
wins; others must lose. No constructive
outcome can be had.

Following are some techniques that can be used for conflict resolution at every level:
Agile Conflict Resolution
Conflict Level Successful response options
Level 1: Problem to
solve
● Collaboration: Seeking a win-win situation.
● Consensus: Learning where every team stands with regard to the issue and, arriving at a
decision everyone can back.
Level 2: Disagreement ● Support: Empowering the other to resolve the problem.
Level 3: Contest ● Accommodate: Yielding to the other’s view when the relationship is more important than
the issue.
● Negotiate: This will not work when the issue revolves around people’s values.
● Get factual: Gather data to establish facts.
Level 4: Crusade ● Use “shuttle” diplomacy: Carrying thoughts from one group to the other until they are
able to deescalate.
Level 5: World War ● Do all that is necessary to prevent people from hurting one another.

The concept of servant leadership was defined by Robert Greenleaf. This leadership style lends itself
readily to the participatory style of management that is encouraged in self-organized and Agile teams.
Servant leadership positions the leader as the enabler. A servant leader:
● helps the team;
● removes obstacles that the team is facing; and
● gives them the tools and skills they need and protects them from unnecessary disturbances.
Servant Leadership

Some of the characteristics of a servant leader are as follows:
Characteristics of a Servant Leader
Listening Empathy
Healing
Awareness
PersuasionConceptualizationForesight
Stewardship
Commitment to
the growth of
people
Building
Community

Servant leadership is valuable on all projects, regardless of methodology, but it is nearly indispensable
in Agile. The reasons are as follows:
● Agile believes in self-managing teams, which needs no help with task management, but needs help
in forming, building, and nurturing the team.
● Agile leaders adapt their behavior to meet the needs of the team and are willing to go to the
distance in trying to help the team achieve its goals.
● Values that will be cherished in such a team would be trust, empathy, collaboration, and ethical
use of power.
Agile Servant Leadership

Quiz

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following correctly states the 5 basic EI factors?
1
Perceiving, Decision making, Achieving, Influencing, Monitoring
Perceiving, Managing, Achieving, Influencing, Servant Leadership
Preparing, Managing, Decision making, Achieving, Influencing
Perceiving, Managing, Decision making, Achieving, Influencing

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following correctly states the 5 basic EI factors?
1
Answer: a.
Explanation: The 5 basic EI factors are perceiving, managing, decision making, achieving,
and influencing.
Perceiving, Decision making, Achieving, Influencing, Monitoring
Perceiving, Managing, Achieving, Influencing, Servant Leadership
Preparing, Managing, Decision making, Achieving, Influencing
Perceiving, Managing, Decision making, Achieving, Influencing

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which response strategy will you apply at the level 2–Disagreement?
2
Collaboration
Negotiate
Accommodate
Support

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which response strategy will you apply at the level 2–Disagreement?
2
Answer: a.
Explanation: At Level 2, the conflict resolution strategy is support.
Collaboration
Negotiate
Accommodate
Support

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following is not a characteristic of a servant leader?
3
Happiness
Foresight
Stewardship
Listening

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following is not a characteristic of a servant leader?
3
Answer: b.
Explanation: Happiness is not a characteristic of a servant leader.
Happiness
Foresight
Stewardship
Listening

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
During which strategy do we practice deep listening, self-awareness, and commitment
to others?4
Negotiation
Conflict resolution
Emotional Intelligence
Servant leadership

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
During which strategy do we practice deep listening, self awareness, and commitment
to others?4
Answer: a.
Explanation: Servant leadership is the strategy during which we practice deep listening, self-
awareness, and commitment to others.
Negotiation
Conflict resolution
Emotional Intelligence
Servant leadership

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
What are the four components of Doing Agile in Adaptive leadership?
5
Delivering Value, Continuous Improvement, Servant Leadership, Speed-to-Value
Quality, Continuous Improvement, Engage/Inspire, Speed-to-Value
Delivering Value, Doing Less, Engage/Inspire, Speed-to-Value
Quality, Doing Less, Engage/Inspire, Speed-to-Value

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
What are the four components of Doing Agile in Adaptive leadership?
5
Answer: a.
Explanation: Adaptive leadership identifies Quality, Doing Less, Engage/Inspire, Speed-to-
Value as its four elements of Doing Agile.
Delivering Value, Continuous Improvement, Servant Leadership, Speed-to-Value
Quality, Continuous Improvement, Engage/Inspire, Speed-to-Value
Delivering Value, Doing Less, Engage/Inspire, Speed-to-Value
Quality, Doing Less, Engage/Inspire, Speed-to-Value

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following leaders best reflect a servant leader?
6
Mahatma Gandhi
Jack Welch
Bill Gates
General George S Patton

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following leaders best reflect a servant leader?
6
Answer: b.
Explanation: Mahatma Gandhi is recognized as one of the most effective servant leaders.
Mahatma Gandhi
Jack Welch
Bill Gates
General George S Patton

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
According to the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode model, which conflict mode has a goal
of ‘yielding’?7
Avoiding
Compromising
Accommodating
Competing

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
According to the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode model, which conflict mode has a goal
of ‘yielding’?7
Answer: d.
Explanation: Accommodating: Low assertiveness and high cooperativeness. The goal is to
“yield.”
Avoiding
Compromising
Accommodating
Competing

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following is not a technique of Agile Negotiation?
8
Focus on Interests, not Positions
Perceptions are reality
Invent Options for Mutual Gain
Separate People from the Problem

QUIZ
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following is not a technique of Agile Negotiation?
8
Answer: c.
Explanation: Agile Negotiation emphasizes “Use Objective Criteria” not perceptions.
Focus on Interests, not Positions
Perceptions are reality
Invent Options for Mutual Gain
Separate People from the Problem

Summary
Here is a quick
recap of what was
covered in this
lesson:
● Agile Emotional Intelligence is a technique of soft-skill negotiation. This skill
is applied by project managers to promote collaboration in agile team.
● EISA framework identifies five areas for understanding EI-based behaviors -
Perceiving, Managing, Decision making, Achieving, and Influencing.
● Collaboration is the basis for bringing together the knowledge, experience,
and skills of multiple team members to contribute to the development of a
new product. It can happen synchronously or asynchronously.
● Adaptive leadership is a practical leadership framework that helps
individuals and organizations adapt and thrive in challenging environments.
● Understanding five levels of conflicts and managing these conflicts in a
positive way are important skills for Agile leaders.
● Servant leadership is valuable on all projects, regardless of methodology,
but it is nearly indispensable in Agile.

PMI-ACP Lesson 07 Soft Skills Negotiation

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