October 2nd

  It surprised me how different each of us in the group scored on the negotiation evaluation test. I had most points on compromising, Joki most on collaboration, while Johnny had the highest for competition and hardly any for avoiding. It showed us just how different our negotiating styles were. Looking at each category,though not all of them were ideal styles, they did have their pros. Each category  had the potential of  being highly effectively depending on who you were dealing with. Personally I did not view the competing style as a favourable, for it seemed too aggressive, cunning, putting your interest before anything else. However if you think about it sometimes it can`t be helped if it is a life or death matter an issue that was an pending emergency..Same goes to the avoiding style. The avoiding style does not have a good image if it`s just looked upon as a way to shy away form the argument and not face the important issues that needs to be discussed. If the opponent is someone who wouldn`t back off from the negotiation though, if that person continues to press a point that is to your disadvantage, the best option may be just to leave the negotiation. This may be a difficult task  for people who have a fight-to-win mind set but being able to back down when necessary is also an important skill.
I think to be able to be aware of these different approaches and being able to use these versatile styles depending on the occasion helps you become a stronger negotiator.
  Finally we talked about leader ship as a whole, what makes a good leader. All three of us in the group had had experience, or was currently experiencing a team sport  in " bukatsu",  so our values seemed to come a long that angle. Throughout the discussion we agreed upon a good leader to have the quality of sharing the ultimate goal among fellow members. I had the perspective more on sharing the visible goals, such as an upcoming match or test-those that would motivate the others to work  for it. However, Joki pointed out an interesting view on not only posing the goals itself, but how that could be achieved. Each person had different methods of tackling a task, but there was a need for everyone to be on the same ground. Maybe individual ways were okay if it was  an activity that you do on your own, like studying, but when it`s a team sport(activity) it`s different. Being on time, coming to practice without fail all contributes to the team mentality, enforcing a stronger bond and trust among members which is absolutely important for a teamwork. He also emphasised that there was a need for constantly letting team-mates know, showing them the way things were , the commitments and obligations, until it becomes natural to them. The leader always must be clear on the motives and verbalise, as well as set example of the process, never letting anyone fall behind. Keeping stride is important when working as a team I believe.
The most basic then, if a leader is to guide the team mates in a certain way, is to spread the inner passion to them. Un-doubtly the leader has a strong passion for what he/she does, but there is no point if he/she cannot share upon with the other members. If they do not have the ability to share upon the rest of the members, the energy in you can back fire and lead to your frustration then to demotivation. Being able to envision the passion with your teammates is an essential skill, and it is an on-going process for me learning how to do just that.