Before attending one of our negotiation courses, participants complete a questionnaire about the challenges they face when negotiating. Over time, one response has consistently stood out: the behaviour of their counterparty – aggression, secrecy or untruthfulness — are cited as the most difficult aspects of a negotiation.
This insight highlighted a clear gap. While negotiators may understand process and tactics, many struggle to interpret and respond effectively to behaviour — both their own and that of others. We decided that if we could give people a better understanding of how behaviour influences negotiation outcomes, and how to respond to behaviour they find difficult both by using their skills and their own behavioural responses, they would be able to adapt to achieve better results.
This realisation became the catalyst for developing a model focused specifically on negotiation behaviour, rather than general personality. And that’s how the Negotiation Behaviour Preferences Profiling came about.
Negotiation Behaviour Preferences Profiling
There are many questionnaire-based profiles which are designed to explain human personality and behaviour. When we began our research, we looked at several of the most respected models to assess their relevance to negotiation behaviour. We concluded that the existing profiles were too general for our purpose - none concentrated sufficiently on negotiation to provide reliable, practical insight.
We therefore decided to create our own behavioural model — one designed by negotiators, for negotiators.
Over a three-year research period, we studied how negotiators behave in real negotiation scenarios and developed a concise, accessible framework built around four core behavioural dimensions:
We believe that behaviour is a choice. People develop behavioural preferences because those behaviours have worked for them in the past. Over time, these preferences form a recognisable negotiation style.
To identify an individual’s negotiating behavioural style, we developed a negotiation-specific questionnaire. We use several realistic conflict scenarios where the respondent chooses from a number of options to indicate how they would manage them, and ask them to select words which describe their own perceived style. The result is a behavioural profile that maps an individual’s negotiation behaviour across all four dimensions.
The Behavioural Preferences Report provides negotiators with a clear picture of how their natural behavioural style is likely to influence their effectiveness in negotiation. For each behavioural dimension, the report highlights:
Importantly, the report also introduces the concept of negotiation versatility — the extent to which an individual can adapt their behaviour when circumstances demand it, rather than defaulting to a single preferred style.
We tested the model and the profiles extensively with our clients and with Scotwork consultants worldwide. We were satisfied that the model demonstrated strong internal consistency and predictive ability. In line with good practice, we will continue to check the model as more data is gathered over time.
The report is always accompanied by a one-to-one coaching session with an accredited Scotwork consultant, ensuring that insights translate into practical behavioural choices in real negotiations. The questionnaire takes only a short time to complete.
To support this work, Scotwork has created a rigorous accreditation programme. Only selected consultants are trained to interpret the data, coach individuals and teams, and integrate behavioural insight with Scotwork’s 8-Step negotiation framework.
In addition to individual profiles, we developed the Team Trends Report, which brings together the behavioural profiles of multiple negotiators. This report is particularly useful in planning how to assemble negotiating teams more effectively, understanding team dynamics and predicting collective strengths and blind spots.
The Team Trends Report is particularly valuable when planning complex, multi-party or high-stakes negotiations, where behavioural compatibility and role allocation can significantly influence outcomes.
This profile is unique to Scotwork. It allows you to add another dimension to the skills acquired on your Scotwork course, deepens your understanding of negotiation behaviours, helps you to plan your approach to dealing with difficult counterparties and achieve better outcomes — whatever the negotiation context.
Team Trends Report
