Curiosity A Powerful Negotiation Tool

Kathy Taberner and Kirsten Taberner

Kathy Taberner and Kirsten Taberner Siggins are a mother/daughter executive coach team. They focus on the power of curiosity as the critical ingredient of effective leadership. They have seen a huge absence of curiosity in conversations which they say leads to a lack of engagement & accountability, narrowed opportunities, creates conflicts and hinders productivity. Kirsten and Kathy have distilled all that they have learnt from their extensive work in this area in their book - The Power of Curiosity. They are also founders of the Institute Of Curiosity, a coaching and training organization that helps individuals learn and apply the 3 Curiosity Skills that give individuals a leg up as leaders, parents, colleagues friends, even in conflict. In our in-depth exploration of negotiation I have found that we are negotiating every day and all the time with business partners, associates, team mates, parents, children, family, friends and so on. In a majority of these negotiations there are no clear solutions. Sometimes we ourselves don't know what we want. Sometimes the other party doesn't know what they want. Genuine curiosity can serve as a powerful tool in such cases, helping in the act of discovery and creation of better solutions. Kathy and Kirsten share powerful anecdotes and insights that illustrate how we can use curiosity as one of the principle tools of negotiation.