Negotiating Interview

For my interview this month I interviewed my coordinator for work, Sam. Sam has been with the company four years, and has been in a variety of leadership roles in multiple parks. The type of negotiating that he primarily does involves his cast members and the guests. The thing that strikes me the most about Sam is that he always strives for mutual benefit and excels at this particularly with the cast. When asked about how he accomplishes this he said that, “Treating cast members with a basic level of respect and appreciation works wonders in any area.” He believes in treating them as he would like to be treated and that this creates a better environment, which in turn creates benefits for them. He believes in explaining “the why behind the how” and how this basic understanding of how it can benefit the cast member can change around attitudes.

Early on I realized that because of the respect he pays the cast members, they genuinely like him and view him as a friend as well as a superior. In Sam’s own words however, “It’s not about being friends with the cast, but rather being respected and appreciated.” This can cause tricky situations in which Sam must always separate the people from the problem.  In dealing with cast members that are also friends, he reminds himself that separating the person from the problem is ultimately in their best interest. He isn’t doing them any favors by not separating them from the problem, and so he goes into situations with this mindset. He goes in with his defenses up, yet still maintains a lack of superiority or aggression. In certain situations a personal friendship can make a negotiation less formal, but it does not change what needs to be done or said. More serious situations are always handed off to his superiors who are completely disconnected from the negotiation.

Another important key to his success is his ability to quickly decipher who he can and cannot associate with. Who you associate with within a company can change the course of your future and Sam understands this concept very well. However, the benefits of this skill have served him in other areas such as avoiding dirty tricks. By being able to understand whom he can and cannot trust he has avoided those problems.

In dealing with guests Sam has to rely heavily on objective criteria. Guests can become irrational and abusive when faced with unexpected circumstances, so it is best to stick to objective facts that are hard to argue with. Sam’s method for handling these situations is as follows; he always approaches with an open mind, makes it clear that he is not attacking them, and explains the facts behind the situation or policy. Particularly when the facts are safety related, guests will calm down and accept it as it is.

Overall, I learned a lot of valuable things from Sam and also solidified concepts that I had previously only heard about in class. This interview was proof of what I’m being taught, which is always reassuring to have. There is much more beyond these topics that are too much to write, but I will continue to think about them and digest them.