Negotiating Accommodations with Faculty…with Confidence!!!

Adam MeyerUniversity of Central Floridaadam.meyer@ucf.edu

For this Presentation

Offer some thoughts on beneficial ways to communicate and negotiate Primary context: Working with faculty

How to increase chances of getting what you want and what they want

Give ideas that may give confidence during those tough situations

Books to Reference

Crucial Conversations (Kerry Patterson et al)

The Speed of Trust (Stephen M.R. Covey)

Adversaries into Allies (Bob Burg)

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In (Roger Fisher and William Ury)

How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with People (Les Giblin)

Real Influence: Persuade without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In (Mark Goulston and John Ullman)

What are some of the challenges you experience or the emotions

you feel when you need to negotiate accommodation

outcomes with faculty?

Each of us enters conversations with our own opinions, feelings, theories and experiences about the topic at hand. This unique combination of thoughts and feelings makes up our personal pool of meaning. This pool not only informs us but propels our every action.

By definition, we do not share the same pool with someone else.

--Crucial Conversations

Be Careful Where You Jump

An Important Key to Success

The real key to successful human relations is learning as much as we can about human nature as it is, not as we think it ought to be. Only when we understand just what we are dealing with are we in a position to deal with it successfully.

--Les Giblin

So what do you do?

It Starts Here!

Genuine

Genuine and authentic, not manipulation

Calm and Confident

Act confident. Look confident. And you will find you begin to feel more confident. More important, your prospects will begin to have more confidence in you.

If you believe in yourself and act as if you believe in yourself, others will believe in you.

--Les Giblin

Set the Frame!

In any interpersonal interaction or situation, a frame will be set. The only question is, ‘Who will set it – you or the other person?’ Make sure it is you.

If needed, reset the frame by setting your own.

-- Adversaries into Allies

• Positive Frames are set by:– Smile– Gentle attitude and approach– Expecting someone else to be helpful– Having genuine interest in the other person’s

situation and concerns– “What can I do to help you?”– Acknowledging the problem

Beneficial whether in person or by email

Using the Harvard Negotiation Project as a Guide when Entering Conversations

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In (Roger Fisher and William Ury)

Defining Negotiation

Negotiation is a basic means of getting what you want from others. It is back-and-forth communication designed to reach an agreement when you and the other side have some interests that are shared and others that are opposed (as well as some that may simply be different).

Disability Office / Faculty Interests

What are some shared interests that disability offices and faculty have in common?

What are some opposed/varying interests?

Types of Negotiation

Soft Negotiation Negotiator wants to avoid personal

conflict and so makes concessions readily to reach agreement

Hard Negotiation Negotiator sees any situation as a

contest of wills and welcomes the battle necessary to win, holding ground as long as necessary

Principled Negotiation Basis of the project Look for mutual gains wherever possible Insist that the results be based on some

fair standards Hard on merits, soft on people

The Common Negotiation Problem

Bargaining over positions Each side takes a positon, argues for it

and works toward compromise Becomes a “save face” issue Positions may not equal underlying

concerns of those involved Can easily damage relationships

It is critical to understand the role of accommodations,

access and inclusion within disability office operations in

order to effectively negotiate.

Accommodations are Positions

Suppose a professor is balking at the use of an audio recorder in class Audio Recorder: A position; a means to

fulfill the purpose (access) What is the professor’s underlying

concern behind the desire to not have the course recorded? ▪ Ruins course dialogue?▪ Fear of information going public?▪ Something else?

What is your underlying concern/desire in recommending that accommodation?

Where can mutual purpose (compatible goals) be found and what position/outcome would mutually address?

– You want access and professor wants (same standards, a simple process, minimal work, a feeling of safety, etc.)• Does accommodation on the table make sense now?• Propose a new solution or a compromise?

For DS to be Successful…

Need to have a clear understanding in every situation of: Why we do what we do (overall) Why we want what we want (case

specific) What the course instructor wants and

why

Barriers are Commonly Caused By…

Physical EnvironmentProcess/policy Attitudes of othersLack of

awareness/understanding

What is the Disability Office’s Ulimate Outcome?

In most cases INCLUSION & ACCESS

Also essential: Exploring values, behaviors and beliefs

How DS Should Enter Conversations…

Enter a dialogue with the mindset that the end goal needs to be INCLUSION & ACCESS

Students have a right to INCLUSION & ACCESS, not to a specific accommodation

Defining ACCESS

Designing an environment with inclusion in mind from the outset (proactive)

OR

Effective reasonable modifications to policies, practices, procedures and environmental barriers (reactive) in order to establish inclusion

How do we create access?

Addressing the Design and Facets

of the Environment

Awareness of Relevant Disability Factors

Our Insight and

Consultation

Essential elementsLearning objectives

Physical layoutPolicies and proceduresPerspectives of others

Attitudes of others

ACCESS and INCLUSION May Be…

Proactively designed Our standard accommodations

A starting point often out of necessity ▪ Accommodations have disability awareness but

not environment understanding Need to step back when necessary

A creative alternative outside the norm A matter of shifting values, behaviors,

beliefs, attitudes and/or level of awareness

• Already available – Inclusive considerations already made• One-week take home exams• Professor rotates student responsibility to share

notes with all students• Sign language interpreter and captionists

automatically are provided at large campus-wide events, such as commencement and keynote speakers

• Access may be at its maximum – Fundamental alteration to do something different• Ample time to complete the assignment• Test format needs to remain the same• Attendance policy cannot be modified• Group work is essential

– Administrative burden

Our Role in the Process

Determining, relative to our respective unique campus environments and specific situations, proactive design or effective modifications to policies, practices, procedures and environmental barriers that offer equal access and inclusion

When Focusing on Accommodations First and Foremost

When Focus on Access & Inclusion and All Related Possibilities…

Discussion

Do you focus on accommodations as a means to fulfill access?

OR Do you focus on inclusion and

access with accommodations as one path to making access a reality?

Thoughts on access vs. accommodations mentality?

Wise Negotiation Agreements

Critical Aspects: Meet the legitimate interests of each

side to the greatest extent possible Resolve conflicting interests fairly Improves (or at least does not damage)

the mutual relationship

4 Points of Principled Negotiation

People Separate the people from the problem

Interests Focus on the interests, not the positions

Options Invent multiple options looking for

mutual gainsCriteria

Insist that the result/outcome be based on some objective standard

1. Separate the Person from the Problem

We All Have Our Own…

Emotions Values Backgrounds Experiences Biases Fears Concerns Interests

Perceptions Perception and

Reality confusion Illogical

conclusions Egos

People Problems Exist Here…

Perceptions Your Here vs. Their There Conflict often lies not in objective reality

but in people’s heads (varied perceptions and assumptions)

Need to take time to sort out▪ Ask questions and listen

Give people ownership in developing the outcome

When entering into any conversation, you can clearly see YOUR:• Positions• Facts• Intentions• Needs

But the connection with others does not happen here

Your Here

To connect with others, it is ESSENTIAL to understand the other person’s:• Positions• Facts• Intentions• Needs

You need the full picture to create the best outcome

Their There

If you try to see the other person’s point of view, you can often find a way to draw the other person willingly into even very sensitive conversations.

-- Crucial Conversations

Mutual Purpose and Mutual RespectFocusing on our similarities, not our differences

If you don’t know what the other person wants, how he or she really feels about a situation, what his or her peculiar needs are, you are out of touch with the person. And if you cannot touch him or her, you cannot move the person. Unless you know what the person wants and how the person feels, you are completely in the dark concerning his or her position.

-- Les Giblin

2. Interests, Not Positions

Progress is Found in Interests

Behind opposing positions lie shared and compatible interests, as well as conflicting ones. We tend to assume that because the other side’s positions are opposed to ours, their interests must be opposed.

A position is likely to be concrete and explicit; the interests underlying it may well be unexpressed, intangible and perhaps inconsistent.

-- Getting to Yes

Interests Vary for Each Person

Seek to understand their interests and clearly appreciate them

Make your interests clear and alive

Focus on where you want to go (outcome), not where you have come from Access for this situation vs. ADA Law

3. Options, Options, Options

Invent Options for Mutual Gain

4 Obstacles that Inhibit an Abundance of Options:

1. Premature judgment as to what “is right”

2. Searching for the single answer (accommodation vs. access)

3. Assumption of a fixed pie (either I get what I want or do you, period)

4. Thinking that solving “their problem is their problem”

Shared Interest Increase Options

Shared interests with faculty always exist: Access Learning Accurate assessment of achievement Benefit all students Do the right thing ?????

For Options, Consider…

Asking the other person for their preference

Propose a variety of options and see which they might prefer Modify options as needed

Wonder…if you were in their shoes: Which option would you most desire? Which option would you most fear? Which option would you most dislike?

May Need to Help Save Face

Many times the other person would gladly change his or her mind and agree with you, except for one thing. He or she has already made a definitive commitment, come out with a strong stand, and cannot change one’s position in good grace. To agree would admit to being wrong.

--Les Giblin

• I can understand how you would have thought X without knowing Y.

• I would have taken the same stance initially. I see how it was unclear/confusing/believed to be the best course of action based on what was known at first (or based on what we communicated).

• Other faculty we have worked with have done or thought the same thing. We need to make some changes in our language so that we giving you the most accurate information.

4. Define Objective Standards

Objective Standards…

May or may not need to utilize this step in facilitating access

Possible considerations if so: Moral standards Equal treatment Professional standards Precedent (but keep case-by-case in mind) Efficiency Legal insight

Discussion

Of these three points in the negotiation process discussed…

People

▪ Separate the people from the problem Interests

▪ Focus on the interests, not the positions Options

▪ Invent multiple options looking for mutual gains

…what is the most challenging one for you to successfully accomplish/address/manage when facilitating inclusion and access?

Other Random but Related Concepts to Keep in Mind

What Faculty Want to Experience

The disability office cares about the professor’s concern and creating access Not just “pro-student” in all situations

The disability office is willing to be actively involved in a solution when necessary Seek win-win for all involved Support the faculty when necessary

Need to Ask Yourself…

What is in it for them?

Most people do not commit to things; they commit to people. And they typically commit to people who they believe care about them.

-- Adversaries into Allies

CRITICAL to Realize!!

If your request is not mandatory (and compliance is a generally weak and ineffective form of influence), you must give the other person a personal benefit for taking action.

-- Adversaries into Allies

Set the Stage

If you decide beforehand that a certain person is going to be difficult to deal with, chances are you will approach him or her in a more or less hostile manner, with your fists clenched ready to fight.

That person will probably rise to the occasion.

--Les Giblin

When Looking for Answers… Stop and listen. 

Try new things. Be open to different.

Be tactful and communicate that you are open to learning. May help them to remain open

Create lots of options and possibilities through questions and exploration

Wonder why

Communicate This Openness

Here is what I am reading and here is what I am thinking at the moment… What are your thoughts? What else

do I need to know about this situation?

I wonder if…

• In my opinion based on what I know at this moment, the best way to proceed may be…– NOT: It’s clear to me that you must…

• It seems to me, and I could very well be wrong, that the best course of action here…

• You know more about your class that I do. A couple of ideas that I have right now are…would either of these sense in this case? Let me know if you agree or disagree. Open to other options as well.

The Truth Behind Disagreements

Most arguments consist of battles over the 5 – 10% of the facts and stories that people disagree over. And while it’s true that people eventually need to work through their differences, you shouldn’t start there. Start with an area of agreement. Then build from there.

--Crucial Conversations

Even if there points on which you know you must disagree with the other person, always seek out some points on which you can agree. When you have established some ground, however small, on which you can agree, you will find it much easier to get together on those issues which you disagree.

-- Les Giblin

And if you find you disagree…

Does it really make any difference who is right and who is wrong?

Choose your battles wisely

Focus on the long-term as well as the short-term

Four F Approach to Disarming Feel

Acknowledge and validate feelings

Felt Share that you/others felt the same way

Found Here is how resolved in past by me/others

Find Offer to help find a solution

Email from a Professor Concerning Working with Disability Testing

I just received an email from your office that a student wants to take her test with you next week because she needs accommodations. I absolutely will not do this because I do not trust that you will keep my test secure and out of inappropriate hands. You will need to figure something else out.

Response to Professor Email Concern About Office Test Security

I agree that test security is an important aspect of the testing process. We value that also in our management of the accommodated testing system because faculty deem it is essential and have a number of measures in place I can review as beneficial to you.

It may be best for the student to test with us but that is not the only option. What would be the best way to coordinate this testing accommodation in this situation while maintaining a level of test security that matches your comfort? A couple of thoughts that I have that may work, based on what we have done with other faculty, include…what do you think? Or would you like to explore something else?

Positive without Pressure

Set a positive expectation that they want to help and do the right thing Changes your approach They subsequently may want to fulfill

expectation

Make sure there is no pressure to agree to your proposal/direction Keeps people from feeling defensive

If you want someone to take a certain action but don’t want them to feel like they are being forced or manipulated into it, the best thing to do is to communicate very clearly that they don’t have to take that action.

-- Adversaries into Allies

Example of Proposing An Attendance Accommodation

I understand that you do not think any accommodations are needed for your course. In reviewing all information, I am proposing one accommodation in the form of one missed lab. I think the opportunity to have one missed lab for health reasons would be appropriate to consider, especially since the syllabus lists the option to miss a lab with possible make-up due to university events. My thought is that the points would not be made up in this case but the final grade would be based on the remaining work done. I just wanted to suggest this as a possibility but please feel free to disagree if it does not make sense with the course design.

Something to Think About

Anything we say can be communicated more effectively and persuasively by not coming across in a dogmatic, know-it-all fashion but, instead, with the humility of one who honors the feelings and opinions of others.

-- Adversaries into Allies

Final Thought

Research suggests that we personally experience more joy and meaning through: Acts of kindness Generosity Putting others needs before our own

Traditional Student norm: How can I help you?

Traditional Faculty norm: This is what you need to do for me (and the student)