NFPA Executive Leadership Program Dives into the Art of Negotiation

The NFPA Executive Leadership Program is an in-depth and interactive program that helps emerging leaders in the fluid power industry develop their network and advance their management and leadership skills through tailored content. Its sessions are presented in collaboration with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, with Kellogg faculty helping to curate interactions among program participations.

A third cohort of scholars are now engaging in this program, with their third in-person session just completed in December 2024 at Kellogg on the campus of Northwestern University. The session’s focus was on Strategic Negotiation, with the participants engaging in lecture, discussion, and case study explorations.

Tools for Negotiation – Professor Nour Kteily

Not only is everything negotiable, but we are also negotiating all the time, even when we fail to realize it. In a sense, every conversation is a negotiation in which we are asking for and providing information, making requests, and fielding the requests of others, asking for and giving support. In each case, there is an implicit or explicit negotiation. In the best case, all parties optimize their outcomes because they are working to attain the interests of all. Sadly, that is rarely how things work out. In this active, experiential session, program participants:

• Gained an understanding of the subtle elements of negotiation
• Identified their negotiating tendencies
• Strengthened their negotiating approach
• Increased their negotiating tool kit

Negotiation in Practice – Professor Nour Kteily

Understanding the negotiating tools is essential, but more is needed to sustain success. Negotiating excellence requires practice, acknowledgement of blind spots, and deliberate effort to improve the nuanced skills necessary to succeed. In this case-based session, program participants:

• Had an opportunity to use new and familiar concepts
• Received feedback regarding the efficacy of their approach
• Created a game plan for improvement

This is a high-impact leadership development program, where each participant is using a customized leadership competency assessment to guide their progress through each session, and paired up with a learning partner to help ensure accountability and action between each set of sessions. The remaining three sessions for this cohort are:

Feb 2025 – Cultivating Culture, Values and Virtues

Apr 2025 – Presentations with Presence

Jun 2025 – Leading Under Pressure

Plans are already underway for a fourth cohort – scheduled to begin in August 2025. Now is the time to reserve a spot for your up-and-coming professional in this unique and impactful program. Contact Eric Lanke at elanke@nfpa.com for more information.