Level Up Your Negotiation Game: The Power of Role Models
Apr 10, 2025
We all know that feeling: navigating the complexities of a negotiation can sometimes feel like juggling career-building, impossible expectations and the general chaos of adulting. Just as role models can be your secret weapon in your broader professional journey, they can also be pivotal in shaping your development as a skilled negotiator.
Inspired by Kingsley Johnson’s insightful guide for young professionals, let’s explore how those “impressive humans whose journeys make you think, ‘I want some of whatever they’re having!’” can help you improve your negotiation game—especially when combined with deliberate practice.
Role Models and Negotiation: A Natural Connection
Kingsley Johnson, founder of Kinetic People Development, credits much of his personal growth to his role models—from his karate-chopping dad to legendary footballers like John Barnes. Although these figures weren’t delivering lectures on negotiation tactics & techniques, they role-modelled perseverance, resilience, and learning through action—all essential traits in negotiation.
The same applies when it comes to mastering negotiation. You don’t need a role model to walk you through theory—what you really need is to see how someone negotiates under pressure, how they handle objections, and what they do when things go wrong. That’s where the magic of observation, inspiration and practising what you’ve seen kicks in.
Why Role Models Matter in Negotiation
Seeing Skill in Action
Watching a great negotiator at work is like watching a top athlete or performer. It’s not just about what they say, but how they say it. Their posture, pauses, questions, and ability to pivot mid-conversation can teach you far more than a textbook ever could.
Learning from Experience (Without the Stings)
Role models often share their mistakes and missteps—not just their wins. Learning from their “I’ll never do that again” stories gives you a kind of second-hand practice. And when you take that insight into your own negotiation club sessions, you’re better prepared to avoid the same pitfalls.
Building Confidence Through Familiarity
Seeing others handle tough conversations with confidence can be a boost to your own mindset. It signals, “This is learnable. This is doable.” When you combine that belief with actual hands-on negotiation practice, your confidence becomes grounded in experience—not just theory.
Discovering Your Style
Just as Kingsley learned from a range of role models with different strengths, negotiators benefit from exploring different styles:
- Are you assertive?
- Empathetic?
- Analytical?
Your role model might not look like you—but they might negotiate like you. That’s a powerful point of connection and growth.
Reinforcing the Power of Practice
The best role models don’t just talk about negotiation—they do it. Repeatedly. And that’s where negotiation clubs come in.
They provide the structure and space to take what you’ve seen in others and practise it until it becomes yours.
"Role models might light the spark, but practice keeps the flame going."
Try a FREE NEGOTIATION TASTER to practice your skills!
How to Turn Inspiration into Negotiation Progress
Inspired by Kingsley’s “Actually Useful Action Steps”, here are some concrete ways to make role models part of your negotiation journey:
1. Identify Your Negotiation Inspirations
Think of individuals whose negotiation skills you admire—leaders in your field, mentors, even colleagues. What makes them effective? Their calm presence? Their knack for asking great questions? Their timing?
Tip: Don’t limit yourself to celebrities or big names. Some of the best role models might be sitting across the table from you.
2. Seek Out Their Stories
If you can speak with them—brilliant. Ask them what they practised, what they still struggle with, and what they wish they’d known earlier. If not, read interviews, watch talks, or attend events where they share their experiences.
3. Observe, Note, and Try
The next time you observe a negotiation (live or recorded), take notes like a detective. What do they say? What don’t they say? How do they handle silences, surprises, or pressure? Then—here’s the key—practise that same moment in a safe space like a negotiation club session. Replication is the first step to mastery.
4. Experiment with Their Tactics
Try out a technique you’ve observed in your next practice negotiation. Maybe it’s the way they open, or how they summarise. Practice allows you to see how it feels and how others react. Over time, you’ll adjust it to suit your own negotiation style. That’s where role modelling becomes personal growth.
5. Reflect, Adjust, Repeat
After each negotiation (practice or real), reflect:
ā¶ļø What would your role model have done here
ā¶ļø Did your attempt at their technique work for you?
ā¶ļø What needs refining?
This learning loop—observe, practise, reflect—is at the heart of both The Negotiation Club and every top performer’s journey.
The Hidden Role Models in Negotiation Clubs
Negotiation clubs offer more than practice—they offer people to learn from. Your facilitator, your partner, or even the observer in the room might say something or do something that clicks. These moments are gold.
Even peers, with less experience, can become role models in micro-moments—because the best role models don’t have to be experts. They just have to do something you didn’t think of.
The power of the club setting is that you’re not just learning from your own experience—you’re learning from everyone’s.
Inspired Action Beats Passive Admiration
Kingsley Johnson reminds us that role models are meant to inspire action, not just admiration. The same applies in negotiation.
Watching a brilliant negotiator might give you a buzz—but it’s in the practising of what you’ve observed that real growth happens.
So go ahead—admire, learn, and then step into the ring. Practise like the pros do. Because negotiation isn’t a gift, it’s a skill—and skills improve with intention, reflection, and repetition.
And that’s what makes role models truly powerful. Not because they’re perfect—but because they show you what’s possible when you commit to the craft.
