WTF happened to Leadership. Negotiating through Chaos

Time to read: 4mins

This Is Your Inside Edge: If the sh*t is hitting the fan and you need work fast to solve a challenging situation.

WTAF?

You haven’t heard from me for over two weeks.

I woke up from a nightmare. I thought I was in the audience watching a sh*t show unfold, but then I realised I wasn’t just watching. I had a role to play on the main stage.

Here’s the Context

(at least, as much as I can share)

I’m working with a leadership team where communication has completely broken down.

The result?

Key decisions were made without alignment.
The wrong people were left out of critical conversations.
Now, leadership is scrambling to make sense of the fallout.

And just to make it even messier:

Some team members aren’t on speaking terms.
Others have tapped out, overwhelmed by the volume of work involved in untangling this.
There’s no plan, no communication strategy, and no clear roles and responsibilities.

What a sh*t show.

My Role?

Clean up the fallout without making it worse

Truthfully, I wanted to opt out.

But I also knew I was the person they needed, the one who could clean this up in a way that actually keeps things clean.

This isn’t training others in negotiation theory.

This is execution. Real-time, high-stakes, get-it-done negotiation.

And while my diplomacy is being tested to its limits, I’m seeing exactly how untrained professionals default when they’re in deep sh*t:

Avoidance – If I bury my head in the sand long enough, maybe it’ll just go away.
Accommodating – Let’s just agree to whatever keeps the peace.
Dealing – Can we renegotiate the details but avoid confronting the bigger issue?

Inner Strategy

Cleaning up the internal mess

For the past two weeks, I’ve been working inside the chaos. Only now do I feel like I’m coming up for air.

What’s needed when everything is falling apart?

Bringing key parties to the table, even the ones that didn't want to be there
Uncovering the facts: what’s been agreed, what’s binding, and what’s assumed.
Mapping out scenarios and alternative pathways, because there’s always more than one way forward
Assessing power balance and leverage: who holds influence and how to use it wisely
Defining clear roles and responsibilities, because uncertainty breeds inaction

The Result?

Communication is happening
Decisions are being made with clarity
Trust is being rebuilt, slowly
The team is walking away with lessons that will stop this from happening again

But let’s talk outer strategy, because negotiation isn’t just about what happens behind closed doors.

Outer Strategy

Navigating the external negotiation

While this situation involves financial and operational decisions, the real negotiations happening behind the scenes are even bigger.

Because every conversation, every agreement being reached, is a negotiation.

So how do you negotiate when everything is already a mess?

Here’s the external strategy I’ve been using.

1. Control the narrative

Mistake: Reacting emotionally, defending past decisions, or pointing fingers

Strategy: Reframe the conversation from “who screwed up” to “what’s the best way forward”

Language Shift: Instead of “Why did this happen?” → “How do we make this work for everyone involved?”
Leverage Fact-Finding: Before making any commitments, ensure you control the information. Gaps in knowledge = gaps in power

2. Leverage the power of options

Mistake: Feeling like you have to take the deal on the table

Strategy: Create multiple pathways, because the first offer is never the best offer

If accepting the situation as it stands isn’t an option, what alternatives exist?
If leadership wants to push back, what’s the real cost of that battle?
If restructuring the agreement is possible, what new terms do we need?

If you only have one option, you’re trapped. Negotiators create alternatives.

3. Understand what the other party actually wants

Mistake: Thinking the other side just wants to "win."

Strategy: Get inside their world

What’s their real priority? Stability? Reputation? Future influence?
What pressures are they under? Are they dealing with their own leadership conflict?
What incentives could make them flexible? A compromise? A phased approach? Rebuilding trust?

Negotiation isn’t about fighting over one thing, it’s about broadening the conversation.

4. Negotiate the relationship, not just the deal

Mistake: Treating this like a one-off transaction

Strategy: Negotiate in a way that strengthens, not destroys, the relationship

If you push too hard, do you lose trust?
If you accommodate too much, does it set a dangerous precedent?
Can this negotiation create better conditions for working together in the future?

Because the real win isn’t just fixing this mess, it’s ensuring it doesn’t happen again.

5. Win the internal negotiation first

Here’s the real kicker.

The hardest negotiation wasn’t with the external parties.
It was within the leadership team.

If they couldn’t get on the same page, no external negotiation would work.

Getting people to pull their weight? A negotiation
Aligning on a way forward? A negotiation
Navigating egos and power plays? The hardest negotiation of all

Inner + Outer Negotiation

The real game

At the core of this whole situation is this simple truth.

Your inner negotiation determines your outer negotiation.

If you’re negotiating with yourself, doubting your position, or avoiding discomfort, you’ll show up weak

If you don’t own your voice, you’ll get drowned out by stronger players

If you don’t believe you can negotiate, you’ll accept less than what’s possible

What About You?

Where do you need to clean up your inner negotiation so you can execute better external negotiations?

Because the deals you make out there start in here.

What’s the negotiation you need to have this week?

Until next week, keep going and keep growing.

Warmest,

Glin

'Together We Create More Valuable Agreements'

WTF happened to leadership and how to negotiate through chaos