What Shiv Roy Can Teach You About Winning High-Stakes Negotiations
Inside Succession’s most brilliant negotiation — and the lessons you can steal from it
Succession is one of my favorite series of all time. I’ve watched it four times already, and every single time I’m blown away by how brutally realistic its portrayal of a multi-billion-dollar corporation is.
At the heart of it all is Waystar Royco, the fictional media empire run by the ruthless Logan Roy. Modeled after real-life media conglomerates (think: News Corp, Disney, and Comcast), Waystar is a battlefield of corporate backstabbing, power struggles, and high-stakes negotiations.
But beyond its corporate realism, what makes Succession truly legendary is its characters — deeply flawed, razor-sharp, and endlessly compelling.
One of the most fascinating? Siobhan “Shiv” Roy.
The only daughter in a family of power-hungry businessmen, constantly balancing ambition and loyalty.
A master manipulator, yet frequently underestimated both by her father and her brothers.
A liberal navigating a deeply toxic, male-dominated empire.
There are a lot of memorable moments with Shiv. But one particular scene in Season 2, Episode 9 stands out as a masterclass in negotiation.
Faced with one of the biggest scandals in Waystar history, Shiv is thrown into a last-minute, high-stakes negotiation, one where she has zero preparation and everything to lose.
And against all odds? She wins.
Let’s break down how Shiv did it. How she took control, manipulated the conversation, and walked away victorious.
The Background – What Was at Stake?
Waystar Cruises Scandal: A Disaster Waiting to Explode
Before we break down the negotiation itself, we need to understand why this moment mattered.
The Waystar Cruises scandal was one of the biggest threats the company had ever faced. For years, Waystar executives had:
Covered up sexual misconduct and assault on their cruise ships.
Silenced victims with NDAs and hush money.
Buried internal reports, with a huge assist from Tom Wambsgans (Shiv’s husband).
Now, the truth was about to explode.
A Congressional hearing was underway, and Kira, a key witness, was ready to testify. If she spoke out, Waystar Royco would face lawsuits, regulatory probes, and a PR nightmare that could sink the company.
Shiv’s Moral Conflict: The One Roy Who Actually Cared?
Here’s what made this negotiation so gut-wrenching: Shiv wasn’t like the others.
Among the Roy siblings, she was:
The only one who seems genuinely disgusted by the scandal.
The only one with real political ideals.
The only one who (deep down) agreed with Kira.
For Shiv, this wasn’t just business. She knew Waystar was guilty.
So, when she was ordered to convince Kira to back down, it wasn’t just a negotiation. It was a test of how much she was willing to betray her own beliefs. Would she stand by her values? Or do what was best for the company (and her future as a candidate for CEO of the company)?
In the end, she chose the company.
But what made it worse? This wasn’t even supposed to be her fight.
Rhea Jarell’s Last-Minute Betrayal – Shiv’s Do-or-Die Moment
Originally, Rhea Jarell, the newly appointed CEO-in-waiting, was supposed to handle this negotiation. She was the one with the experience, the authority, and the trust of Logan Roy.
But in classic Succession fashion, she backed out at the last minute. Suddenly, Shiv found herself alone, facing one of the most critical conversations in Waystar’s history with zero preparation.
This moment was pivotal. Shiv had no safety net. She couldn’t defer to her father, rely on corporate lawyers, or hide behind a boardroom full of executives. It was just her, Kira, and the truth.
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu describes a concept called “death ground”, a situation where retreat is impossible, forcing an army to fight with unmatched intensity: “When you leave your men no option but to fight, they will give their last full measure of devotion.”
By pulling out at the last minute, Rhea unknowingly placed Shiv in her own "death ground."
This wasn’t just a negotiation. This was a survival test. And Shiv knew that.
Rhea tells Shiv that she doesn’t have to do that. However, Shiv was resolute:
“If she speaks and she’s compelling… then that’s it for my family’s company. So… yeah. I do have to.”
And against all odds, Shiv delivered one of the most precise, controlled negotiations in the series.
Without a plan, she relied purely on instinct.
Without support, she sharpened her persuasion skills.
Without an escape, she fought until she won.
Sometimes, being pushed into a high-pressure situation forces us to tap into strengths we didn’t know we had. True leaders thrive under fire.
Now, let’s break down exactly how she did it.
Scene Breakdown – How Shiv Made Kira Doubt Herself
📌 Step 1: Creating the Illusion of Power
From the moment Kira realizes Shiv has replaced Rhea, she’s uneasy. She expected to negotiate with a CEO, not the daughter of Waystar’s patriarch.
Shiv senses this discomfort immediately and instead of confronting it head-on, she disarms Kira with empathy.
"Just trying to understand what we did wrong and how I can fix it."
Right out of the gate, Shiv’s approach is surgical:
She frames herself as an ally, not an adversary.
She listens instead of imposing.
She validates Kira’s anger instead of dismissing it.
This first move is critical because it subtly shifts the power dynamic without Kira even realizing it.
At first, Kira tries to dismiss Shiv outright, but Shiv doesn’t push back.
Instead, she does something unexpected:
She takes off her shoes.
She waits patiently as Kira checks on her son at the playground.
She casually confesses that her own father “screwed her over” recently.
By dropping her guard just enough, Shiv doesn’t feel like an executive here. She feels like someone Kira can relate to. And it works.
Kira’s resistance starts to crack. She lets out her anguish about Waystar’s harassment, but still hesitates.
And Shiv’s response? She doesn’t get defensive. Instead, she leans in, agrees, and she makes a play that shifts the entire conversation:
“I wanna fire these bastards. And I want you to help me.”
Instead of fighting Kira, Shiv makes her feel like part of the solution.
Instead of defending Waystar, she reframes herself as a reformer.
Instead of dismissing Kira’s concerns, she validates them — then redirects them.
Kira still believes she’s in control, but now, with a crucial difference: she’s open to listening.
💡 Lesson: The best negotiators never start with force. They make the other person feel like they have the power, even when they don’t.
📌 Step 2: Reframing the Negotiation – Giving the Illusion of Choice
Once Kira is comfortable, Shiv redirects the conversation with a simple but powerful question:
“What do you actually want to happen?”
This is where the negotiation truly begins. Instead of trying to force Kira into a decision, Shiv makes her reflect on her true goals. Kira doesn’t just want to punish Waystar, she wants people to know the truth.
Shiv doesn’t fight against that. She aligns with it. Rather than telling Kira that testifying is a bad idea, Shiv now knows that there might be other ways to get what she wants:
Public recognition without the personal risk.
Justice without being torn apart in the media.
A resolution that doesn’t leave her alone in the fight.
This is a brilliant tactic in negotiation: when you understand what the other party actually wants, you can offer alternative ways to fulfill that desire, ones that benefit you as well.
💡 Lesson: The best negotiators don’t reject the other party’s goals. They redirect them in a way that still serves their own interests.
📌 Step 3: Planting Seeds of Doubt – The Power of "What If"
But Shiv isn’t going to introduce the alternatives yet. First, to guarantee that her offer will be accepted, she needs to plant doubt.
She doesn’t tell Kira to back out. Instead, she agrees with her, but then introduces consequences:
People will doubt you and say terrible things about you.
Your life is going to get ripped apart.
You’ll be ‘kind of famous’ for a couple of days, but then “the caravan moves on”.
People will find pages and pages of filth and lies when they Google you.
At no point does Shiv say, “You shouldn’t testify.” But she doesn’t need to. By layering pressure and painting a bleak reality, Shiv lets Kira come to her own conclusion, that maybe this isn’t the right fight to take on.
This is the turning point where Shiv’s strategy becomes truly effective: she never explicitly threatens Kira, but she subtly implies the worst. The media will tear you apart, your career could be over, and so on.
Shiv lets Kira’s own fears do the work for her and to make her second-guess herself.
💡 Lesson: The best way to change someone’s mind isn’t by arguing. It’s by giving them the tools to argue with themselves.
📌 Final Step: Closing the Deal Without Cornering
After planting doubt and fear, Shiv doesn’t apply more pressure. Instead, she finally uses the information she learned on step 2 to give Kira a way out.
Instead of pushing her into submission, she asks one simple question:
“So, what is it that you are trying to get?”
In the beginning, Kira was ready to testify. Now, her entire frame of thinking has shifted. She isn’t just thinking about speaking out, but also about what comes after.
Then Shiv offers an alternative path:
Compensation (book deals, money, financial security)
The promise of justice (taking down the real abusers)
A safer way forward
She reframes silence as the smarter, more strategic decision.
By the end, Kira believes this is her own choice, but in reality, Shiv led her there. But Shiv’s masterstroke isn’t just the offer. It’s what she replies when Kira asks if she can be trusted:
“You can’t trust anyone. You just have to be smart. So, listen to everyone and make an assessment. ‘Cause frankly, I want what’s best for me. But the other people? The folks who want you to get up there tomorrow and get pulled apart? They want what’s best for them. You need to think about what’s best for you.”
This seals the deal because it’s brutally honest.
Shiv doesn’t try to prove she’s trustworthy. Instead, she acknowledges that no one is.
She shifts the responsibility onto Kira. Now, Kira isn’t being manipulated. She’s “thinking critically.”
She frames the congressmen, the press, and even Kira’s own allies as self-interested players.
This is where Kira folds. However, she doesn’t feel like she lost. She feels like she made the smart decision.
💡 Lesson: The best negotiators never make you feel like you lost. They make you feel like you won.
Conclusion – Why Shiv’s Negotiation Was So Effective
Shiv Roy didn’t just convince Kira to back down. She made her believe it was the right choice, on her own terms.
Her strategy was extremely effective because she:
Gave Kira the illusion of control while subtly steering the conversation.
Planted doubt without ever directly telling Kira what to do.
Used fear without making explicit threats.
Framed silence as the "smart" choice, not as surrender.
This is where great negotiators are made.
It’s not about forcing someone into submission. It’s about making them believe that your outcome is in their best interest.
Whether in business, leadership, or high-stakes deals, power doesn’t come from talking the loudest. It comes from shaping the conversation so the other person sees things your way.
In the end, Shiv’s negotiation was masterful… but next week, we’ll take a look at the other side of the coin to learn what not to do. Stay tuned for examples coming from her brother, Kendall Roy.
In the meantime, I want to hear from you:
Have you ever witnessed negotiation tactics like this in real life?
If yes, what worked and what backfired?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. I would love to read them!
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