The Pie Is Fixed

Rethinking the Business Partner Role Through a Distributive Lens

In negotiation theory, “distributive bargaining” is the classic win-lose scenario: a fixed pie, and everyone’s trying to grab the biggest slice. It’s the salary negotiation, the procurement standoff, the budget tug-of-war. But what if we applied this concept not to money or contracts, but to time? Specifically, the time of your Business Partners.

Whether in Finance or HR, Business Partners are often positioned as strategic enablers, bridging the gap between corporate functions and frontline execution. But here’s the rub: their time is finite. Forty hours a week, give or take. And yet, the demands placed on them by Sales, Operations, Marketing, and Supply Chain often exceed what’s available. The result? A silent, internal form of distributive bargaining, one that’s rarely acknowledged, let alone managed.

When everyone wants more than the pie allows

Let’s be blunt: many organisations still treat Business Partners as glorified service desks. Need a workforce plan? Ask HR. Want a new dashboard? Ping Finance. The assumption is that the Business Partner will absorb the work, regardless of whether it’s strategic, operational, or just plain grunt work.

But this model is unsustainable. As McKinsey notes in its work on strategic partnerships, the most effective collaborations are those where roles are clearly defined, and accountability is shared, not dumped. When Business Partners are overloaded with tactical requests, they’re pulled away from the very work that justifies their role: shaping decisions, challenging assumptions, and driving value.

The integrative shift: from “doing” to “enabling”

This is where the shift must happen, from distributive to integrative. In negotiation terms, integrative bargaining is about expanding the pie. In organisational terms, it’s about lifting capability across the board so that Business Partners aren’t the only ones holding the strategic lens.

BCG’s problem-solving approach emphasises hypothesis-led thinking and structured prioritisation. Imagine if Sales and Operations leaders applied that same rigour before escalating a request to HR or Finance. What if they were equipped to own more of the analysis, the planning, the decision-making? The Business Partner’s role would evolve, from doer to coach, from fixer to challenger.

What needs to change?

Here are three shifts CEOs and senior leaders should consider:

• Reframe the Business Partner role: Make it clear that their value lies in insight and influence, not execution. If they’re spending more time building spreadsheets than shaping strategy, something’s broken.
• Lift functional capability: Invest in upskilling leaders in Sales, Ops, and beyond. Teach them to fish, don’t just hand them the fish via Finance or HR.
• Prioritise ruthlessly: Use binary goals and clear decision rights to determine what gets done, what gets delayed, and what gets dropped. Not everything can be a priority.

Think before you grab (the pie)

Distributive bargaining isn’t inherently bad; it’s just a reality. But when it comes to time, especially the time of your strategic enablers, pretending the pie is infinite leads to burnout, disengagement, and missed opportunities.

So next time you’re asking your HR or Finance Business Partner for “just a quick thing,” ask yourself: is this the best use of their slice of the pie?

Because if everyone grabs without thinking, no one gets what they really need.

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Justin Miles

Manager Partner, Melbourne at Generator Talent

Justin is the Managing Partner of our Melbourne office, an outcome focused leader with a track record of driving business performance through proven talent and organisation development practices. Justin’s methods and skills have been shaped by working with performance oriented leaders in great companies including PepsiCo, The Campbell Soup Company, Diageo, Rip Curl, Fonterra and Wesfarmers, in Australia, the USA and Latin America.