Assertiveness at Work
Have you ever been told, “You need to be more assertive”? Perhaps someone has said, “Stand up for yourself!” or, “Tell me what YOU think!”
But what exactly is assertiveness? Assertiveness is a communication style. When we are assertive, we express our feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and opinions in a respectful, open manner that doesn’t violate the rights of others.
There are a range of other communication styles. One that violates the rights of others is aggressive communication. On the other end of the spectrum is passive communication, which violates our own rights. Sometimes, people use a combination of the two, resulting in a passive-aggressive style, where the person is essentially being aggressive, but in a passive or indirect way.
Understanding how to be assertive gives us choice in the way we communicate with others. Assertive communication promotes good psychological health, and better relationships.
Situations where you might need to be assertive at work:
- Asking for a pay rise or promotion
- Discussing your performance
- Appraising the performance of your staff
- Giving feedback to colleagues or supervisors
- Dealing with challenging or difficult behaviours
- Negotiating tasks and responsibilities
- Collaborating on a group project
Life Unlimited Assertiveness at Work participants will:
- Learn how to be an assertive communicator – express your feeling, thoughts, beliefs and opinions in an open and direct way
- Improve your communication, negotiation and conflict management skills
- Learn to say no without offending anyone
- Deal with criticism effectively
- Improve confidence and self-esteem
- Increase resilience
- Reduce stress and anxiety