Assertiveness for Leaders

Assertiveness and Leadership

Assertiveness is an invaluable skill whether you’re a student, manager, professional or CEO; it enables you to communicate clearly, with confidence and is a key companion to professional growth and achievement.

For a leader, assertiveness is essential. You need an assertive style to foster respect not only towards yourself, but within your team(s) and to build and maintain a mutually respectful environment.

In what ways does assertiveness impact on your communication in a leadership role? As a leader you will need to be able to:

1. Ask and delegate clearly and with confidence
2. Refuse requests that are beyond budget, don’t align with the company mission or values, or are inconvenient eg. appeals for time off at the busiest time of year.
3. Make decisions, including difficult ones, & initiate changes in the face of resistance
4. Deal with difficult people and conflict rather than withdrawing and allowing differences to fester
5. Be able to give constructive feedback which may be challenging for the recipient as well as for you as the giver.

Overall, you will work towards building a climate of openness, trust, and collaboration. This involves enhancing the self-esteem, confidence and initiative among teams and individuals. You will have the confidence and self-esteem to encourage staff to share their ideas, to tackle difficult behaviours, and to reward (at least verbally) commitment and motivation.

To achieve this requires the will and ability to listen attentively to people’s ideas, needs and concerns, even to criticism of you and without getting defensive! It may be easy to hear, but to truly listen and understand the intention and feelings behind the words, is an important skill for leaders. Give your full attention and let others see that you’re listening to them. In a world where messages are often instant and brief, and on devices rather than in person, making time for great listening is a crucial aspect of assertiveness. Through listening people feel valued.

An assertive approach to management means reliance on the carrot not the stick, in dealing with individual staff and teams. Yet it also means understanding when to use push style and when to use pull style. Whilst generally staff are likely to feel more motivated by questioning and encouragement (pull style), when staff are junior, new or learning, guidance and direction can be productive (push style). Recognise which style will be most productive in a given situation and be aware when it’s the right time to change your style with an individual.

Be approachable; offer an open door at times whilst maintaining boundaries. As ‘coach’, ‘manager’ and leader you can have a huge impact on the ability of individuals and teams to work both independently and collaboratively and make a positive difference to the organisation.

If you would like to develop your assertiveness skills, you are welcome to arrange a free initial call for 20 minutes without obligation. This may be by phone or on Zoom whilst coaching sessions are over Zoom. My combination of coaching and 121 training can add quality to your life personally and professionally and enable you to achieve your goals. It will be adapted to you as an individual and your unique circumstances.