Being a good leader requires assertive leadership skills. Leaders who aren't forceful are divided into two groups: those who are too passive and those who are overly pushy. Either of these non-assertive communication approaches can be harmful.
Everyone who aspires to be a leader in any organization faces excessive expectations. Individuals who can effectively lead must be able to actively listen, empower others, establish a clear goal, foster collaboration, promote inclusivity, increase productivity, maintain focus, accept diversity, prioritize others' needs, demonstrate resilience, exhibit empathy and understanding, and inspire those around them. For many people, the problem is not in the hypothesis itself but in actively cultivating the habits and attitudes that will successfully steer them and others to positive outcomes. Fortunately, anyone can become a workplace leader. However, this journey begins with learning to lead oneself.
Meaning of an Assertive Leader
Conversely, forceful leaders are proactive, honest, straightforward, and explicit. They respect everyone they work with at all levels, respect themselves, and demand respect from others. Assertive leaders understand that healthy partnerships need compromise and reciprocity. Additionally, they moderately address their department's (or organization's) demands by keeping in mind that other departments' needs must also be satisfied in order to achieve the organization's overall goals.
Professionals with assertiveness look for win-win situations. Instead of seizing what they want without considering the interests of others (an aggressive approach) or avoiding the situation (a passive-aggressive approach), they resolve conflicts via negotiation and influence.
Since it works well in most circumstances, assertive leaders typically opt to act and speak in an aggressive manner. Still, the decision to be passive, aggressive, or forceful should depend on the circumstances.
The Benefits of Being an Assertive Leader:
Being a bold leader is critical because unassertive leaders have a negative influence on the following, but assertive leaders have a favorable affect on them:
Motivating the team
Collaboration
Productivity
Employee dedication to the organization's mission, goals, and vision
Passive leadership can have the following undesirable consequences:
Setting clear expectations.
Holding their employees accountable for set responsibilities.
Provide constructive comments.
Represent the needs of their workers and/or department.
The negative repercussions of having an extremely aggressive leadership style include staff members' incapacity to:
Share their thoughts.
Take action (lack of empowerment).
Notify their leader(s) of any faults or customer concerns.
Peers often avoid working with leaders due to fear. Aggressive leadership often results in negative consequences for both the team and the leader, including inefficient problem-solving.
Blocking team communication
Dominating
Stonewalling
Obstructing
Assertive behavior: what is it?
The key to assertive conduct is having the ability to communicate in a composed, polite manner. This is true for both spoken and unspoken forms of communication. Therefore, our behavior, word choice, and tone are all taken into account. When we are aggressive, we will voice our thoughts in a way that people are willing to hear. This is so that when we express ourselves in an aggressive manner, we take other people's thoughts and feelings into account. It really comes down to knowing how to voice your opinions without offending or frightening people.
Being brash is not always simple. We experience various emotions in different situations. These feelings have the power to alter our actions, words, and leadership styles. They alter our vocal intonation, our degree of anger, and our capacity to pay attention to and comprehend the feelings of others around us. When we use an aggressive attitude in our contacts, we are better able to maintain all of these components impartially and productively. In certain situations, it may be easier said than done, but it is a skill set that we can hone with experience and practice.
The Assertive Method vs. the Passive and Aggressive Methods
Therefore, in comparison to other tactics, what is assertive behavior? To illustrate the differences between the three behaviors—passive, aggressive, and assertive—we'll compare a few of them here.
Being assertive meansÂ
Speaking up without bothering other people.
Hearing the thoughts and opinions of others.
Considering the feelings of others.
Possessing the self-assurance to voice one's thoughts and opinions.
Willing to acknowledge other people's contributions.
Passive Attributes
The passive approach involvesÂ
Letting go of disagreement and accepting other people's decisions.
Focusing more on the feelings of others than one's own.
Prevent offending other people, always say yes.
Retaining their own thoughts and emotions private.
Letting others assume leadership and accountability.
Obeys the group's leader or group without question.
Aggressive Characteristics
Unfriendly Conduct:
Disregards other people's emotions.
So demanding that people complete tasks.
Might come out as impolite.
Makes a point of opposing viewpoints that are different from their own.
They don't appreciate others' contributions, but they want theirs to be acknowledged.
Employs menacing nonverbal cues to increase their visibility inside the group.
How Can Leadership Development Coaching Help You Become an Assertive Leader?
Leadership development coaching assists leaders in seeing their team's performance rise through an assertive approach. To have a greater beneficial influence on their organization's overall performance, they increase their capacity to adapt to the demands of employees and other departments, seek win-win solutions, and cooperate. Fortunately, most leaders are able to be more assertive. Even when things are going well, a leader who works with a leadership coach can:
Assess the attitudes, cultural viewpoints, beliefs, past experiences, ways of thinking, and routines that lead someone to behave passively or aggressively; evaluations may be used to help with this.
Change, lessen, or eliminate the causes of the behavior(s) that lead to passivity or aggression.
To be able to choose assertive conduct when it is appropriate, a leader must learn what assertiveness is and how to display it via word choice, tone of voice, gestures, and facial expressions.
Practice assertive behaviors.
Plan to use an assertive stance in both normal and difficult circumstances.
Teach you how to own your worth as a leader.
Investigate various contexts and interpersonal dynamics to identify innovative behavioral patterns.
Develop the ability to quickly intervene to change attitudes and choose forceful actions.
The primary distinction between assertiveness and aggressiveness is the constructive nature of the act at hand. If there is anger or manipulation for personal gain, a manager becomes aggressive rather than assertive. When you are assertive, employees are happier, more comfortable, and more productive when they believe they know their leaders and that they have the best interests of all stakeholders in mind. When leaders are sincere in their work environment, this happens.
When a manager exercises assertiveness, all team members are aware of expectations and the repercussions of subpar work. Your team will be able to count on you to voice your opinions and consider issues in light of your own and your company's values, as they will be able to identify and appreciate your opinions. You may learn everything there is to know about accomplishing this with the help of coaching.
Comments