I had never really considered the definition of assertive behavior, nor had I ever contemplated my own assertiveness level. I generally think of assertiveness more as a state of being, not really something that I need to strive for. After reviewing Module One and researching assertiveness and assertion training, I realize that I have not Dbeen realistic about what assertiveness entails. According to Beagrie (2006), “Many people confuse assertiveness with being bossy, overbearing or aggressive. Being assertive is simply the ability to stand up for yourself, state your views, tackle issues up-front and, in many cases, stop others from taking advantage” (p. 24). I can admit that up until now, I was one of those confused people. I have often viewed assertive people as somewhat bossy and overbearing. Even when I have needed to be assertive, I have felt that people may view me in a negative way . In reality, I now see that there is absolutely nothing wrong with expressing how I feel as long as I continue to respect those around me.
I find the subject of assertiveness to be very interesting. Growing up, children are given so many rules and lessons. As little ones, we are bombarded with instructions on manners, conduct, and respect. So often we are taught how to treat others positively. However, parents and teachers often forget to teach their children about self respect. I do not believe that most kids are taught how to be assertive. Many adults become assertive by watching this behavior exhibited by superiors and those around them. Others view non-assertive people and vow not to develop these traits. Coming from a military family, I was taught to speak when spoken to when we had company. Offering my opinions and speaking freely...
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...aught how to become assertive. This would not only increase the success of each individual, it would also positively affect the firm as well. Accomplished employees with long lasting careers will likely amplify the achievements of the corporation as a whole. Assertive employees are bound to create positive and constructive relationships with customers.
Works Cited
Beagrie, S. (2006). How to…be more assertive. Occupational Health, 58(5), 24. Retrieved January 11, 2010, from Academic Search Premier database.
Gautam, M. (2005, February). Assert yourself to enhance success. Medical Post, 41(8), 23. Retrieved January 11, 2010, from Health Module. (Document ID: 805774641).
Raudsepp, E. (2007). Are You Properly Assertive?. Supervision, 68(2), 12-14. Retrieved January 13, 2010, from Business Full Text database.
I am an introvert by nature who approaches most everything from an analytical perspective. Although I consider myself a very positive person, many people, including my wife, tell me that my personality and delivery method often make me appear insincere or uncaring about a situation. While this calm demeanor works to my advantage in dynamic, high-intensity activities, like battle management in a combat environment, it clearly works to my disadvantage when dealing with people on a personal level. During my twenty-six year career, xxxOne mentor in my career. As a consequence, I have not spent enough time mentoring others. Fortunately, Air War College offers me plenty of ways to work on improving my personality and how I project myself to others. Being more self-aware mentoring opportunities, fostering relations with diverse , and learning from senior leader perspectives in seminar and
In my life I strive to be the best person I can be, I find myself always wanting to learn and grow. This comes from myself never wanting to become stagnate in life. If I can learn and grow from the people and the places around me I will become a well-rounded and efficient person in society. I have come to realize that t I have my fault in my communication and so do others. I think one of the biggest things I have to work on is transferring “You” statements into “I” statements. Working in law enforcement the “You” statement can get people fired up very quickly where as if I used an “I” statement it would probably make the situation allot better for everyone and make things move quicker.
The need for achievement regards an individual’s relationship with setting challenging goals, creating competitive scenarios, and overcoming difficulties. Setting goals and creating healthy competition between employees can bring the performance level back to normal, and even better yet surpass the usual level. The need for power regards an individual’s need to positively influence coworkers and improve their wellbeing by making a difference in their life. Having an impact on the lives of others has the potential to influence employee turnover rates and attendance. If an individual feels that they have power over another employee they will be more inclined to show up to work everyday and to stay at their current job for longer than they may have originally anticipated. The need for affiliation concerns the relationships that an individual needs to maintain positive, close, or intimate feelings with others. Positive, close relationships in the workplace make individuals feel as if they are truly a part of the organization and increase satisfaction levels amongst workers. These close relationships will help employees to fell that their work is appreciated within the organization and that there certainly are people who care how they perform at their jobs. Together, achievement, power, and affiliation all play an influential part in motivating individuals in the
Assertiveness is the ability to formulate and communicate one's own thoughts, opinions and wishes in a clear, direct and non-aggressive way. People who are assertive are often competitive and their behavior is goal directed. Though they play to win they also retain fairness and act in accordance with the rights of others.
... Although M.V. has much experience and knowledge over many of the staff members and interns, she must learn to handle conflict, as she often uses an authoritarian approach in solving many issues in her program. M.V.’s change towards mindful and empathetic will greatly increase her leadership ability to improve the program, as she will gain greater insight and improve happiness among the staff and interns. M.V.’s behavior of perceiving her staff and interns positively will assist their work ethic, Theory Y, as she will view them as self-motivated, liking work and accepting responsibility (Northouse, 2012). M.V.’s vision to improve the organization lies with her dedication in working for the agency for over a decade, but she may also find best practices to improve the organization with other great opinions from the staff and interns by being mindful of their feedback.
In chapter nine of Messages, assertiveness training is presented as a way “to express your feelings, thoughts, and wishes, and to stand up for your legitimate rights without violating the rights of others.” (McKay, Davis, Fanning, 2009, p. 125) According to McKay, Davis, and Fanning (2009), “assertiveness is a social behavior that can be learned” (p.125) Assertiveness that is presented in a way that is used to express ‘your’ feelings and not necessarily to interpret someone else’s connects directly with the single contingency method. As assumptions number four of the skills and tools model of communication states that communication skills are trainable like motor skills, assertiveness skills such as passiveness, aggressiveness, and assertiveness are presented in a way that may be taught to use in appropriate situations to depict your feelings and your wishes. The book differentiates between a skill that is similar to a personality trait, and assertiveness that can be acquired, which contradicts assumption number four because it suggests that learning to communicate is similar to learning jumping jacks. It also specifies that assertiveness is used to initiate your own message instead of another’s reaction.
This theory, founded by Stanford psychologist Leon Festinger, describes the mental state in which people feel when they have unpredictable thoughts relating to their decisions and the ability to change their attitude (Griffin, p. 200). This theory matters because its purpose is for people to find consistency in their beliefs, even if the situation is not consistent. When students are using nagging strategies and believe that their behavior is inappropriate or ineffective, they are experiencing dissonance (p. 317). Dunleavy and Martin found a way to reduce dissonance in students, by changing the students’ beliefs about general nagging behavior (p. 317). Having students perceive some of the nagging strategies as appropriate would help reduce their unpredictable thoughts, mostly because students would be much more comfortable knowing that this is the behavior they are displaying. For students to believe that their behavior is acceptable and appropriate is the main focus on reducing dissonance. As for instructors, Dunleavy and Martin suggest that they are not experiencing cognitive dissonance. Instructors are the ones who infer the behavior of the students, claiming that they would probably feel more comfortable in viewing the students’ behavior as less appropriate (p. 318).
The Japanese have their own ways of approaching and asserting themselves when it comes to business. According to Nishiyama (2000), it is difficult to approach a Japanese businessman without a proper introduction from an introducer (p. 44). It is also impossible to approach a Japanese businessman through letter or email, telephone call, or even paying a visit in person unless you have an appointment (Nishiyama, 2000, p. 44). If they really have to do business over a letter or phone call, they would start the conversation by apologizing first to the receiver because they feel that these techniques are too impersonal (Nishiyama, 2000, p. 45). They are cautious of choosing foreign business partners and hesitate to do business with someone without prior knowledge of their prospective partner’s credibility and reputation. If there was a situation where an aggressive salesperson comes without a proper introduction or appointment, that person will be politely refused (Nishiyama, 2000, p. 45).
ii.Usefulness of the skill in business; assertive leaders can create compelling vision and clearly define objectives and service quality standards. They make sure all team members are in sync with the organization 's goals so they all move in the same direction. For example two team members are having issues working together in a project. You approach one of them and express your concern but also your understanding of the situation. However you let this person know that the project needs to be completed by the deadline and you would like to meet with both of them to come up with a plan to get the project done.
...cation and motivation. Finally shared some thoughts on what are effective employees, successful managers, and exemplary citizens.
Assertiveness is defined as “the ability to express ones feeling, ask for what one wants, and say ‘no’ to what one doesn’t want” It is a desirable trait that resolves conflicts with ‘sensitivity, responsibility, and action.’ Assertiveness could be a learnt ability or be part of the personality of the beholder. In this investigation, the level in which assertiveness could be learnt, through observation, will be explored. The behavioural and cognitive components of assertiveness will be investigated to see how they will be affected by observation of assertiveness. Such information could be helpful for young adults in determining whether assertiveness could be learnt. It could also provide some information on the level of ease
I spoke earlier about creating a method in order to improve the workplace for employees in order to increase the success of an organization; this is a project that requires a lot of attention to detail and plenty of consistency. Being an individual with great recognition of detail and efficiency is something that this program needs because that is what the field of Human Resource Management and Development is all about. We need individuals in this field who pay attention to the details that others may miss out on, and individuals who are not afraid to keep going after a couple of failed attempts. If you are wondering why, it is simple because these are the people who at the end of the day to make a greater difference. Simply put, I know this because I have experienced it throughout my undergraduate career at Binghamton University, through my leadership role on campus by organizing forum, banquets and on campus events and it is something I hope to bring to the Human Resource Management and Development program here at
Being a leader for in almost any given situation has been an innate quality that I have possessed for as long as I can remember. I have always found myself nominating myself for leadership positions. My most recent and fulfilling leadership position would be my eleventh and twelfth grade school years when I held the position of Drum Major for Purnell Swett High School’s Marching Rams. Being in this position meant that I had to give up the spotlight of performance, turn my back to the crowd, and lead my fellow band members on and off of the field of competition, high school football games, and community parades. Over the course of these two years, I have learned many defining qualities about myself and have learned how to incorporate these newly learned and innate qualities to my everyday life. Throughout this two year experience the quality that I feel tested more than others, was the quality of patience. Often times before I held this position, I found myself becoming extremely impatient with individuals and situations when they would not go the way as planned or as smoothly as I had planned for them to go. This position taught me that not all situations are going to run smoothly and that we need to make the best of what we are presented with. It also taught me that not all individuals learn at the same pace, the same way, and at times do not handle individuals close to their own age giving instructions on how to complete a task. With this realization, I found myself trying to find methods of teaching that appealed to all individuals as well as found ways of not coming off as trying to force individuals to complete the tasks the way that I see fit.
There are various challenges faced and even more opportunities for organizational behavior to assist workers in improving the workplace as a whole, people skills, productivity, and customer service. Understanding and taking time to learn and educate one’s self is how attitudes develop and affect behavior is a key component to organizational Behavior. The bottom line is that the more tuned into the needs of its employees, the more successful a company is likely to become. A company will absolutely benefit a great deal so long as employees and management alike are able to control and monitor their attitudes for the appropriate
The behavior approach refocuses the interest from the traits to the leaders ' behavior. Leaders ' behavior becomes more important than their physical, mental or emotional traits. Ohio State University and the University of Michigan developed the two main studies of this approach in the late 1940s and 1950s. The studies have recognized two main behaviors: people-oriented and production-oriented behavior. According to the leader behavior approach, there are several behaviors that would be invariably effective for leaders, but empirical research does not show a strong relation between task-oriented or person-oriented leader behaviors and leader effectiveness.