Assertiveness for Effective Management
12 June 2014
Read by 2600 persons
Management is not improvised. It's a daily set of attitudes that allows a group of people to produce results, or not.
In professional (but also personal) relationships, there are generally four ways to deal with the reactions of others: avoidance, aggression, manipulation, or self-assertion, also called assertiveness. It is this last attitude that gives the best results when one wants to manage effectively.
Here are some "assertive" techniques that will allow you to assert yourself in your professional environment and obtain better results in your daily management while respecting the person in front of you.
Be precise and dare to say "I"
All words that may create doubt in your interlocutor must be banned from the language: be factual and precise. Identify all the characteristics of your request, leaving little room for your interlocutor's imagination and doubt. Formulate your requests in the present tense and banish the conditional and the imperfect from your language.
Remove the too vague and imprecise "we" from your speech and dare to speak in the first person singular. Anticipate, get straight to the point, and be simple.
Don't argue at all costs
Assertiveness is the ability to communicate by affirming what we think. Asserting oneself requires respecting oneself enough to give oneself rights in relation to one's interlocutors (right to contradict, to express, to respond, to ask, etc.). It is also taking the risk of displeasing.
Don't argue constantly about everything and don't justify all your decisions. The important thing is to know what you want and how you can obtain it, from whom, and especially what it will bring you afterwards.
Listen and above all "manage negative reactions"
In assertiveness, we dare to speak, but in return, we must also know how to remain present to listen and to manage (if necessary) the feedback that the other addresses to us.
If your interlocutor responds negatively to your request, keep your cool and know how to accept the refusal. Don't get into conflict; they are free to say no without disrespecting you as a professional.
Whether you have received a favorable response to your request or not, always thank your interlocutor, either for their time, for their listening, or for the nature of the response given.
In summary
To effectively manage your teams:
• Be authentic and honest,
• Trust others and be trustworthy,
• Keep your cool in case of conflict.
An assertive manager knows how to assert their rights, give their opinion freely in a constructive way, and is responsible for their actions and decisions. Their relationships with others are relationships of trust, and they are comfortable in face-to-face interactions.
Thus, they are more listened to because their authenticity shines through. Their messages are heard, therefore remembered, and often applied. They hide behind nothing and nobody; they are "themselves".
Being assertive is daring to be yourself! It is also gaining more and more self-respect, respecting others, and therefore being respected. So, for harmonious relationships at work, but also in everyday life, "assert yourself" a little more. You will only benefit from it.
Philippe Montant
CEO of ReKrute
In professional (but also personal) relationships, there are generally four ways to deal with the reactions of others: avoidance, aggression, manipulation, or self-assertion, also called assertiveness. It is this last attitude that gives the best results when one wants to manage effectively.
Here are some "assertive" techniques that will allow you to assert yourself in your professional environment and obtain better results in your daily management while respecting the person in front of you.
Be precise and dare to say "I"
All words that may create doubt in your interlocutor must be banned from the language: be factual and precise. Identify all the characteristics of your request, leaving little room for your interlocutor's imagination and doubt. Formulate your requests in the present tense and banish the conditional and the imperfect from your language.
Remove the too vague and imprecise "we" from your speech and dare to speak in the first person singular. Anticipate, get straight to the point, and be simple.
Don't argue at all costs
Assertiveness is the ability to communicate by affirming what we think. Asserting oneself requires respecting oneself enough to give oneself rights in relation to one's interlocutors (right to contradict, to express, to respond, to ask, etc.). It is also taking the risk of displeasing.
Don't argue constantly about everything and don't justify all your decisions. The important thing is to know what you want and how you can obtain it, from whom, and especially what it will bring you afterwards.
Listen and above all "manage negative reactions"
In assertiveness, we dare to speak, but in return, we must also know how to remain present to listen and to manage (if necessary) the feedback that the other addresses to us.
If your interlocutor responds negatively to your request, keep your cool and know how to accept the refusal. Don't get into conflict; they are free to say no without disrespecting you as a professional.
Whether you have received a favorable response to your request or not, always thank your interlocutor, either for their time, for their listening, or for the nature of the response given.
In summary
To effectively manage your teams:
• Be authentic and honest,
• Trust others and be trustworthy,
• Keep your cool in case of conflict.
An assertive manager knows how to assert their rights, give their opinion freely in a constructive way, and is responsible for their actions and decisions. Their relationships with others are relationships of trust, and they are comfortable in face-to-face interactions.
Thus, they are more listened to because their authenticity shines through. Their messages are heard, therefore remembered, and often applied. They hide behind nothing and nobody; they are "themselves".
Being assertive is daring to be yourself! It is also gaining more and more self-respect, respecting others, and therefore being respected. So, for harmonious relationships at work, but also in everyday life, "assert yourself" a little more. You will only benefit from it.
Philippe Montant
CEO of ReKrute
