11 Assertiveness Tips for Career Success

Could you benefit from some assertiveness tips?

At work, some people seem to get the results they want, whereas others just don’t. The answer often relates to assertiveness.

Assertiveness is a subtle art, which some people seem to master naturally. The rest of us muddle our way through, acting in unassertive ways for much of the time. Sometimes things go our way, but that is somewhat due to chance. Are you dealing with being unassertive? My online course on assertiveness skills is just what you need, click here to access it.

Assertiveness skills at work

The great news is that assertiveness can be learned and enhanced. I share some of my favorite assertiveness tips with you below.

What is assertiveness?

Assertiveness is the quality of being self-assured and confident without being aggressive.

It means standing up for our personal rights: expressing our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in direct, honest & appropriate ways.

Assertiveness also strives to respect the thoughts, feelings & beliefs of other people.

However, it’s often misunderstood and confused with other communication responses i.e. aggression, passiveness, and passive aggression.

Assertiveness skills can be misunderstood

Aggression

Aggression is typically directed toward someone else. Their rights and self-esteem are undermined in the process.

Passiveness

This is responding in a passive or non-assertive way, for example, simply complying with the wishes of others. It can undermine individual rights & self-confidence.

Passive–aggression

This is characterized by a pattern of indirect resistance to the demands or requests of others and an avoidance of direct confrontation.

Assertiveness

Standing up for our personal rights – expressing thoughts, feelings & beliefs in direct, honest & appropriate ways. It also strives to respect the thoughts, feelings & beliefs of other people.

Be assertive at work

There are many reasons why being assertive can be beneficial.

Assertiveness can improve our own self-awareness, helping us to understand our strengths and weakness, but also what we are looking to achieve from a given situation. It helps to ensure our needs are understood and improves the chance of having them met. It can improve our understanding of other people, enabling better communication and often also improving relationships as a result.

Further benefits are that assertiveness can increase our self-confidence and reduce stress.

When acting assertively, we feel confident, empowered, energized, self-assured, in control, respected, and heard. This can ultimately impact how effective and successful with are at work.

Assertiveness for career success

What affects our assertiveness skills

Factors affecting our assertiveness can be summarised into 3 main areas: ourselves, other people, and situational factors.

How do we influence our own assertiveness

Clarity over our desired outcomes is critical. So too are beliefs that we hold about ourselves, the situation and the others concerned.

The time available, previous experiences, and immediate goings-on can also play a part.

We shouldn’t underestimate how our health, feelings, emotions, energy, and stress levels can affect how assertively we behave.

Other people’s impact on our assertiveness

As assertiveness is a communication response, there is always someone or something (a person, a group, or an organization) involved. Our previous interactions with them could also affect us.

Factors include who we’re dealing with, how well we know them, what we know about them, and potentially what we don’t know about them!

How the other person acts or behaves, their state (mood, health, emotions), and other triggers.  Their agenda, responsibilities, duties, and the options available to them may also be of importance.

Finally, there could be other people outside of the immediate situation that can provide validation and support. Make sure that these are trusted sources rather than listening to people who could negatively impact our assertiveness.

Situational impacts on our assertiveness

Our assertive levels may also depend on the situation itself. What the situation is, how important it is to you and others, what the consequences may be, and who else is impacted.

The timing could also be important, including what’s come before and how much time we have available. The time of day could also be a factor.

Clarity around the situation and any facts, as well as clarity of the outcome you seek. Any issues of judgment could also impact our confidence and ultimately our assertiveness.

11 top assertiveness tips for career success

10 Assertiveness Tips

Many of us could do with boosting our assertiveness in different situations. Try these ideas:

  1. Take responsibility for your own communication responses
  2. Identify and model others who act assertively
  3. Build our personal self-awareness
  4. Know what we want and set clear outcomes
  5. Look at the situation to understand different perspectives
  6. Set your environment to give you the best chance of success
  7. Be clear and concise
  8. Rehearse conversations
  9. Stay calm
  10. Remain respectful
  11. Take my assertiveness skills online course.

 

Wrap-up

Assertiveness is the quality of being self-assured and confident without being aggressive, this can be within your work or home life.

It ensures our needs are understood and improves the chance of having them met. It can improve our understanding of others, enable better communication, and can improve relationships as a result.

The great news is that assertiveness skills are muscles that can be strengthened. I hope you enjoyed the assertiveness tips I shared above.

I know what I’m planning to do. What steps will you take to improve yours?

 

Thanks for reading. Check out other Blue Diamond articles to help you take control of your work and life.