Assertiveness in leadership

Assertiveness in leadership is a crucial leadership trait. To consider assertiveness as an essential communication skill for a leader, one must first look at the definition of assertiveness itself. Today, the concept of assertiveness is highly popularized.

Most people understand it as the ability to say “no,” which meaning shallows the essence of this construct. It is important to remember that assertiveness is at the same time the ability to say “yes” when it is in accordance with our beliefs. It is first mentioned by Andrew Salter. He says that assertiveness is a personality trait associated with the predominance of processes of spontaneous expression of emotions. Over the years, psychologists have created various definitions of assertiveness based on this primary one. What they all have in common, however, is the understanding of assertiveness as the ability to express, one's own beliefs, opinions, communicate feelings while respecting another's dignity.[1] Assertiveness has uniquely interested behaviorists. Behaviorism is a current in psychology heavily focused on external behavior and on learning desired behaviors through reinforcing stimuli. That's why researchers working in this current have developed assertiveness training, believing that it can be practiced. This is important information because it indicates that assertiveness can be learned. As research progressed, it was discovered that high levels of assertiveness lowered anxiety, which was then used to treat neurosis.

Chapter 1 Characteristics of assertive behavior.

In general, assertiveness is the skillful functioning in society while expressing one's own self and respecting the self of others. This skill is also referred to as the golden mean between submissiveness and aggression. Both of these extreme poles of behavior lead to an inability to form healthy interpersonal relationships. While aggression allows us to achieve goals, it is a short-lived effect. By intimidating others we do not inspire respect, but fear, so that at the earliest opportunity those we influence in this way will turn away from us. In contrast, by being submissive we deny ourselves the right to respect our own needs. By always putting others first, we will reinforce the idea that we are less valuable and our self-esteem will drop dramatically. Nor will we gain the respect of others in this way; they can unscrupulously take advantage of us if we give them permission to do so.

Nathaniel Branden is a psychotherapist and writer known mainly for his work on self-esteem. He became famous for his book “Honoring the Pillars of Self-Esteem.” One of those pillars is precisely assertiveness. Branden argues that self-esteem is a subjective feeling that is primarily influenced by ourselves. In order to build a strong sense of self-esteem, one must recognize one's right to have opinions and to experience feelings and emotions. Thus, assertiveness is a set of behaviors that allows you to maintain mental comfort and a sense of living in harmony with yourself. Which translates very strongly into high self-esteem.

Chapter 2 The role of assertiveness in the work of a leader

I think that at this stage the concept of assertiveness is much approximated. So it is now necessary to pay attention to the specific role of the manager in the company. A company is a hierarchical organization. Despite the modern approach in companies where a collegial relationship between staff and employees is proposed, some positions are subordinate to others. The manager's role, therefore, is to efficiently manage the team, plan activities, set goals and coordinate work. However, what a manager should start with is motivating employees to work efficiently focused on the goal. In order to motivate the team to perform, the manager must be a person with authority.[2] However, this should come from sincere respect and appreciation from the employees and not from, for example, intimidation. Behind solidly built authority are authentic relationships between employees. Working in a company is a team effort, in which the best results are achieved when all employees are involved. Such work requires completeness in the assignment of responsibilities. What can be considered a basic challenge in a managerial position is delegating tasks to other employees while building a sense of community. This can be difficult due to the fact that people in subordinate positions may exhibit a natural dislike of the decision maker because it somehow takes away their freedom of action. This is why the ability to behave assertively is so important for a manager. He must be able to express his sincere expectations of employees while respecting their dignity. He should be able to find the salty middle ground between submissiveness and aggression because either extreme behavior when demanded of a human team augurs failure.

Imagine that a manager decides on an aggressive behavioral strategy. He does so because he certainly obtains advantages by doing so. He can make decisions without waiting for approval from co-workers, he doesn't always have to take responsibility for mistakes, and he doesn't waste time discussing them with others. However, these benefits are short-lived and are replaced by less pleasant effects that linger. After some time, employees will lose motivation for their work, the boss's attitude also takes away their sense of agency, so they will not think of new solutions on their own, unhealthy rivalry may arise in the team to satisfy the ambitions of the staff, and in extreme cases employees will start looking for a new employer.

Now let's consider a situation in which the manager takes behavior from the other end of the pole, i.e. passive, submissive behavior. He may choose this strategy because, as with aggressive behavior, he is blinded by short-term gains. A submissive manager brings a friendly atmosphere to the team, employees do not feel pressure from the staff. The manager has a reputation for friendliness and understanding and a general feeling of being liked by his staff. He does not have to confront stressful situations such as conflicts, preferring to resolve matters even to his own disadvantage but in such a way as not to discourage others. There may even be situations when a manager prefers to perform tasks for co-workers instead of delegating too much to them. Superiors also benefit from this because a submissive manager does not question their decisions. After some time, the boss's ineptitude comes to the surface. Employees may begin to determine their own decision to continue working. They may lose respect for their superior and an informal group leader emerges who becomes much more decisive than the official manager. Avoiding conflicts can lead to their accumulation and escalation, making it much harder to resolve them than if they were not delayed.[3] Such a situation can be very bad for the mental well-being of the manager, which can result in his growing frustration and with it irritation or even outbursts of anger. Therefore, mastering assertive behavior is a key skill for team managers.

Janina Stankiewicz in her book “ Communicating in an organization” draws attention to the different attitudes in life, adopted by people. The author notes that some people choose harmful patterns of relationships where people put themselves above others, others above themselves or both themselves and others consider themselves of little value. At the same time, the book emphasizes that the only correct pattern of entering into relationships is to put oneself on an equal footing with others, which we can consider the basis of assertiveness. All the other above-mentioned relationship models cannot be satisfactory in the long run

In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts and effectively communicate one's opinion, one should replace “you” type messages with “I” type ones. This means that instead of pointing out to someone that he did something wrong, a manager can say how he feels about it. This way he won't violate the other person's dignity and at the same time the interlocutor won't be able to negate the manager's emotions, since they are inherently non-negotiable. In practice, this would mean that, for example, the sentence “ You filled out the report badly, you're sloppy” can be replaced by the sentence “ When you don't apply yourself to your work, I get annoyed because this translates into the performance of the whole team.” In the second sentence, the emphasis has been placed on the feelings that the employee's behavior evokes, rather than on the mere fact of his mistake. What's more, the reason for this was clearly stated-it was about a negligently executed report. This is a statement of fact-negligence of the entrusted duty. Such expressed criticism should still be supplemented by an explanation of what change is expected from the employee in this case it could read, for example: “ I expect that such behavior will not happen again.” Formulating criticism in this form clearly states the reason for dissatisfaction, however, in a cultured manner and while maintaining respect for the other person. It is also worth mentioning that a manager should also know how to praise employees. Piotr Gut notes that in some companies it is seemingly jokingly said that the reward is the lack of punishment, that everything is paid for anyway, as there are bonuses and commissions.

Chapter 3 Discussion of the research.

The relevance of assertive behavior in the context of a team manager has already been explained, so I think it is worthwhile now to consider how the situation looks in practice. For this purpose, I will refer to a study conducted on the management staff of the Regional Hospital in Elblag.[4] The study wanted to see whether variables such as age, gender, education, occupation and number of places of employment affect the level of assertiveness. Approximately 50 people working in managerial positions differing in the levels of the previously mentioned variables took part in the study. The study used two tools: a questionnaire to measure socio-demographic characteristics and the Assertive Behavior Questionnaire. The article that cited the results of the study reported that the average level of assertiveness in the study group was 110 points out of a possible 150. A gender difference was also revealed, with men achieving higher scores than women. As for the level of education, a difference was also revealed here, those with higher education are characterized by higher assertiveness than those with secondary education. Higher scores were also obtained by those for whom the Regional Hospital in Elblag was not the only place of employment. Age hardly differentiates individuals in terms of assertiveness levels. In the conclusions to the study, the respondents' opinions were collected about their qualities that help in a managerial position and those that hinder the job. The helpful ones include openness, ease of networking and organization, while the hindering ones include traits such as over-sensitivity and impulsiveness.[5] Although this study refers to hospital management positions and not to the position of manager, it is easy to see significant similarities in the responsibilities performed by the two professional groups. Therefore, I think that the results of the study, as it were, can be applied to the subject of this paper. Assertiveness can be learned, however, research shows that it is men who naturally have a greater propensity for it. Also, those with, higher education and more than one job also have higher assertiveness. Meeting these two conditions can translate into high self-esteem, as it indicates a successful life. As mentioned in the introduction, assertiveness is a pillar of self-esteem. Therefore, the tip for managers may be that they should first and foremost take care of their high self-esteem, as this very much translates into their positive interactions with employees.

Summary

This paper explains the term assertiveness and indicates what risks a non-assertive attitude entails. Passive and aggressive behaviors, despite the benefits they bring in the first moment, turn out to be harmful in the long run. A slice of reality was presented on the basis of the presented research. Thanks to which it is possible to consider with where there are differences between assertive people and those who are not characterized by this trait. Noting the differences, one can infer the sources of assertiveness. Some find it easier than others to enter into correct relationships, full of respect for themselves and others. This is probably influenced by a number of genetic and environmental factors on which psychology leans. What should be comforting, however, is the fact, mentioned in the introduction, that assertiveness can be learned. Nowadays, many companies provide soft skills training on assertiveness, among other things. This is a chance to improve one's competence in a managerial position. Therefore, it is worth taking advantage of them. However, it is also worth noting that assertive behavior benefits both bosses and employees. Assertive employees are bold in expressing their opinions on both projects implemented in the company and towards others in the company. This fosters a friendly and sincere work atmosphere. Employees who feel respect from the staff are much more committed to teamwork. The title of the paper indicates that assertiveness is an essential communication skill for a manager, and I think that by analyzing all the above-mentioned benefits of it, it is hard to disagree.

Bibliography:

Borowska, A. Assertiveness in personnel management.

Sobczak, M., Rakowska, K. Assertiveness of the manager. Report of a study on the level of assertiveness of the managerial staff of the Regional Hospital in Elblag. Via Medica.

Madyda. P.(2018). Assertiveness- in harmony with each other. Scientific Start

Dabrowska, M. Assertiveness as a key social competence of peripheral workers.

Dobrowolska, M. Assertiveness as an indicator of cohesion of selected social groups.

[1] Madyda. P.(2018). Assertiveness- in harmony with each other. Scientific Start.

[2] Dobrowolska, M. Assertiveness as an indicator of cohesion of selected social groups.

[3] Dabrowska, M. Assertiveness as a key social competence of peripheral workers.

[4] Sobczak, M., Rakowska, K. Manager's assertiveness. Report of research on the level of assertiveness of the managerial staff of the Regional Hospital in Elbląg. Via Medica.

[5] Borowska, A. Assertiveness in personnel management.

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