Key Management Development Models, 3rd Edition

MANAGING OTHERS

PART TWELVE

Assertiveness

There are three general approaches to work:

1. Aggressive – ‘Lie down while I kick you.’
2. Passive/submissive – ‘While I am lying down, why don’t you kick me?’
3. Assertive – ‘While I am around, nobody is going to kick anybody, thank you.’

Assertive people believe that they and others have a right to be treated with courtesy and respect, a right to be listened to and a right to be treated fairly. There is a big gap between submissive and assertive behaviour, but often a fine line between assertive and aggressive behaviour. Aggression can be passive (the sulky face, the muttered sarcastic remark) or active (the raised voice, the threatening body language). Assertive people are better liked, more trusted and, ...