Assertiveness at workplace enhances your image

“Never feel bad for being assertive, speaking your mind, and putting your foot down. What you think is anger, others see as a good solid display of self-esteem.”

 - Alison James

A quality that can see you through difficult people and situations at work – be they a domineering colleague, an imperious superior or a problematic group – is assertiveness. It is pertinent to note that being assertive is not at all about being hostile and belligerent. Assertiveness is actually a type of positive communication that can be learnt and applied to all areas of your life. It is the skill of knowing and defending your rights but at the same time understanding that others have rights too. If you happen to be confronted with a difficult person or a demanding condition, you could possibly respond with the following approaches:

· Bare timidity: This implies avoiding any form of disagreement and clash. Pending issues continue to rankle as monumental problems and remain unaddressed.   

· Tame bellicosity: You do not speak but opt to demonstrate your disagreements them through some actions. Violation of punctuality norms or working half-heartedly are some reactions that tame bellicosity promotes.

· Evident antagonism: You tend to react to situations by indulging in discourteous, intimidating and even abhorrent conduct. People get estranged and though may listen to you, bad feelings generated result in incomplete tasks. 

· Great assertiveness: If you go about with assertiveness, you will be able to see yourself through in all situations, including tough and confusing ones. You will succeed in acquitting yourself well and earn respect for not letting things get out of control.

Assertive people invariably promote sincere communications and cause things to happen by exercising good control over everything. As an attribute, it signifies self-assurance and superiority. It facilitates in deriving greater feelings of achievement and self-confidence. While at a workplace, assertiveness is essential for handling relationships, projects and concepts alike. Display of assertiveness is not a cakewalk by any chance and calls for intense preparation to deal with any situation.

When you assert yourself, your primary focus should be on arriving at a decision or solution by consensus. It is not about getting livid or making someone genuflect to your claims needs.  How can you be assertive at workplace? Some tips for apt demonstration of assertiveness are:

· Trust in your self-confidence: You can assert yourself with ease when you are convinced that your contributions are making a difference to your company. You need to harbour a conviction that you are as significant and vital as anybody else; and that nobody can have the better of you. The confidence that you display and the way you articulate your views should be professional.

· Have power over your feelings: Disenchantment, wrath and exasperation always result in passionate responses and retorts. These can serve to restrict your efficiency. If you do not have power over your feelings, you will be viewed as a weak personality. If you find that your emotions may take the better of you, a change of scene is recommended, in that you can take a walk in the corridor or simply gaze out of the window. But any tendency to communicate or respond expressively should be curbed.

· Have well-defined working parameters: It is up to you to let others recognise what your anticipations from them are all about; and what you are keen on and what you disapprove. Having well-defined parameters at work remove ambiguity from relationships and serves to reduce undesirable demeanour and conversations. But being forceful at all times is neither essential nor desirable because there are some situations that do not warrant interference and are automatically taken care of.

· Train & practise: Prior to any event like a seminar, discussion or meeting, you need to make preparations so that you can assertively make your point. You will need to deliberate over how you will introduce a subject, move on to crucial issues and take on questions by others. The more preparation you make, the more confidently you will acquit yourself.

· Use positive verbal & non-verbal communications: The manner in which you put across things is as vital as what you put across. Your non-verbal language should be guileless and others should understand that you are putting across valid points. You should be emphatic and speak in the first person to accentuate your standpoint. If you do not agree with a proposition, saying categorically so is the best option. Remember that having the power to decline or say “No” is a big asset.

·  Use discretion to handle matters: If you have an issue with any person, you must know how to tackle it straightforwardly. Rather than indulge in any form of tattletale and gossip-mongering, you should talk to concerned persons directly. If you go about sans intelligibility and lucidity, you could be perceived as belligerent, disorganised or off-course. Mounting your position with exactitude and blatancy is recommended.  

Your assertiveness is a sum total of your confidence, decisiveness, boldness and firmness. It facilitates your self-worth and self-regard in combination with your optimistic attitude in impacting your accomplishments and job contentment.