The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. This presentation is on "Assertive Roles at Work".

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
ASSERTIVENESS
Assertive Roles at Work

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
The Course Topics series from Manage Train Learn is a large collection of topics that will help you as a learner
to quickly and easily master a range of skills in your everyday working life and life outside work. If you are a
trainer, they are perfect for adding to your classroom courses and online learning plans.
COURSE TOPICS FROM MTL
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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
ARE YOU READY?
OK, LET’S START!

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
INTRODUCTION
There are a wide range of roles at work that can be
successfully enhanced by assertiveness. These roles range
from chairing a meeting to negotiating with others to caring
for customers. In each case the success we have relies on
building understanding, communicating our ideas,
respecting the needs of others and reaching conclusions
that meet all sides' aims. Assertiveness is the route that
makes all this possible.

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MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE APPRAISER
Appraisers carry out the role of reviewing and assessing
other people's work and performance. Managers may do
this as part of a performance appraisal scheme or when
giving feedback after a piece of work. It is a role that can
easily lead to criticism and a downward spiral of hostility.
Assertive appraisers...
1. take their duties seriously and discharge them with care
2. avoid judging others
3. recognise that nobody can perform well all the time
4. aim to measure performance objectively not
subjectively
5. value the person's own opinion of their work as far
more relevant than their opinion
6. say nothing unkind
7. do far more listening than talking
8. are skilled in giving constructive feedback
9. see their role as helpers not critics.

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE BOSS
The "boss" is the figure who inspires more emotions than
anyone else at work. These range from anger, fear and panic
when things go badly to euphoria and high self-esteem
when they go well.
Assertive bosses...
1. recognise the huge responsibility that comes from
directing the affairs of others
2. do all they can to gain respect for themselves, their
position and the organisation
3. never have favourites
4. never spread gossip and rumour about others
5. never breach confidentialities
6. never speak unkindly or derogatively about others
7. know that, while their position gives them authority, it
is their behaviour that gives them respect
8. do not use their position for personal advancement.

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE CHAIR
A chair is the man or woman who conducts team meetings.
He or she is the one person who most influences the feel of
the meeting and whether it achieves its aims.
Assertive chairs...
1. acknowledge the need for the meeting to have
structure as well as the rights of people to have their
say
2. bring the meeting to order, set the right tone, move
things along briskly and close in a business-like way
3. keep the aims of the meeting in front of them at all
times
4. balance the contributions that people make, if
necessary by shutting down the talkative and
encouraging the reticent
5. actively seek out minority views
6. intervene if things get heated or out of hand
7. help anyone who has difficulty expressing themselves
by re-interpreting what they say and checking with
them.

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATOR
Communicating is the lifeblood of organisational life.
Effective communicating means keeping people informed
and building better and better relationships with others.
Assertive communicators...
1. aim first to understand, then be understood
2. respect other people's views
3. try to be sincere, truthful and correct, while recognizing
that sometimes business requires discretion, tact and
silence
4. ensure that, when passing on information, the message
sent is as near as possible the message received
5. when people get the wrong end of the stick, it is not
their fault but something that went wrong in the
communication
6. work hard at improving their interpersonal contacts
7. prefer to get in touch rather than leave people
wondering what's going on
8. know that business is a contact sport.

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE COUNSELLOR
Counselling is an attempt to deal with workplace problems
by helping others to become aware of problems, accept
them and take steps to change. Its success depends wholly
on the skill of the person conducting the counselling.
Assertive counsellors...
1. aim to create an environment where people can talk
openly and without fear of ridicule or condemnation
2. use supportive listening to help others gain insight
3. have patience when people are struggling to come to
terms with difficult personal issues
4. do not judge or belittle
5. respect what others tell them as confidential
6. do not shy away from confronting others with problems
that need to be faced, particularly those to do with
performance and workplace responsibilities
7. know when they have to stop and refer people on.

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE CUSTOMER-
CARER
Those who are in front-line customer-handling jobs are
often required to face difficult, aggressive or upset
customers. It is a role that requires a range of skills, at the
heart of which is assertiveness.
Assertive customer-carers...
1. respect the right of customers to expect the product or
service to be all it claims to be
2. apologise if there have been mistakes and then take
responsibility to put things right
3. do not meet anger with anger but deal with anger
calmly, patiently and with understanding
4. do not blame colleagues if anything has gone wrong nor
make them responsible for putting things right
5. let the customer know things can be put right
6. attempt to repair any damage done to the business by
seeing that something can be done for the customer.

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE DECISION-TAKER
Decision-taking is a key activity in the workplace as it is in
life. The difference is that in the workplace, the
consequences of a bad decision may have wider
repercussions than those we take elsewhere.
Assertive decision-takers...
1. take responsibility for decisions they make
2. do not blame others when things go wrong but let go
lightly and learn from the experience
3. recognise that decision-taking is not a fool-proof activity
and may result in failure as well as success
4. involve others in decisions that affect them
5. are ready to admit that, in the light of changing
information, they may need to re-assess and even
change their minds
6. own up to bad decisions they have taken and are ready
to re-trace their steps to put things right.

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Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE EMPLOYEE
In the past, the employer-employee relationship was akin to
that of master and servant. The one gave orders and the
other carried them out. Today all that is changing.
Assertive employees...
1. recognise that they have rights as well as
responsibilities at work
2. know that they have no automatic right to belong to the
team unless they are also making a contribution to it
3. recognise that the way they relate to others has a
bearing on how work is done and what it feels like for
others to work with them
4. avoid the "Them and Us" attitudes with management
5. report problems with their work quickly and accurately
6. represent the organisation to customers as best they
can
7. play a full part as members of their team.

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Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE JOB INTERVIEWER
The job interview is a classic workplace situation in which it
is sometimes thought acceptable to act aggressively
towards others. This tactic, however, invariably fails.
Assertive job interviewers...
1. understand the stress candidates are under and do
what they can to create a relaxed environment
2. don't ask questions that try to trick candidates
3. are courteous and respectful
4. keep control of the pace and direction of the interview
5. encourage candidates to be open and honest by being
open and honest themselves
6. put their questions briefly and clearly
7. refuse to be misled, browbeaten or deceived
8. stick to points that they are unclear about until they get
the answers they need
9. are willing to help candidates who are struggling with
answers.

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Assertive Roles at Work
Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE LEADER
Leadership is the key difference to how teams and
organisations perform. The effective leader inspires and
motivates others and does this through their own example
and behaviour.
Assertive leaders...
1. articulate the goals, values and beliefs of the team
2. set an example to the rest
3. do not shy away from responsibility in difficult or
dangerous circumstances
4. do not ask others to do what they themselves wouldn't
do
5. are ready to take the blame when things go wrong but
see the team praised when things go well
6. know when to be aggressive to get the best out of
others and when to stand back and say nothing

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Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE NEGOTIATOR
Negotiations are one of the few workplace situations when
it is legitimate to allow others to be deceived, tricked or
duped. This is always when it is in the greater interests of a
group that you represent.
Assertive negotiators...
1. use any means including aggressive threats to promote
their case
2. are tough and unyielding
3. use techniques like "broken record" to dig their heels in
4. can ask for time if it suits their case
5. are immune to personal attacks or flattery
6. know how to say "No" to any offer or counter-offer that
is not acceptable to them
7. are willing to see the merits of the other side's case
8. are willing to move from their positions if a win-win
settlement becomes possible.

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Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THE ASSERTIVE TRAINER
The role of training in organisations is vital if businesses are
to make the most of the talent of their people. Trainers and
managers who coach need a range of high-level
communication skills to bring this about.
Assertive trainers...
1. create a safe but motivating learning environment
2. devise training programmes that meet the needs of
trainees as well as the needs of the organisation
3. treat everyone on training programmes with respect
4. recognise the difficulties some people have in learning
new skills and new attitudes
5. move at the pace at which others learn
6. face up to the learning issues of individuals and groups
7. put across learning points in a clear and unambiguous
way
8. avoid the temptation to show off, tell favourite stories
or make jokes at other people's expense.

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Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THAT’S
IT!
WELL DONE!

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Assertiveness
MTL Course Topics
THANK YOU
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn