How Being Assertive Can Advance Your Career
Being assertive is often considered one of the secret sources of professional growth. If you can be clear on what you want and have a direction to get there, then you can achieve almost anything. Being assertive can feel intimidating, especially if you’re a woman. It’s not about treating other people unequally. It’s about making sure that you’re standing up for yourself and not kowtowing to social convention.
Here’s some of the ways being a surfer can advance your career:
You become your own best advocate
Being assertive turns you into a sort of advocate for yourself. You are able to state your feelings and ideas more clearly to other people, as well as point out how you have served the company and helped it make progress.
When you become more of an advocate for yourself, you’re better able to ask for salary increases and state your worth based on facts, not feelings. You can also show other people why you’re worth the money you’re worth without bragging or coming across as arrogant. Being assertive is about creating a base of evidence that shows what you can do and how much revenue it generates.
Higher efficiency through boundaries
As you become more assertive, you will notice that your efficiency increases because you are better able to define boundaries. You’re not getting bogged down in so-called office housework, and you are better able to deflect issues like sexual harassment. Boundaries also make it less likely that other office workers will mistreat you. You can clearly define what you’ll accept and what you won’t.
Accelerated leadership potential
Another reason being assertive can get you ahead is because it increases your leadership potential. When you have that level of communication style your peers are much more likely to take you seriously. For example you can make a call and stand by it even if it’s unpopular. When you do this you demonstrate to your peers that you’re willing to make the tough decisions even if it isn’t in your own immediate best interest. You can see the long-term picture and how factors play into it. There’s also the matter of conflict resolution. Instead of allowing tension to simmer you’re somebody who addresses head issues head-on. If you can do this then it displays a level of emotional maturity that other people will respect.
Getting started with being more assertive can feel like a challenge but it only takes a few alterations to your behaviour. For example, you might value your brief check ins to ensure that other people are meeting their expectation, that you’re meeting other people’s expectations. Don’t try to avoid blaming people by saying things like you never give me feedback. Look for solutions where possible.
Also watch your body language and maintain eye contact. Keep an open posture with people and remain relatively neutral if you can, even if the situation feels tense. If somebody asks you to do something you can pause, you don’t have to respond to them immediately. .
