Assertiveness Spectrum

Activities

Assertiveness Spectrum

 Time required: 15 minutes.
What it does:

Introduces the concept of assertiveness to your team and explores how comfortable they are in displaying assertive behaviour.

It is recommended that you pair this exercise with How Would You Handle It?  which explores ways to assertively deal with different situations.[pic 1]

You will need:

An area large enough for your team to move along the ‘Assertiveness Spectrum’ and, if possible, a piece of string/rope that is approximately 4 metres long to represent the spectrum. 

You'll also need flipchart paper and pen.

In a nutshell:

A chance for your team to express how assertively they feel able to behave in different challenging situations.

Assertiveness Spectrum statements:

On a scale of 1-10 how uncomfortable do the following situations make you feel:

• Apologising when you do not believe you were at fault.
• Apologising when you are at fault.
• Asking a favour of a colleague.
• Admitting that you are confused and in need of clarity during a meeting.
• Leaving a phone unanswered when you are busy.
• Saying “no” to a request.
• Expressing your opinion when you know others either won’t like it or won’t agree with you. 
• Expressing your opposing view to someone in authority.
• Asking for feedback on work that you have done.
• Giving someone feedback when you feel his or her behaviour was wrong. 
• Requesting a better level of service as a customer.
• Ask someone in a public situation to stop annoying you.

Once you have finished, thank them for their active participation. It is worth keeping your team gathered round the spectrum as you debrief the exercise. 

How to debrief this activity:

Discuss the results of the activity, using the suggested questions below to help you draw out the key learning points.

Record the examples of assertive behaviour on a flipchart for a list of Assertiveness Top Tips to distribute to your team afterwards.[pic 2]

Questions:

• What was this short training exercise about?
• What do you understand by the term 'assertiveness'?
• What kind of behaviours do you see from someone who is assertive?
• Why is assertiveness important?
• What can happen if you lack assertiveness skills?

Learning points:

This exercise is a way to start discussions about the often misunderstood term 'assertiveness'.

There are lots of different definitions of assertiveness but at their heart it is the ability to confidently express your opinions, needs or feelings without ignoring or forgetting the opinions, needs or feelings of others. 

It is the latter part that sets assertiveness aside from more selfish or aggressive behaviour. Assertive behaviour is about being self-assured in expecting to be treated well or have your views listened to, whilst also recognising the identical need in others.