DYNAMICS OF ASSERTIVENESS

This workshop is composed of three key components: understanding assertive behaviour, understanding personality diversity and learning problem-solving strategies. These three components provide practical insights and skills for staying assertive when required to get results with and through others.

Understanding the characteristics and needs of different personalities leads to improved communication. Making these personal differences objective facilitates problem solving for powerful results.

OBJECTIVES:

• To encourage active participation in decision-making processes
• To encourage greater involvement with others for improved job satisfaction, morale, and professional results
• To learn insights for building trust and dealing with power and authority
• To learn how pressure and tension affects our results
• To learn how to take responsibility and influence outcomes in work-related situations

The key elements are outlined as follows:

I. UNDERSTANDING ASSERTIVE BEHAVIOUR

This part of the workshop increases our understanding of assertive behaviour. Participants analyze how they see their behaviour when dealing with others on projects and/or on teams and how to view these behaviours against a project/team productivity continuum.

II. PERSONALITY DIVERSITY -- LOOKING AT FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY HUMAN BEINGS FUNCTION

When we have to work with and through others, it helps to understand how fundamentally different we are. This part of the program introduces the idea of personality preferences and how these preferences influence our ability to stay assertive. Through a series of activities designed to understand "Who am I," participants learn how to manage themselves more effectively by recognizing their own assets and learning how to deal with their possible blind spots.

Participants learn the two major mistakes of working on teams and/or supervising and managing others while striving for results.

III. PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES

Strategies for building an effective workplace are identified through a problem-solving process. This process clarifies and builds on understanding one’s own functioning and that of others. This awareness applies to the dynamics of group relationships and addresses the question, "How do we work together?"

This highly interactive process provides a dynamic strategic approach to problem solving. In this part of the workshop, the challenges inherent in working with and through others covered in Parts I and II are reinforced as participants build a strategic approach for getting cooperation and maximizing results with colleagues. The problem solving process unfolds as follows:

• Identification of the problem
• Identification of the outcome
• Identification of the barriers
• Identification of the solutions
• Identification of the resources

Participants explore a current issue taking a structured approach for solving a current business problem. A problem is defined as the gap between the current reality and the expected outcome. If there is no gap, there is no problem. When individuals are struggling to achieve an outcome requiring a creative solution, this process is a valuable use of time. No matter what the problem is, this process can lead to improved business solutions.

WORKSHOP OUTCOMES

As a result of this assertiveness workshop, participants gain an understanding of the fundamental differences in the way human beings function. They learn how to strengthen and develop mature, effective patterns for getting results with and through others. They learn to individualize their communication and build stronger relationships. With this understanding, individuals achieve greater productivity by increasing their assertive behaviour when working with and through others.

PARTICIPANTS:

People from all levels of an organization wanting to maximize their productivity through effective communication patterns.

Here is a good online resource for information on assertiveness.