Introduction
In the workplace, assertive communication is an effective form of communication for building smooth relationships and fostering a sense of acceptance among all parties involved, as well as for improving the quality of deliverables. This is because assertive communication promotes a healthy work environment by minimizing misunderstandings and conflicts through openly expressing one’s own opinions while at the same time respecting the opinions of others. An aggressive or passive attitude can prevent opinions from being conveyed correctly, leading to stagnation of work and friction in relationships. For example, if many people are too reserved to speak their minds at meetings, important issues will remain unresolved, leading to delays in decision-making. Companies such as Google and Netflix are examples of companies that continue to produce innovations through a culture that actively encourages employee input, This is a good example of how companies such as Google and Netflix continue to generate innovation by having a culture that actively incorporates the opinions of their employees. Therefore, it is important to understand and practice assertive communication in order to make communication in the workplace more effective. This article will provide a detailed explanation of the concept, its importance, benefits and challenges, and specific ways to use it.
What is assertive communication?
Assertive communication is the ability to express oneself honestly and concisely while at the same time respecting other opinions that differ from one’s own.
(Cite: What is assertive communication? When and how to use it)
This communication style is important because it allows one to appropriately convey one’s thoughts and feelings, thereby preventing misunderstandings and unnecessary confrontations with others and building healthy relationships. Aggressive communication intimidates others, while passive communication causes stress when one’s opinions are not conveyed. Therefore, assertive communication is necessary to strike a balance between both sides. For example, when asked by a supervisor to perform an impossible task, a passive person may say, “Yes, I understand,” and accept the task, resulting in overwork. On the other hand, an aggressive person may strongly refuse, saying, “I can’t do that! and strongly refuse, which may worsen the relationship with the supervisor. An assertive person, however, will calmly present an alternative proposal, saying, “Considering the current workload, it is difficult, but we can accommodate it by adjusting the delivery date,” and express his/her opinion while also taking the other party’s position into consideration. In this way, assertive communication makes it possible to clearly assert one’s own opinion while maintaining a smooth relationship. Therefore, assertive communication is not simply “speaking frankly,” but is a skill to express oneself while valuing the relationship with the other party, and is essential for making dialogue in the workplace more constructive. The next chapter will elaborate on why assertive communication is important in the workplace.
Why is assertive communication important in the workplace?
Assertive communication is essential for building trust in the workplace, fostering team cooperation, and improving work productivity. An assertive attitude toward dialogue is key in addressing challenges such as a lack of trust, excessive self-dependence, and poor communication. In the workplace, a lack of trust leads to increased disagreements and conflicts and prevents work from proceeding smoothly. In addition, if individual employees rely too much on past personal experience and self-judgment, they will miss opportunities to bring in new perspectives, and organizational growth will stagnate. Furthermore, a lack of proper communication leads to misunderstandings and miscommunication of information, which in turn reduces operational efficiency. Assertive communication is needed to resolve these issues. For example, if there is a lack of trust among members in a certain project team, important information may not be shared appropriately, and work may stagnate. However, by adopting assertive communication, a culture of respecting each other’s opinions and sharing them openly can be created, and team trust can be strengthened. In addition, strong past self-dependence can create resistance to new methods and hinder innovation. However, by assertively sharing one’s own experiences while also listening to the opinions of others, the entire team can find optimal solutions. Furthermore, in workplaces where there is a lack of communication, task delays and mistakes are likely to occur due to a lack of clarity about the progress of work and expectations. However, by being aware of assertive communication and regularly exchanging opinions, information sharing becomes smoother, and work efficiency improves. Assertive communication is therefore essential to solving workplace issues such as a lack of trust, past self-dependence, and poor communication. Practicing it strengthens team collaboration and improves overall organizational performance. The following chapters will detail the specific benefits of assertive communication.
What are the benefits of assertive communication in the workplace?
Assertive communication in the workplace offers many benefits, including improved quality of work, healthier relationships, and a better work environment. This leads to many benefits, but especially to maximum performance by individuals and teams and overall company growth. Assertive communication is important in the workplace because it encourages constructive discussion while minimizing conflict by respecting others while openly sharing opinions. This strengthens team cooperation. In addition, the psychological safety of employees improves, which encourages free speech and the sharing of ideas, making it easier for innovation to occur. Furthermore, it also reduces stress and friction in the workplace, leading to a more comfortable work environment. There are three major examples of this.
(1) Meeting situations
In a workplace where assertive communication takes root, employees can freely express their opinions. As a result, important issues are shared at an early stage, and the entire team can seek the best solution, thus facilitating the progress of the project. On the other hand, in workplaces where it is difficult to express opinions, problems are more likely to be left unaddressed, and delays in dealing with them can have a negative impact on operations.
(2) Relationship between supervisor and subordinate
When there is an assertive attitude, feedback is given appropriately. For example, at one company, when a supervisor assertively communicated the strengths and areas for improvement of his/her subordinate, it encouraged the subordinate’s growth and led to the improvement of the entire team’s skills. Thus, in workplaces where there is a culture of appropriate feedback, employee motivation increases, leading to lower turnover.
(3) Customer-facing situations
The more assertive communication is prevalent in a company, the more strength it will have. By accurately listening to customer requests and responding appropriately, it is easier to build a relationship of trust, leading to higher customer satisfaction.
Therefore, practicing assertive communication in the workplace will improve quality, build healthy relationships that are acceptable to all parties involved, and create a comfortable working environment. This will promote individual and organizational growth and enhance the competitiveness of the company. In the next chapter, we will discuss the challenges of assertive communication in more detail.
What are the challenges of assertive communication in the workplace?
While there are many benefits to embedding assertive communication in the workplace, there are also several challenges to the practice. In particular, there are the difficulties of acting consistently, the burden of developing empathy, the difficulty of maintaining transparency, and the importance of taking a long-term perspective.
(1) Difficulty in acting consistently
In order to maintain an assertive attitude, it is necessary to communicate in an appropriate manner depending on the situation and the other party. However, it is difficult to maintain a consistent response because it is necessary to change the response depending on the people involved, such as between superiors and subordinates, between colleagues, and with clients. Furthermore, in stressful situations, one may end up becoming aggressive or passive, making it difficult to maintain ideal assertive communication. For example, one company had a policy of “welcoming frank opinions,” but in reality, different supervisors reacted differently, with one giving constructive feedback while another was critical. As a result, employees were unable to express their opinions consistently because the ease with which they could speak up varied depending on their supervisors, and assertive communication did not permeate the company.
(2) The Burden of Developing Empathy
Assertive communication is not mere self-assertion; it is essential to have an attitude of respect for the opinions and feelings of others. However, in the workplace, busyness and pressure of work often leave little time to consider the feelings and positions of others. In addition, in a work environment where people are not accustomed to showing empathy, it is difficult to accept the opinions of subordinates and colleagues, and there is a risk of communication becoming merely tokenistic. In one team, members’ schedules were so overcrowded that they did not have time to listen carefully to each other’s opinions. Therefore, although they superficially “respected” each other’s opinions, in reality they tended to rush to conclusions out of a concern for efficiency and did not engage in sufficient dialogue. Thus, without time or room to show empathy, it becomes difficult to maintain an assertive attitude.
(3) Difficulty in maintaining transparency
In corporate policies and management decisions, it is difficult to keep all information open, and misunderstandings and distrust can easily arise among employees. In particular, when there is information asymmetry between management and front-line employees, employees who are willing to openly express their opinions may feel uneasy about whether they can really speak up. In such situations, psychological barriers arise in an attempt to promote assertive communication, resulting in an environment in which it is difficult to express opinions. For example, if, at the time of restructuring or reorganization, employees are told only that the restructuring or reorganization is “the result of considering the interests of the entire company,” they will feel that their opinions are not reflected in the restructuring or reorganization and will not be able to exchange frank opinions. In such an environment, only superficial communication takes place, making it difficult to create an assertive culture.
(4) The Importance of Taking a Long-Term Perspective
Assertive communication does not take root after a single training session or a short-term effort; it takes time to take root as an organizational culture. However, many companies tend to seek short-term results, and if no immediate and tangible effects are seen, ongoing efforts tend to be put on the back burner. As a result, many companies often stop their efforts before an assertive culture takes root, and the efforts become a mere skeleton. For example, one company conducted training on assertive communication, but there was no follow-up, and six months later, employees had reverted to their previous passive-aggressive communication style. This shows that short-term efforts alone are unlikely to take root, and that ongoing efforts are necessary.
Thus, assertive communication in the workplace presents challenges: the difficulty of acting consistently, the burden of developing empathy, the difficulty of maintaining transparency, and the importance of taking a long-term perspective. To overcome these challenges, ongoing organization-wide efforts are required.
How to use assertive communication in the workplace?
In order to utilize assertive communication in the workplace, conscious efforts must be made to make it take root in the organizational culture. Specifically, it is essential to conduct training to ensure consistent behavior, create an environment to foster empathy, strengthen information sharing to ensure transparency, and continuously follow up to maintain a long-term perspective.
(1) Act with consistency
The importance of assertive communication must be understood and practiced by all employees. It is important that companies provide training and workshops on assertive communication not just once, but on a regular basis to help employees adopt a consistent attitude in different situations. This will help employees feel more confident in expressing their opinions and improve the quality of communication in the workplace.
(2) Cultivate empathy
Supervisors and colleagues should intentionally provide opportunities to develop an understanding of each other’s perspectives. For example, regular feedback and opportunities for dialogue can help build a culture of respect for the feelings and opinions of others. Furthermore, by providing more opportunities to exchange opinions regardless of position, an environment that fosters empathy can be created.
(3) Maintain transparency
Information should be actively shared from management to the front line. It is important to clarify the reasons and background regarding company policies and decisions, and to provide explanations to employees. This will allow employees to express their opinions without fear or doubt, and establish a culture of assertive communication. In an environment of transparency, employees are more likely to express their opinions freely, and at Netflix, management regularly makes information about important decisions and strategies available to all employees in order to maintain transparency. For example, when a company policy is changed, the reasons and background are explained in detail on the internal portal and in plenary sessions. This transparency helps employees understand their roles and the direction of the company, and allows them to express their opinions in an assertive manner. This will encourage a more active exchange of ideas in the workplace and improve communication throughout the team.
(Reference: Learning from Netflix: How to build the strongest organization)
(4) Take a long-term perspective
It is important to ensure that assertive communication efforts are not a one-off event, but rather an ongoing process. Regular evaluations and opportunities for reflection should be provided to help employees feel a sense of personal growth. In addition, best practices should be shared so that employees remain motivated to actively practice assertive communication. For example, Google has adopted an “open door” policy over a long period of time to create an environment where employees can easily exchange ideas with their supervisors and colleagues. This policy breaks down hierarchical barriers with supervisors and encourages open and frank communication. By allowing employees to freely express their opinions, issues, and ideas are shared at an early stage, creating an environment that encourages cooperation and innovation within the organization.
(Reference: An Insider’s Look: Google’s Organizational Culture and What Companies Can Learn from It)
Summary:
Assertive communication is a powerful tool for building healthy working relationships and enhancing the quality of work by conveying opinions while maintaining a balance between assertiveness and respect for others. It is highly effective in all business situations, including meetings, supervisor-subordinate dialogue, and customer relations, and contributes to improved psychological safety and innovation creation.
On the other hand, it is not easy to consistently practice assertiveness, and challenges such as the burden of empathy, information asymmetry, and lack of consistency exist. To make assertive communication take root in the workplace as a culture while keeping an eye on these practical barriers, it is essential to make continuous efforts throughout the organization and to build on individual efforts.
The practice of assertive communication is needed now more than ever to improve the quality of dialogue in the workplace and to achieve sustainable organizational growth.
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