MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP

Assertiveness Skills For Management Leaders

(Leading People For Results)

 

Effective Communication is a combination of knowing WHAT to say, HOW to say and WHEN to say it. Individuals who have successfully combined these three skills go through their daily tasks with ease in today's competitive business environment because they know how to respond appropriately to day to day challenges. Those who do not, continue to struggle and become ineffective.

 

Leaders in organisations communicate daily with subordinates, colleagues, customers, suppliers, bosses, stakeholders, in meetings, doing presentations or selling products both face-to-face and over the phone. Each of these communication processes results in an ‘OUTCOME’, which leads to something that gets done either for the leader, for the other person(s), or for the mutual benefit of both.  However, it is not just WHAT (outcome) is achieved, but more importantly it is HOW it’s (outcome) achieved.

 

Some leaders are too passive. They suppress their feelings, defer their views and let others manipulate their decisions. Other leaders are aggressive. For them only their views and feelings matter. In both cases, no effective conversation takes place, thus no new information is exchanged. No progress is made on solving the problem because the leader keeps repeating the same cycle day in and day out with others.

 

On the other hand, Assertiveness skills will help the leader to break the cycle and be more focused and solve real problems rather than repeating ‘non-achievement’ again and again. This requires the leaders to master and demonstrate Assertive Leadership Behaviours (ALB).

 

A leader is responsible to guide the direction of his or her organisation. By demonstrating ALBs, leaders will earn loyalty of employees, respect from peers, support from upper management and better relationship with customers. Others are much more likely to support, imitate, listen and follow their leader willingly to achieve the business objectives.

 

Whether your behavior is unassertive (passive) or overassertive (aggressive), it is possible to change if you know the ‘HOW’ to be assertive. This programme focuses on developing the skills of ‘HOW’ to be an assertive leader and enable you to influence others effectively and lead them for results.

 

Objectives

 

Upon completion of this programme, you will be able to:

·         Explain the importance of assertiveness skills for leaders

·         List down the proper steps to be taken in order to be an assertive leader

·         Demonstrate the tools and techniques of being assertive

·         Be results-driven and not activity-driven when managing and leading your people

·         Identify the rights and responsibilities of positive, powerful and assertive communication

·         Develop and use a personal communication strategy on-the-job that is based on psychological theory and the realities of workplace communications

·         Understand and avoid poor communication strategies and apply remedies to improve your communication at work

·         Be a better listener to your own needs and that of your team members and customers

·         Proactively handle conflict and difficult situations

 

Who Should Attend

 

·         Executives

·         Senior Executives

·         Assistant Managers

·         Managers

·         Senior Managers

 

Learning Outcome

 

At the end of this programme, you will have gained the following knowledge and learning:

·         Be able to communicate and relate effectively with others so that you will be able to solve real problems rather than repeating non-achievements.

·         You will minimise passive, defensive and aggressive reactions, which block true communication.

·         Your every communication engagement with others will be results-driven rather than activity-driven.

·         You will experience increased work effectiveness and productivity, increased confidence in handling difficult behaviour in others, reduced interruptions at work, improved decision making and enjoy a more balanced lifestyle

·         You will be more in control of your daily activities and experience reduced stress levels.

 

Programme Outline

 

Day 1

Module 1: The Art Of Influencing People

·         Definition of ‘Influence’ in leadership

·         4 methods of influencing people

·         Why people use the wrong methods?

·         The 4 fundamental Leadership Styles

 

Module 2: Why Do People Behave The Way They Do?

·         The new challenges confronting leaders

·         Transactional Analysis (OK grid) and assertiveness

·         The role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and assertiveness

·         The relationship between values – attitude and behaviour

·         How do you perceive yourself?

·         How are you perceived by others?

Module 3: Recognising Your Own Style And Behaviours

·         Self – assessment of my leadership strengths and weaknesses

·         Self – assessment of my patterns of defensiveness – fight or flight

·         Identifying my interpersonal communication style

·         How assertiveness can change my leadership effectiveness?

·         External influences on my behaviour

·         Assumptions and its impact on assertiveness

·         Identifying your own strengths – Overcoming Obstacles to Assertive Behavior

 

Day 2

Module 4: Assertive, Persuasive And Positive Communication

·         A definition of assertive behaviour and the benefits it offer

·         Assertiveness - 4 key parts

·         Differences between Passive, Aggressive, and Assertive Behaviour

·         5 principles of communication to help you build the foundation of your assertiveness

·         Assertiveness and your feelings

·         The practices of assertive communicators

 

Module 5: Handling Relationships At Work

·         Relationship 101

·         The ‘Interpersonal – Stakeholder’ relationship balance

·         The Systems vs Competency approach to performance problems

·         Building assertive relationships with work colleagues

 

 

 

Module 6: Assertive Leadership Techniques

·         How assertiveness helps leaders to increase their effectiveness?

·         The art of persuasion – getting ideas across

·         Giving and receiving critical feedback

·         Assertive questioning techniques

·         Nonverbal assertiveness - Posture, gestures, eye contact, orientation and proximity.

·         Voice - Pitch, volume and tone.

·         Using assertive and positive language – making your message clear

·         Applying assertive techniques in different workplace situations

·         The PRES Advocacy model

·         The ‘GIVE and TAKE’ model

·         Developing an Assertive Leadership Behavioural (ALB) style

 

Day 3

Module 7: Thinking And Behaviour At Work

·         Thinking pattern and its impact on workplace productivity

·         Behaviour pattern and its impact on workplace productivity

·         Nonassertive Thinking and Behavior modelling

·         Aggressive Thinking and Behavior  modelling

·         Assertive Thinking and Behavior modelling

·         Lateral Thinking and its role in assertiveness

 

Module 8: Situations – Application Of Assertiveness Skills

·         Resolving conflict assertively – strategies and techniques

·         The role of assertiveness in successful managerial negotiations

·         Handling performance problems assertively

 

Module 9: A New Beginning – Assertive Leadership

·         Manager or leader?

·         Continuously developing assertive communication and conflict resolution skills

·         Making assertiveness a lifestyle: Replacing old habits with assertiveness 

·         Moving from defeating (negative) to positive ways of thinking – building your self-esteem

·         Setting goals that work – SMART goals

·         Personal “ASSERTIVENESS LEADERSHIP ACTION PLAN”

 


Administrative Details

 

Fees:

MIM Member: RM1,800

Non-Member: RM2,100

 

Duration:

3 days

 

Time:

9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

 

Venue:

MIM Management House

Kuala Lumpur

 

Dates:

·         29-31 March 2010

·         28-30 June 2010

·         27-29 September 2010

·         29 November - 1 December 2010

 

Training Facilitator

 

Main Trainer:

P. Krisnan Palanisamy, MMIM, MIM-CPT

Masters in Business Administration (MIM-University of Bath),

Dip. In Accounting and Finance (ACCA),

Dip. In Education (UM), BSc (UM)

 

Alternate Trainer:

Jeremy Earl Abrahams, MMIM, MIM-CPT, MIM-CPFM

MBA (MIM – University of Bath, UK),

B. Sc (Hons) (USM)

 

PSMB Scheme:

·         SBL

 

SME Corp Malaysia Skills Upgrading Programme:

·         80% training grant (for eligible SMEs)

(Early bird and group discounts are not applicable for those who apply for programmes under this training grant.)

 

CPD Hours:                                                                                                            

·         24

 

Recommended follow-on programmes:

 

·         Building A Cohesive Team Using Persuasive Leadership Skills

·         Building Strong Management Skills

·         Developing Effective Managerial Skills

·         Effective Middle Management

·         Job of General Manager (JOGM)

·         Using Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) To Improve Your Leadership Skills

 

 

What Our Participants Say:

 

“The training has provided me with a positive refreshment and reinforcement. The tools provided can definitely be used in my workplace” – Ruslee Baharin, Manager, Kertih Terminals Sdn Bhd