9 assertiveness tips for modern managers

The role of the workplace manager has undergone profound changes in the past few years. Gone is the old style manager who viewed people as a resource on the balance sheet and in has come a new-style manager who works through, with, and for others.

This change is seismic. It is a change from controlling people as a cost to the business to treating them as the number one profit-producing resource. At the heart of this change is the way of managing assertively. Here are some of the features of this new style.

Co-operation not confrontation

Tom Peters describes the old-style manager as a “Nay-sayer” and the new-style manager as a “Yea-sayer”. One kept people down, often through conflict and confrontation, and the other gets the best out of them, through understanding them first and co-operation.

Diversity not Sameness

If you look at any modern workplace, in comparison with the workplace of the past, you’ll see a huge change in the makeup of the workforce. No longer is the predominant worker male, white and middle class. Nor will they fit into one kind of work pattern. Increasingly, workforces are as diverse as the communities they serve. In such environments, the assertive manager treats everyone with the same respect regardless of background, origin, or personality.

Fairness not favouritism

One of the features of the modern workplace is the shift towards equalising opportunity. It is no longer about offering opportunities to those whose face fits but about treating everyone the same, even if they are different.

Power to do, not power to impress

In the past, a manager’s authority rested on his positional power. His status was enough to ensure his authority. Today, position carries less power. What matters is his or her ability to get things done.

Openness not secrecy

Much of the change in workplaces over the last 50 years has arisen because of the shift from industrial-based businesses to information-based ones. The typical modern worker is not a manual worker working with their hands but a knowledge worker working with their brains. This has shifted power away from the hierarchy and to the workforce. Consequently, it is more important than ever to work with people not against them, to share not hide, and to be open and trusting, not secretive and suspicious.

Leaders not just managers

The difference between leaders and managers is a difference in emphasis. While managers work with resources, leaders work with people. Resources are computable, but people need to be understood. Resources do what they’re told, people respond to you as an individual and your ability to inspire and motivate.

Integrity not dictatorship

All of these shifts require managers to be of a different breed from the past. Their effectiveness relies on them having personal qualities such as integrity, honesty, and assertiveness. They are no longer characterised by being dictatorial, forceful, and controlling; but by being flexible, approachable, and open.

Outdated models

In organisations whose management style is based on the models of the Industrial Revolution,…

• technology comes first, people come second

• the organisation resembles a machine which is controlled by management and only occasionally needs maintained

• people have fixed needs that can be manipulated by offering or withdrawing money

• managers are machine controllers

• power is hierarchical and concentrated at the top

• relationships are laid down by edict from the top and described on an organisation chart

• people do what they’re told because managers have the power to make them.

New modsels

In organisations whose management style is based on the models of the Information Revolution,…

• people come first; technology exists to serve people

• the organisation resembles a community of people like a large village

• people cannot be controlled without a price to pay

• people’s value lies in what they know and how this knowledge can be used for the benefit of the customer

• everyone involved in the organisation is an equal stakeholder

• managers are leaders who create the conditions for growth

• power is anarchic because everyone has knowledge and so everyone has power

• relationships are determined by personal and interpersonal skills such as assertiveness.

Many of the skills needed of the modern manager rest on their ability to get the best out of others. They need to be excellent communicators and people workers. It is no wonder that the best modern managers are also assertive managers.