Over the past decades the skill of assertiveness has come to the fore as being of value in helping oneself and helping others, and is now considered to be a vital quality in building respectful relationships, reaching consensus, getting our needs met and our rights taken seriously without being either too meek on the one hand or too aggressive or belligerent on the other.
I include a discussion on assertiveness in this Chapter because the exhortation to be assertive in our dealings with others transcends all modalities – in our modern world anyway. It is hard for anyone to be critical of its principles or practice in helping people – and in life in general.
Let us consider the impact of practitioners being assertive with people in deep distress – those with most if not all of the characteristics of our Focus Group.
If we are assertive, we are clear and unambiguous, people know where we stand, and we are modelling qualities that we desire for them in their lives and in particular in resolving conflict.
True!
I think highly of assertiveness myself and I try my best to use it in my dealings with others – though it is often a challenge for me as it is not at all my default state of being.
However I have some thoughts about its value and general use which I will explore in the posts following.
Because of that, writing this Sub-Chapter, I am mindful of my argument in the second half of this post that our prejudice (or prejudices) can influence the way we think – and also the outcomes of our research or enquiry. That is, we may distort results to suit what we want to hear – or see.
So (like all subject matter in the website) I welcome comments!