When I stepped into one of the biggest leadership roles I’d ever held, I wanted to be assertive.
I wanted to walk into a room, be confident (not timid because that’s how I felt) and have everybody listen to me.
That’s not what being assertive means at all… but honestly, I didn’t quite know what it meant to be assertive.
Assertiveness can often be confused with aggressiveness.
People who are assertive are often labelled as being too aggressive with their approach.
So, hence the question… should female Christian leaders be assertive?
Let’s get that question answered!
Let’s have a look first at what it actually means to be assertive…
AssertivenessAccording to Risely.me, assertiveness refers to the ability to express one’s thoughts, feelings, and needs in a clear, direct, and respectful manner while also considering the rights and opinions of others.
It is a communication and behavioural style that promotes open and honest expression, confidence, and self-assuredness without infringing upon the rights and boundaries of others.
Now, assertiveness is often confused with aggressiveness as I mentioned before.
AggressivenessAnd aggressiveness refers to the behaviour or communication style that is characterised by forcefulness, hostility, and the disregard for the rights and feelings of others.
Aggressiveness involves a proactive approach to achieving one’s own goals or asserting one’s dominance, often at the expense of others. It can manifest in the form of verbal, physical or passive-aggressive actions.
So, should female Christian leaders be assertive?Consider the definition of assertiveness, where you express your thoughts, feelings, and needs in a clear, direct, and respectful manner while also considering the rights and opinions of others.
So in my humble opinion, yes, female Christian leaders can and should be assertive.
You might wonder how can I learn to express my thoughts, feelings, and needs in a clear, direct, and respectful manner while also considering the rights and opinions of others.
Here are a couple of tips for you:In an upcoming episode, I’ll be talking to you about how you can gain self-confidence in your abilities. I believe this to be a good follow on, because self-confidence is extremely important. If you don’t believe in yourself, other people might also not. Stay tuned for the next episode.
Next steps:1. Navigate to https://www.womenoffaithinleadership.com where you can:
2. If you need any support, you can get in contact with me for a 1:1 coaching session. Just email me at support@rikawhelan.com
3. Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rikawhelan
063 | Gaining Confidence in Your Own Abilities - Part 3: Professional Development
062 | Gaining confidence in your own abilities - Part 2: Personal Development
061 | Gaining confidence in your own abilities - Part 1: Spiritual Growth
059 | Leadership Lessons from Women in the Bible - Part 3 - Esther
058 | Leadership Lessons from Women in the Bible - Part 2 - Deborah
057 | Leadership Lessons from Women in the Bible - Part 1 - Ruth
056 | Rerun - Is it really gossip? Gossip vs Office Chatter
055 | Rerun - Dealing with Difficult People at Work
054 | Rerun - What is Workplace Culture and Why Should You Care About It?
053 | The Struggle with Workplace Boundaries - Taking a short break from the podcast!
052 | Your Words Can Hurt - Pay attention to what you say and get involved in - lies, arguments, insults, slander, gossip, rumours, flattery, bragging, belittling
051 | Is it Time to Break Free from Corporate Life with Anita Anello
050 | Leading Through Tough Times | Servant Leadership | Relational Leadership | Leading like Jesus
049 | Leading with Kindness. Leading like Jesus. Kindness is not a weakness!
048 | Praying for your team. Being a role-model. Be like Jesus. Being an Instrument of the Lord
047 | Engaging a Faith-aligned Mentor
046 | When Leaders Gossip in Your Organisation - What You Can Do as a Fellow Leader
045 | A 7-step Framework for Eradicating Workplace Gossip
044 | Building Gossip-Resilient Teams
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