The core of Assertiveness is ultimately about respect as Aretha Franklin has been belting out as early 1967. Being respected is a fundamental need in interpersonal relationships. In Asia, that must include the concept of 'face'.
Questions are the way to go in building assertiveness. The trick is presenting your questions in a way that will be best received. Are you ready?
Traditional Asian values tend to advocate harmony and order. Harmony and order, in turn, are defined as each strata of society plays its part in obedience and submission; individualism is typically frowned upon and the whole is valued more than the individual. The bottom-line is that as much as a 'Western'-style 'speak up for your rights' assertiveness is acceded to, it is still incredibly difficult for much of Asian culture steeped in traditional values to do so.
In two weeks' time, I will be celebrating my 6th month of recovery from a brain tumour. While the number does not suggest a long duration, the whole ordeal compounded with emotional stress has certainly made it feel like an eternity.
Last time, we overviewed resilience and proposed a multi-pronged response involving mental toughness, emotional self-awareness and volitional decisiveness as key to developing resilience. We also proposed emotional self-awareness as a starting point, since without the acknowledgement of stress, resilience strategies and other effective responses will not be deployed. Here are 5 steps to take: Acknowledge
Have you ever experienced anything like this? Tom’s colleagues have started to side-line him ever since he raised a question about a popular proposal which favoured an influential segment of the company. A senior colleague seems to be playing a political game with Tom, maintaining a cordial front but insinuating his incompetence and lack of cooperation