UCL Human Resources -

Professional Development Programme

Being Assertive at Work

Participants:
This course is suitable for all staff who wish to develop their assertiveness skills in the workplace. Courses have been targeted to specific staff groups so that participants may explore assertiveness in relation to their broad range of responsibilities, and share experiences with their peers. When selecting which course to attend, please select from the following:

Non Managers (those with no responsibility for staff)
Researchers (researchers with no responsibility for staff)
Managers (those who currently have leadership, management or supervisory responsibility; or anticipate taking on this type of responsibility within the coming year)

Overview:
Assertiveness is the ability to express your opinions positively and with confidence. It is not about aggression - dominating or dismissing others; nor is it passive - failing to express yourself adequately. Being assertive can help you to influence others in order to gain acceptance, agreement or behaviour change, and is a key skill that can help you to better manage yourself, people and situations.

This course will provide those in management, non-management and research roles with the confidence and skills to effectively assert themselves at work, by exploring:

Aggressive and passive behaviour
Types of assertive approaches
How to apply assertive approaches in different situations
The benefits of taking an assertive approach

Anticipated learning outcomes:
On completion of this workshop you will have:

An understanding of the psychological barriers to being assertive and how to overcome them
An understanding of what constitutes assertive or aggressive behaviour
The ability to use language which conveys your message with the least negative impact
The ability to be assertive when making requests, disagreeing and contributing your views
The ability to say 'no' and handle persistence
The ability to be assertive upwards

Managers Only:

The ability to raise team members development areas in an assertive, non-confrontational manner

UCL Management Competencies addressed:

Demonstrates a commitment to (and promotes) equality and diversity ensuring UCL is an inclusive environment in which individuals are respected and unacceptable behaviours challenged
Demonstrates effective self management and focus
Manages relationships with sponsors/funding bodies/collaborators/other faculties or other teams to deliver results
[Recruits and] Manages individuals effectively to create a high performing team
Provides leadership, direction and feedback on team and individual objectives
Fosters two way communication and effective team-working
Acquires and manages budgets and other resources effectively

Preparation:
The course uses both the facilitator's experience and those attending. In order to obtain the most from the day, you are encouraged to consider successes and development areas collated from previous situations, which required you to be assertive at work.

Related resources:

References for further reading will be given to you during the course to further advance your learning and development
Desktop Learning topics:

- Personal Skills Development

Date, time and venue: 1 day workshop

Non Managers (those with no responsibility for staff):

Researchers (researchers with no responsibility for staff):

Managers (those who currently have leadership, management or supervisory responsibility; or anticipate taking on this type of responsibility within the coming year):

Facilitator: Margaret Macafee

Cost:

Free for all staff on the UCL payroll
£160 for UCL Affiliated/Higher Education Institutions/Charities
£400 for External Applicants

How to book: Booking Form

OSD Course Contact: Edward Baber