„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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THE NUTS AND BOLTS
OF ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING
Beverly Byrum
Assertiveness is a topic that continues to be of interest to practitioners of human
resource development (HRD) and to the general public. In addition, it continues to be
the focus of many organizational-training efforts. The purpose of this article is to
explore the topic and various issues involved in assertiveness training, such as
definitions of “assertiveness,” assertive rights, assertive techniques, values underlying
assertiveness, consequences of assertiveness training, and the method of change
advocated by assertiveness.
BACKGROUND
“Assertiveness” is a communication technique designed to demonstrate respect toward
oneself and others and to allow the expression of a full range of behaviors. The term
came to prominence within the general framework of behavior therapy in 1949, and the
technique was first used as a counterconditioning procedure for anxiety (Alberti, 1977).
With the beginning of the women’s movement in the Sixties, assertiveness was adopted
by many as a basis and a means for upholding women’s rights. In fact, many of the
books on assertiveness that were sold at that time were written specifically for women
(Baer, 1976; Phelps & Austin, 1975). If assertiveness suggests to some that “anything
goes” and that being “pushy” is the objective, these ideas can probably be traced to the
influence of the militant extreme of the women’s movement.
If assertiveness did have a bad name, much has been done in recent years to dispel
the notion that it is solely for women who want to move from passivity into
aggressiveness. Books and articles approaching assertiveness from a management
perspective began to surface in the late Seventies and early Eighties (Back & Back,
1982; Burley-Allen, 1983; Cawood, 1983). Since that time assertiveness has apparently
been legitimized in the world of work and has been adopted by training professionals as
a skill worthy of teaching (Batten, 1979; Meier & Pulichene, 1980; O’Donnell & Colby,
1979; Paul, 1979).
Originally published in The 1988 Annual: Developing Human Resources by J. William Pfeiffer (Ed.), San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer &
Company.
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The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer