At some point, you will come across a person with an aggressive leadership style. Trying to run and hide is useless because they are everywhere. Therefore, this article offers five tips to increase your confidence and effectiveness.
5 tips
Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Although it sounds easier said than done, refrain from taking what the aggressive leader says or does personally. Like anger, aggression is not in itself negative. It turns negative when channeled the wrong way.
In general, aggressive personality types tend to overreact and speak before they think, especially if they are passionate about a position. As a result, the message goes wrong and you are left fuming. Still, the general rule of thumb is this: be quick to listen, slow to talk, and slow to get angry.
I once repeated, “I’m quick to listen, slow to talk, and slow to anger,” at least three times during an interaction to keep from losing control. Furthermore, the aggressive leader calmed down and changed his tone.
Increase your awareness of communication barriers.
Communication barriers can appear whether it is a person who has an aggressive leadership style or not. Some examples include language, culture, differences, limited or no feedback, distractions, physical separation, gender differences, and status. So take the time to familiarize yourself with the various types. Raising your awareness is essential. How can you overcome what you don’t know?
Practice active listening.
Dealing with an aggressive leader forces you to develop active listening skills. You must train yourself to step back and clarify what you hear. By doing so, you allow the other person to rephrase their statement. He eventually sees himself in a more positive light.
Anticipate misunderstandings.
In short, accept the fact that misunderstandings will almost always arise when communicating with an aggressive leader. So, don’t be caught off guard.
Develop assertiveness skills.
You have a variety of options. Enroll in a class, attend a workshop or seminar, or hire a trainer. Special training is offered to empower women. By nature we tend to be more emotional. Therefore, a boss with an aggressive leadership style can be intimidating. Sometimes the level of discomfort is multiplied when the aggressive leader is a woman.
Whatever the case may be, you can equip yourself to handle an aggressive personality type with poise and confidence. Therefore, commit to developing assertiveness skills. You have nothing to lose and much to win.