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Student name:_________________________________ Date:________________
MODULE
11
List
ways to show initiative and
assertiveness
on the job.
Objectives:
A. Define initiative.
B. List examples of good work habits you can exhibit.
C. List examples of how you can exhibit initiative on
the job.
D.
Define assertiveness.
E. List steps that will help you learn to be assertive.
MODULE 11: INFORMATION SHEET
TO THE STUDENT: Read and study this information sheet and then
complete the student activities at the end of this module.
What is initiative and
assertiveness on the job?
Initiative
is seeing or knowing what needs to be done and doing it. Being assertive means
standing up for your rights, ideas, or beliefs. While these two topics both
deal with employees on the job, they are separate and will be covered one after
the other.
Good
work habits start with taking pride in your work. If you take pride in your
job, you will want to do anything that will help you work better. This includes
getting to work on time, having tools and materials ready to go, and not
misusing company time while trying to do your very best. It also implies using
your own initiative.
Initiative:
The
lack of initiative on the part of young workers is one of the most frequent
complaints expressed by employers. This shows up on the student-learner's
rating sheet with a statement such as "seldom goes ahead on own" or
"has to be told everything to do." This statement does not mean that
initiative is not a problem encountered with older or more experienced workers.
As a beginning or young employee, you should be striving to have your rating
sheet indicate "frequently looks for additional work" or even better
"always finds jobs to be done." By touching on several points
concerning initiative, you can learn to show or exhibit this thing called
initiative.
Imagine
you have just completed your assigned job and no one has told you what you are
to do next. What would you do? Do you sit down and wait for someone to show up
and get instructions from them? Initiative is doing something without being
told to do it. All of us get to the place in our work when we cannot go on.
What do we do? No one is around to ask or tell us what to do. We use our own
initiative and look for things that need to be done. Most employers expect
their employees to take some initiative.
With
more experience, we learn to see things ahead of time and make either a mental
note or a list of small jobs that can be started and completed during that
"extra" time.
What
are some of these small jobs you can do? The following is a list of things that
can be accomplished when you have additional time. Actions taken must be beyond
the usual job performance expectations of the position. This should not be
taken as a complete list but as some suggestions.
• Clean out the files in the filing cabinet.
• Wipe up the grease from the floor.
• Put new labels on the shelves in the
supply room or warehouse.
• Clean your desk drawers.
• Sweep the floor in the area where
you are responsible.
• Replace those outdated pages in
those manuals with that new set.
• Clean the delivery truck--inside
and/or out.
• Clean the computer keyboard that has
needed it for some time.
• Keep the copy machine filled with
paper.
• Keep the supply room inventory up to
date.
• Offer
to help someone else.
• Replenish parts needed at your work
site.
• Clean tools and gauges needed for
quality control.
• Work on preventive maintenance
needed on the engine.
• Cut the grass and trim the shrubs around
the front of the main building.
• Fill the soda machine and remove the
extra change.
• Wipe down your lathe or milling
machine and oil it.
• Back up your computer disks where
needed.
Assertiveness:
A
social skill that seems to be needed often in our society is assertiveness. It
might be quite nice if everyone we came in contact with catered to our every
wish. The situation is that most people can't read our minds. If you want your
needs considered, you will have to act with assertiveness. Assertiveness is not
aggression. ASSERTIVENESS is having your needs considered while considering the
needs of others.
When
you are overly careful and choose not to express your feelings, you pay a price
-- anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling of distress or uneasiness that may also take
the form of worry. Anxiety frequently comes from being non-assertive and not
allowing yourself to communicate your feelings.
This
is referred to as being passive. You must believe in your right to be assertive
and be willing to acknowledge the corresponding responsibilities and consequences
before you can change your behavior.
All
too often, a person becomes aggressive and his/her philosophy of life is
selfish. This attitude violates the rights of others. This aggressive person
finds he or she is alienated from others. Aggression takes many different forms
and is generally unacceptable socially.
The
following steps will help you learn to be assertive:
1. Learn the difference between assertive,
passive, and aggressive
responses.
2. Assess your assertive, passive, and
aggressive behavior.
3. Develop new assertive responses for
specific situations.
4. Think through and/or discuss the risks of
being assertive in these
situations.
5. Rehearse your assertive behavior.
6. Try out assertive responses in a real
situation.
7. Maintain your assertive behavior by
constant reevaluation and
reinforcement.1
_______________
1 James Archer,
Jr., Managing Anxiety and Stress. (Munch, Indiana: Accelerated
Development, Inc., 1982).
MODULE 11: STUDENT ACTIVITIES
TO THE STUDENT: After reading and studying the information
sheet, complete the following questions.
1. Define initiative.
2. Give four examples of
good work habits you can exhibit.
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
d. ____________________________________________________________
3. Define assertiveness.
4. Give four steps that
help you learn to be assertive.
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
d. ____________________________________________________________
Fill in the missing word:
5. __________________________ is doing
something without being told to do it.
6. A __________________________ skill that
seems to be needed often in our
society is assertiveness.
7. __________________________ is the feeling of
distress or uneasiness which
may also take the form of worry.
8. Being nonassertive and not allowing yourself
to communicate your feelings
is referred to as being
_________________________.
9. An overly assertive person often violates
the rights of others and is said to
be an
_______________________ person.
MODULE 11: STANDARDS ADDRESSED IN
THIS MODULE
Pennsylvania’s
Academic Standards for Career Education and Work
13.3.11.
Career Retention (Keeping a Job)
A.
Analyze work habits needed
to advance within a career.
B. Evaluate conflict resolution skills:
·
Constructive criticism
·
Group dynamics
·
Managing
·
Mediation
·
Negotiation
·
Problem solving
Pennsylvania’s Academic Standards for Reading,
Writing, Speaking and Listening (RWSL)
1.1.11. Learning
to Read Independently
E.
Establish a reading vocabulary
by identifying and correctly using new words acquired through the study of
their relationships to other words. Use a dictionary or related reference.
Secretary’s
Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)
PERSONAL
QUALITIES
Self-Esteem: Believes in own
self-worth and maintains a positive view.
Sociability: Demonstrates
understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy, and politeness in new and
ongoing group settings.
Self-Management: Assesses own knowledge,
skills, and abilities accurately; sets well-defined and realistic personal
goals; self-starter.
| ©
2003. The Professional Personnel Development Center , Penn State University. |
| To return to the Table of Contents click here. To print copies of the CAPS materials click here. |