Assessment of roles and role relations has an important place in effective work. This may take the form of tentative role assessments made very quickly on the basis of intuitive observation or of well thought through role assessment based on lengthy and repeated observations of a person in different situations. A basic requirement for role assessment is the accurate identification and description of individual roles.
What is Role Analysis?
Role analysis assists a person in developing a picture of their behaviours in the different roles they have adopted and portrays the behaviours in different situations to assess their applicability and effectiveness. When applied specifically to personal effectiveness, Role Analysis serves as a cornerstone in the development and strengthening of assertive behaviours.
Once we are able to clearly define our Roles, we can progress to an understanding of how we “act” in each Role and how our actions (behaviours) impact others. This is where the strengthening of our “Emotional Intelligence” capability really begins.
Roles are learned, culturally conditioned, often can be developed, amplified, released (with more or less difficulty).
A low level of skill or capability in Emotional Intelligence leads to all too familiar negative behaviours: conflict, misunderstanding, poor decision making, inefficiency, weak management, empty leadership, unawareness, little or no empathy, disrespect, etc. These are behaviours that plaque the workplace and our lives. Making a commitment to work on our understanding and application of Role Analysis can help us to enjoy the benefits of improved communication, strong and effective leadership, greater trust and of course, admired integrity.
What is Assertiveness?
When we are unaware of our Roles, their responsibilities and their impact on others, we function Passively or Aggressively – from one extreme to the other. It is difficult for us, with a limited “toolkit” to find and apply behaviour that is appropriate to the situation in which we find ourselves. We are reactive rather proactive.
Passive behaviour usually is as a result of our need for the approval and acceptance of others. We choose not to “rock the boat” or to be direct especially when we are in disagreement with others. But, our perceived silent or accepting behaviour is not an indication that we understand, care or accept what is being communicated. This internal conflict eventually catches up with us and we eventually “burst” out with more inappropriate – but aggressive – behaviours.
On the other side of the pendulum, we move quickly to aggressive behaviour when the “bubble is about to burst”. We speak loudly, interrupt frequently, give little or no consideration to the feelings of others, we intentionally hurt to “get our way” – in essence, we behave like a spoilt child whose sweet has been taken away.
Acquiring Respect and Behaving Appropriately
With strong Emotional Intelligence, we are able to discern what are the appropriate behaviours for the current situation and dip into our “toolkit” to engage and apply them. Assertive behaviours support our acquisition of respect, admiration, healthy decision making, relationship balance and leads to trust from our followers and admired integrity.
This, then, should be our goal – to first understand our own current functioning and why we behave inappropriately in some situations. What “triggers” us to retreat into our shell (behave passively) or lash out at others (behave aggressively) for no perceived reason.
If our Role is to serve, manage or lead then this awareness is critical!
The Purpose of Role Development
The purpose of Role Development is to marry analysis and action-methods with behavioural techniques to discern HOW to be assertive in a variety of social situations and increase the behavioural tools in our “toolkit”
The basic assumption underlying the practice of assertion training is that people have the right – but not the obligation – to express their feelings, thoughts, beliefs and attitudes.
The goal of assertion training is to increase the group member’s behavioural repertoire so that they can make the choice of being assertive or not.
How We Can Support Your Growth
Through active and full involvement, participants in our Workshops will learn how to modify or reinvent their behaviour by making choices that enhance their performance effectiveness and capitalise more on their latent potential.
Role analysis and assertion training, like all action methods, employs guided dramatic action to examine issues and challenges raised by an individual or a group. Ample time will be given to discussion and exchange in a facilitative and supportive environment.
This is an extremely valuable training opportunity for anyone who works with groups of people. This includes those who work in the areas of human resources, management, training, personal development, community development, organisational development and service. No previous experience is required.
Call us at LaMP International Limited to discuss if our training interventions are appropriate for your needs.
Hi Cassandra,
This article is very CLEAR and well written. For certain I am interested in developing my effectiveness with LaMP International Limited. Your ability to capture the real life examples of the behaviors displayed in today’s organizations has to be the highlight for me. While reading, I did a quick self assessment which got me excited to work on the gaps. Also, it took me back to some situations where I felt it could have been dealt with differently by my peers.
Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading your further post.
Live Well, Eat Well …..
Alicia
Dear Alicia,
Thank you very much for taking the time to read through and provide such provocative feedback.
Now that you have done a self-assessment, it is time to deep dive into the specifics to set priorities for your growth and development.
We look forward to keeping in touch to learn about your progress.
Kind regards,
Cassandra