quantmleap

Clearly, in any work environment, abusive and aggressive behavior is unacceptable. The line between assertiveness and aggressiveness is a fine line. In management roles It is not trivial to distinguish between assertiveness and aggressiveness. Getting the job done requires certain level of determination and persistence and it is the latter that can, in some circumstances, result in perception of aggressiveness.

As a project manager, your ability to control your temper and respond to people in a respectable manner is very much a reflection of your value system. From my experience, it is not unusual to observe managers behave towards their employees in a manner which surely contradicts their own, self professed, value system. For whatever reason, it seems somewhat acceptable, while in a work environment, to exhibit attitudes and behaviors one would not normally exhibit in front of family and friends. The common explanation to this apparent split personality is that at work the people we deal with get paid to be there and provide a certain level of service. This is a valid but incomplete argument. After all, are we allowed to use abusive or aggressive language against a supermarket employee or a plumber at our home just because they are being paid by us to provide us with a service?

At the end of the day, provided that you want to look at yourself in the mirror, you need to respect your value system. It does not mean that you need to compromise or lower your quality expectations, it does mean though that you need to tone down your response and deal with other people with respect.

Think about it!

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