In Search ofthe Right Touch Interpersonal Assertiveness in OrganizationalLife DanielR - PDF document

InSearchoftheRightTouchInterpersonalAssertivenessinOrganizationalLifeDanielR.AmesColumbiaBusinessSchoolABSTRACT—Recentevidencesuggeststhatmanyorgani-zationalmembersandleadersareseenasunder-orover-assertivebycolleagues,suggestingthathavingthe‘‘righttouch’’withinterpersonalassertivenessisameaning-fulandwidespreadchallenge.Inthisarticle,Ireviewemergingworkonthecurvilinearrelationbetweenasser- AddresscorrespondencetoDanielAmes,ColumbiaBusinessSchool,707UrisHall,3022Broadway,NewYork,NY10027;e-mail: CURRENTDIRECTIONSINPSYCHOLOGICALSCIENCEVolume17ÑNumber6Copyright2008AssociationforPsychologicalScience theworstandbestleadersforwhomtheyhadeverworked(Ames,2007).Paralleltotheresultsbasedonweaknesscomments,assertivenesswasaclearthemeinnearlyhalfthedescriptionsofworstleaders(moreprevalentthanotherdimensions,includingsupportiveness,communication,andintegrity),thoughitap-pearedinonlyaquarterofbest-leaderdescriptions(farlessoftenthansupportiveness,communication,andintegrity).Hadthesestudiesfocusedonthestrengthsofcolleaguesanddescriptionsofgreatleaders,assertivenesswouldhavebeeneasytodismiss.OnereasonforthisasymmetryÑwithasser-tivenessamajorthemeinineffectivebutnoteffectivemanage-mentÑmaybethefactthat,unlikemanyotherleadershipqualities,assertivenesswasseenasashortcominginrections:toomuchandtoolittle.Indeed,intheÞrststudynotedabove,commentsaboutassertivenessasaweaknessweresplitalmostequallybetweenoverassertiveness(48%)andunderassertiveness(52%).ModerateassertivenessmaybelikeacausalbackgroundconditionoranecessarybutinsufÞcientcause:Wheninplace,itisunremarkable,andonlookersÕat-tentionisdrawntoothervividandseeminglysufÞcientfactors,includinglinearpredictorsofeffectivenesssuchasconscien-tiousness.However,whenassertivenessregistersastooloworhigh,itmaydominateattention,eclipsingotherqualitiesandinterruptingeffectiveness.ACurvilinearLinkwithMultipleMediatorsTheseresultssuggestthatassertivenesshasaninverted-U-shapedrelationshipwitheffectiveness.Researchusingcontin-uousmeasuresofassertivenessandoutcomesyieldsresultsconsistentwiththis(Ames,2007).Inastudycontrastingreportsontheworstandbestleaderswithwhominformantshadworked,thedistributionofassertivenessdifferedmarkedly:Fewbestleadersappeartopossessextremelevelsofassertiveness,whereasworstleadersweremorecommonatboththelowandhighendsoftheassertivenessspectrum(seeFig.1).Otherev-idencecomesfromreportsacrossawiderangeofmanagers,attemptingtopredicttheireffectiveness.Here,ratingsofassertivenesshaveshownacurvilinearrelationwithvariousdependentmeasures,includingleadershipeffectivenessandexpectedfuturesuccess(e.g.,Ames&Flynn,2007).Bothleaderscomparativelylowinassertivenessandthosecompara-tivelyhighinassertivenesswereratedworsethanthoseinthemiddlerange(Fig.1).Howarelowandhighlevelsofassertivenessharmful?Theimpactofassertivenesscanbedecomposedintotwodomains:instrumentalrelationaloutcomes.Priorworksuggeststhatincreasinginterpersonalassertivenesshasapositiveeffectoninstrumentaloutcomes(e.g.,completingtasks,securingresources)butanegativeeffectonsocialoutcomes(e.g.,culti-vatingrapport,sustainingtrust).Thispairofeffectsmayimplythat,asassertivenessincreases,gainsintheinstrumentaldomaincouldoffsetlossesinthesocialdomain,andoveralleffectivenesswouldsomehowremainconstantratherthanshowacurvilineareffect.However,workonnegativityeffects(e.g.,Baumeister,Bratslavsky,Finkenauer,&Vohs,2001)suggeststhatonlookersweighlossesmoreheavilythangains.Atlowlevelsofassertiveness,coworkersmayfocusonacolleagueÕsÔÔinstrumentalimpotenceÕÕmorethanonhersocialachieve-ments.Athighlevelsofassertiveness,coworkersmayattendmoretoacolleagueÕsÔÔsocialinsufferabilityÕÕthantoherin-strumentalsuccess.Thispredictionwasborneoutinastudyofsubordinateratingsofleaders(Ames&Flynn,2007).Mediationanalysesshowedthat,atlowlevelsofassertiveness,instru-mentaloutcomes(ÔÔabletogethis/herwayandaccomplishworkgoalsÕÕ)butnotsocialones(ÔÔabletobuildpositiverelationshipsandtrustÕÕ)accountedforthelinkbetweenassertivenessandeffectiveness.Athighlevelsofassertiveness,socialoutcomes Interpersonal AssertivenessInterpersonal AssertivenessRated Effectiveness asColleague or LeaderAssertivenessPredictingEffectivenessShare of CasesDistribution ofAssertiveness AmongWorst and Best LeadersBestWorstleaders Fig.1.Distributionofassertivenessamongleadersratedworstandbestbycoworkers(leftgraph;basedonAmes,2007)andassertivenessasapredictorofeffectiveness(rightgraph;basedonAmes&Flynn,2007).Ineffectiveleadersaremorelikelytodisplayextremeloworhighlevelsofas-sertiveness;moderateinterpersonalassertivenessisassociatedwithhigherlevelsofeffectivenessandmoreeffectiveleadership.Volume17ÑNumber6 InterpersonalAssertiveness butnotinstrumentalonesaccountedforthelink.Thushighlyassertiveleaderstendedtobeineffectivelargelybecausetheyfailedtogetalong,whereasrelativelyunassertiveleaderstendedtobeineffectivelargelybecausetheyfailedtogetthingsdone.SituationallyAppropriateAssertivenessThelevelofassertivenessthatisadaptiveinonesituationmaynotbeeffectiveinthenext.Normsforassertivenesscertainlyvarybyculture,organization,relationship,task,andothercontexts.Recentworkhastakenupthisissue,exploringwhethersituationalappropriatenessmattersandwhetheramanagerÕsÔÔaverageassertivenessÕÕisevenameaningfulconcept(Ames,2008b).TwostudiesusedprofessionalsÕreportsontheirman-agersacrosssituations,includingthemanagerÕsbehaviorwithsubordinates,superiors,customers,andsuppliers(ofcourse,thisisnottheonlywaytooperationalizesituations,butitcap-turesdifferenttaskandstatusdynamics;respondentsindicatedthatthesedomainsweremeaningfulintheirperceptionsofmanagerassertiveness).TheresponsesshowedthatsituationallyappropriateassertivenessÑforinstance,showingwhatinfor-mantssawasanappropriatelevelofassertivenesswithcus-tomersÑpredictedperceivedmanagereffectivenessbeyondtheimpactofaverageassertiveness.Thus,itisnotsimplythateffectivemanagerschronicallydisplaymoderateassertiveness,butratherthattheytendtoÞttheirbehaviortothesituationÕsdemands,aneffectthatisconsistentwithalongtraditionofworkonsituationalandcontingentleadershipapproaches(e.g.,Fie-dler&Chemers,1974)andwithworkonbehavioralßexibilityandself-monitoring(e.g.,Day&Schleicher,2006;Zaccaro,Foti,&Kenny,1991).Whilethesecontexteffectswerenoteworthy,cross-situationalconsistencyinbehaviorwasalsoapparent.Thelevelsofasser-tivenessmanagersdisplayedtowardsubordinates,superiors,customers,andsupplierswerepositivelycorrelated.Indeed,amanagerÕsassertivenessinanygivencontext(e.g.,towardsub-ordinates)wassubstantiallybetterpredictedbythemanagerÕsapparentassertivenessinothercontexts(e.g.,towardsuperiors,customers,andsuppliers)thanitwasbywhatinformantssawastheappropriatelevelofassertivenessforthegivencontext.Moreover,under-andoverassertivenessappearedtocarryacrossdomains.Onaverage,under-andoverassertivenessinonedo-main(e.g.,withsubordinates)mademanagersthreetofourtimesmorelikelytobeseenassimilarlymiscalibrated(under-oroverassertive)inotherdomainscomparedtothosewhowerenotmiscalibratedinthatway.Thus,althoughthemosteffectivemanagersmaybecapableofcalibratingtheirassertivenessacrosssituations,emergingevidencesuggeststhatsuchcali-brationmaybeachallengemanymanagersmeetonlyinpart.SourcesofInterpersonalAssertivenessIfcalibratedassertivenessissoimportant,whatexplainspeo-pleÕstendencytodisplayunhelpfullylowandhighlevelsofinterpersonalassertiveness?Onepossibilityisthatpeoplerec-ognizethattheirassertivenessisdysfunctionallyextremebutdonotknowhowtochangeordonotbelievethattheycanchange.Suchmaybethecaseforsomeextremelyshyindivid-uals,forinstance,whoseetheirbehaviorasunwantedbutunmalleable.Othersmayrecognizethesocialorinstrumentalcostlinessoftheirassertiveness,andyetproceedcontentedlybecausetheirbehaviorfaithfullyreßectstheirmotives.Inotherwords,theyhavelittleinterestinchanging.Thisappearstobethepre-dominantanswerofferedintheconßict,socialdilemma,andnegotiationsliteratures(e.g.,Carnevale&DeDreu,2006).Highlyassertivepeoplepushhard,thislogicgoes,becausetheyhabituallywanttowinandtheycarelessaboutothers;unas-sertivepeopleyieldbecausetheytypicallyjustwanttogetalong.Thereisnoquestionthatthesemotivationsvaryfrompersontopersonandthatthisexplainssomeshareofvarianceinindi-vidualassertiveness.However,anothermechanismmaybeatworkaswell.MyÞrsthandexperienceincoachingprofessionalseitherloworhighinassertivenesswhoreceivefeedbackfromcoworkersisthatmanyofthemarepartlyorprofoundlyunawareofhowtheirbehaviorisperceivedbyothers.Thisisechoedinresearchthatsuggeststhatasmanyashalfofunderassertiveoroverassertivemanagersareseenbytheirownsubordinatesasgenerallyunawarethattheirlevelofassertivenessisinappro-priate(Ames,2008b).Suchlimitedself-awarenessisreßectedinotherworkonmultiraterfeedback(e.g.,London&Wohlers,1991)andself-perceptionmoregenerally(e.g.,Dunning,2005).OnemechanismthatÞtswiththislackofself-awarenessisinterpersonalexpectancies(e.g.,Baldwin,2005).Peoplemakeidiosyncraticpredictionsabouthowotherswillreacttoagivenlevelofassertiveness.Onepersonmightthink,forexample,thatifshepolitelybutÞrmlyrefusedacolleagueÕsrequestforre-sources,thecolleaguewouldregardherwithdisdain.Anotherpersonmightconsiderthesamerefusal,predictingthatthecolleaguewouldÞnditacceptableorevenadmirable.Evenifthesetwopeoplehadexactlythesamemotivetoprotecttherelationship,theymightdifferintheirbehavior(e.g.,decliningtherequestvs.grantingit)simplybecausetheyanticipatedifferentoutcomes.Becausefeedbackonwhethersuchexpec-tanciesarecorrectmayberare,peoplemaypersistinhabituallylow-assertiveorhigh-assertivebehavior,believingittoberea-sonableandadaptive,withoutknowingthatothersseetheirstyleastooweakortooharsh.Recentwork(Ames,inpress)suggeststhatÔÔassertivenessexpectanciesÕÕplayameaningfulroleinexplainingindividuallevelsofassertiveness.Inaseriesofstudies,participantsreadaboutworkplacescenariossuchasasalarynegotiationandex-pressedtheirexpectanciesbynotingthesocialandinstrumentaloutcomesthattheyexpectedwouldfollowfromdifferentbehaviorsrangingfromlowassertivenesstohighassertiveness.TheseexpectancyratingspredictedhowotherpeopleratedtheparticipantsÕactualassertivenessinothercontextsatdifferentVolume17ÑNumber6 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times.Thosewhoexpectedrelativelyminimalcostsfromhighlevelsofinterpersonalassertiveness(e.g.,expectingamanagerwouldÞndanaggressivecounterofferinasalarynegotiationacceptable)wereseenbysubsequentnegotiationpartnersandworkcolleaguesasconsiderablymoreassertivethanthosewhoforecastthatthosesamebehaviorswouldentailgreatcosts(e.g.,expectingthatthemanagerwouldÞndacounterofferoffensive).Theeffectsoftheseexpectanciesweredistinctfromeffectsofsocialmotives,suggestingthatcompletemodelsofassertivebehaviorshouldincorporatebothmotivationsandexpectancies.Thereare,then,anumberofreasonswhyunadaptivelyloworhighlevelsofinterpersonalassertivenessmightpersist.Somepeoplebelievetheycannotchangeordonotknowhowtochange.Othersrecognizetheimpacttheyhaveandarecontentthattheseoutcomesmatchtheirobjectives.Stillothersareunawareofhowtheirbehaviorisseenbycolleagues,withtheirassertivenessreßectingoverlypessimisticoroptimisticexpectanciesabouttheimpactofpushingback.FUTUREDIRECTIONSEmergingevidencesuggeststhathavingtheÔÔrighttouchÕÕwithinterpersonalassertivenessisanimportantfactorinorganiza-tionalandleadershipeffectiveness.Formanymanagers,thisbalancingactÑpushinghardenoughtobeinstrumentallyeffectivebutnotsohardastounderminerelationshipsÑisadifÞcultone.Theresultsnotedheresuggestthatwhenindivid-ualsstrikethewrongbalance,theyarelikelytodosoacrosscontextsandmayoftenbeunawarethattheirbehaviorisseenaswideofthemark.Thisemergingbodyofworkhasanumberofpracticalimpli-cations.Oneisthatmultiraterfeedbacksystemsinorganizationsshouldgaugeinterpersonalassertiveness.Ifmanymanagersdonotrealizehowothersseetheirassertiveness,coworkerfeed-backcouldrevealaneedtopushharderoreaseup.Anotherimplicationisthatcliniciansandcoacheswhoworkwithindi-vidualsexhibitingunhelpfullyloworhighlevelsofassertivenessmightconsideralteringexpectanciesasanapproachtoalteringbehavior.Itmaybepossibletocalibrateassertivenessbyen-couragingindividualstotestandrevisetheirexpectancies(ÔÔoutcomeexpectationsÕÕinBanduraÕs[1977]terms).Individualschronicallylowinassertivenessmayoverturntheirpessimismaboutwhatmoderateassertivenessmightachieve;individualschronicallyhighinassertivenessmaycurbtheiroptimismabouttheconsequencesofaggression.Moreover,calibratingexpec-tanciesforparticularsituationsandcontextscouldleadtomoresituationallyappropriateassertiveness.Thereismuchlefttodiscoveraboutassertiveness.Onepromisingresearchdirectionconcernsthelimitsandboundariesoftheeffectsdescribedhere.Recentresultssuggestthatwhileappropriateassertivenessislinkedtoeffectivenessforbothmaleandfemalemanagers,femalemanagersmaybemoreharshlyjudgedforoverassertivenesswhereasmalemanagersmaybemoreharshlyjudgedforunderassertiveness(Ames,2008b).Futureresearchmightexplorehowgender,perceiverstereo-types,organizationalcontext,andotherfactorsaffecttheper-ceptionofinterpersonalassertiveness.Theresultsreviewedherealsohaveabroaderimplicationforscholarsofinterpersonalrelationsandorganizationalbehavior:Commonlyusedresearchmethodsandvantagepointsmaybringsomeeffects,suchaslinearpredictors,intofocuswhileleavingothers,suchascurvilineardynamics,unnoticedorobscured(cf.Simonton,1995;Zaccaro,2007).ResearchersmayunderstandinterpersonaldynamicsandorganizationallifemorefullybyobservingwhenandwhybothÔÔnotenoughÕÕandÔÔtoomuchÕÕofagoodthingcanbringmisfortune.RecommendedReadingAmes,D.R.(inpress).(SeeReferences).Examinestheformasser-tivenessexpectanciestakeaswellastheirabilitytopredictassertivebehavior.Ames,D.R.,&Flynn,F.J.(2007).(SeeReferences).Documentstheprevalenceofassertivenessasachallengeformanagers,aswellasthecurvilinearlinkbetweenassertivenessandeffectiveness.Baldwin,M.W.(Ed.).(2005).(SeeReferences).Aneditedvolumesur-veyingcontemporaryperspectivesonrelationalcognition,in-cludingexpectanciesandrelationshipmodels.Judge,T.A.,Bono,J.E.,Ilies,R.,&Gerhardt,M.W.(2002).(SeeRef-erences).Presentsaqualitativereviewofthetraitperspectiveinleadershipresearchandameta-analysisoflinksbetweentheBigFivetraitsandleadership.Zaccaro,S.J.(2007).(SeeReferences).Abriefreviewofthehistoryoftraitaccountsofleadership,aswellasanintegratedmodelthatdistinguishesbetweendistalandproximalattributesandspeciÞesaroleforsituations.Ames,D.R.(2007).Morethanonewaytofailasaleader:Howtheworstbossesgetassertivenesswrong.Unpublishedmanu-Ames,D.R.(2008a).Pushinguptoapoint:Assertivenessandeffective-nessininterpersonaldynamicsandorganizationallife.Manuscriptsubmittedforpublication.Ames,D.R.(2008b).Managers’interpersonalassertivenessacrosssitu-ations:Doestmatter?Isbehaviorconsistent?Manuscriptsub-mittedforpublication.Ames,D.R.(inpress).Assertivenessexpectancies:Howhardpeoplepushdependsontheconsequencestheypredict.JournalofPer-sonalityandSocialPsychologyAmes,D.R.,&Flynn,F.J.(2007).Whatbreaksaleader:Thecurvilinearrelationbetweenassertivenessandleadership.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,307Ð324.Baldwin,M.W.(Ed.).(2005).Interpersonalcognition.NewYork:Bandura,A.(1977).Self-efÞcacy:Towardaunifyingtheoryofbehav-ioralchange.PsychologicalReview,191Ð215.Volume17ÑNumber6 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Baumeister,R.,Bratslavsky,E.,Finkenauer,C.,&Vohs,K.(2001).Badisstrongerthangood.ReviewofGeneralPsychology,323ÐBeer,J.S.(2002).Implicitself-theoriesandshyness.JournalofPer-sonalityandSocialPsychology,1009Ð1024.Carnevale,P.J.,&DeDreu,C.K.W.(2006).Motive:ThenegotiatorÕsraisondÕetre.InLeighThompson(Ed.),Frontiersofsocialpsy-chology:Negotiationtheoryandresearch(pp.55Ð76).NewYork:PsychologyPress.Day,D.V.,&Schleicher,D.J.(2006).Self-monitoringatwork:Amotive-basedperspective.JournalofPersonality,685ÐDunning,D.(2005).Self-insight:Roadblocksanddetoursonthepathtoknowingthyself.NewYork:PsychologyPress.Fiedler,F.E.,&Chemers,M.M.(1974).Leadershipandeffective.Glenview,IL:Scott,Foresman.Goleman,D.(2006).Socialintelligence:Thenewscienceofhuman.NewYork:BantamBooks.Hogan,R.,&Kaiser,R.B.(2005).Whatweknowaboutleadership.ReviewofGeneralPsychology,169Ð180.Judge,T.A.,Bono,J.E.,Ilies,R.,&Gerhardt,M.W.(2002).Personalityandleadership:Aqualitativeandquantitativereview.JournalofAppliedPsychology,765Ð780.London,M.,&Wohlers,A.J.(1991).Agreementbetweensubordinateandself-ratingsinupwardfeedback.PersonnelPsychologyPeterson,R.S.,Smith,D.B.,Martorana,P.V.,&Owens,P.D.(2003).TheimpactofchiefexecutiveofÞcerpersonalityontopmanagementteamdynamics:Onemechanismbywhichleadershipaffectsorganiza-tionalperformance.JournalofAppliedPsychology,795Ð808.Simonton,D.K.(1995).Personalityandintellectualpredictorsofleadership.InD.H.Saklofske&M.Zeidner(Eds.),handbookofpersonalityandintelligence(pp.739Ð757).NewYork:Zaccaro,S.J.(2007).Trait-basedperspectivesofleadership.,6Ð16.Zaccaro,S.J.,Foti,R.J.,&Kenny,D.A.(1991).Self-monitoringandtrait-basedvarianceinleadership:Aninvestigationofleaderßexibilityacrossmultiplegroupsituations.JournalofApplied,308Ð315.Volume17ÑNumber6 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