Who hasn’t heard that before? Or how about the contradictory comments about female managers being too bossy or domineering?

Assertiveness is a difficult skill to master. Who has sat quietly in a meeting feeling the discussion was missing something, and not spoken up? Or perhaps wildly overcompensated afterwards, either in the “I told you so” round or in the next discussion, nitpicking away at every suggestion not swollen with every possible fact.

I think assertiveness is an issue women struggle with more then men, especially in a male dominated environment. I found this article a little while ago, about the ”Delicate Art of Being Perfectly Assertive” In the HBR. It’s short, sharp and relays information from business leaders to it’s readers in a great summary.