Since my blog is called ‘Rants and Raves’ and I’ve only been raving about movies recently, I figure it’s about time for a rant. Many people feel that leadership and success are associated with aggressiveness and assertiveness. I don’t think that this is true.

Aggressiveness means bold and energetic, but it also means hostile and harsh. A leader should be able to guide or inspire others. Being bold and energetic may help motivate others, but it is not a necessity. And it is definitely unnecessary to be hostile or harsh.

Assertiveness means boldly confident or aggressively self-assured. A successful leader must be confident and self-assured. But why boldly or aggressively? A leader should be confident that s/he is capable of achieving a goal, but s/he should not be cocky about it.

Why must leaders always be extremely extroverted or outgoing? Obviously, s/he needs social skills and can’t be overly shy, but why isn’t a soft-spoken, good listener considered a good leader? It is important to listen to team members and take their opinions into consideration. In fact, I think the best leaders are the ones that are not overly dominating and make everyone feel included. They can get things accomplished efficiently without creating bitterness or resentment.

Also, just because someone is quiet does not mean that they are not assertive. In fact, it could be because they are confident in their beliefs that they do not need to continuously talk to convince themselves and others of their opinions. Of course, if someone is completely wrong, they should speak up, but otherwise they can just let others happily entertain themselves with their continuous chatter.