Working Tip: Be Assertive

Here is a little quiz adapted from the link below:

How Assertive Are You?

* Do you ask for help if you need it?
* Do you express anger and annoyance appropriately?
* Do you ask questions when you're confused?
* Do you volunteer your opinions when you think or feel differently from others?
* Do you speak up fairly frequently?
* Are you able to say "no" when you don't want to do something?
* Do you speak with a generally confident manner, communicating caring and strength?
* Do you look at people when you're talking to them?

Assertiveness is important for crime and intelligence analysts. I am fairly assertive and improved in that area as years went on in my job. Note that being assertive may not get you what you want, but it is the best you can do to communicate your findings, to let others know what you need to do a good job, to set boundaries so that you are not absorbed in irrelevant work, to more clearly define a decision-makers needs by asking questions, to more clearly define a problem by asking question, to find answers by asking question....etc. etc. etc.!