Hey! Hello and How are ya?!?
SO. What is aggression? Is it a positive thing or a negative trait? Hmm… let’s take a deeper look into this. I found two dictionary definitions as follows:
1. ready or likely to attack or confront characterized by or resulting from aggression the second definition
2. pursuing one’s aims and interests forcefully, sometimes unduly so.
Now some of the synonyms for aggressive are hostile assertive, belligerent, forceful, antagonistic, competitive, insistent, energetic, and vigorous.
It has been my experience that many people are intimidated when they meet a person who is insistent and assertive whether they are in business or not. For reasons beyond our xx chromosomal control, a lot of that intimidation is even stronger when it is a female who is identified as a bit assertive, i.e. aggressive. I don’t believe that is a bad thing. NOPE! Come closer, let me break it down a bit further.
Even with the intimidation that some may feel, I think that subconsciously whether it’s business-to-business or business-to-consumer the recipient feels more secure in their investment decisions in their decisions on who to give their money to or who to work with if that leader is a bit on the aggressive side. Case in point: If you’re looking for a stockbroker to invest on WallStreet for you, do you want a stockbroker who’s going to sit back and “pardon me, thank you, excuse me,” and not make it to the front of the crowd where he needs to be, OR, are you going to go with that stockbroker that pushes his way to the front, not necessarily knocking people down, but making their presence known as “hey I’m here, I’m heading there, I need you to move if you’re in my way because I’m going to get to where I need to be!” You see it all comes down to effective communication having a more aggressive and assertive leader of business brings results!
You trust these individuals. You know what they want you to know and how they plan to get what they want! You know that they are not shy about communicating possible impending problems and generally they’re extremely self-confident or they come across that way at least. Now, for all my #bossbabes RAW TRUTH… We all know that is important for a business leader or a thought leader to be assertive (survival of the fittest rule of the game). I am of the belief that especially as a female entrepreneur there must be an air of assertiveness in order to succeed in a world that is mostly male.
In fact, I’ve noticed that a lot of your most successful entrepreneurs have more effort, more assertiveness, more aggressiveness, and sometimes less overall experience if you look at their backgrounds. However, aggressive effort builds skill. One of the things I would encourage you to do is if you haven’t already increased the amount of written content, written books that you consume, get to reading!!! One such noteworthy book is Grit by Angela Duckworth. It looks at the power of personal perseverance and passion and she calls that combination Grit. So, according to Duckworth, the secret to having outstanding results and record-breaking achievements is not talent but it is Grit. She also proposes that looking at people who have a perceived natural talent for things could be a prejudice against those who have Grit. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a mistake that could be leaving out a lot of talented people who evolved through their aggressive nail chewing or their Grit.
I teach my private coaching clients in The FAIRE Transformation Formula that it would be most advisable to explore and expand on not our raw talent for doing what we do, but to explore our process. Highlight the journey!! Explore all of the things that occurred in your life that have helped you arrive at your current level of greatness. See, I believe that if you only shine the spotlight on the talent that has resulted from your aggressiveness then you leave the best part of your story behind. There’s always someone watching from the shadows when you’re building on your empire. Don’t do them a disservice by sending the message that everything else that makes up your grit doesn’t matter as much as your talent. SO many of the great pillars of entrepreneurship began with a negative talent pool. so today I challenge you to be a grittier person!! Yes we’ve adapted we have grown we have involved evolved but our evolution is a direct response to our aggressive grittiness.
CHEERS!
The FAIRE Mogul
PS.
Remember, I mentioned previously that I had something that I would be announcing soon. Well…It won’t be today but I will give you a hint…HINT!!
PSS.
Just joking! THE REAL HINT, I am bringing my private coaching to the public! MORE TO COME VERY SOON!!!
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