This review appeared in People Management magazine, 4 October 2007
User-friendly Read Is Ideal For Those Wanting To Promote Inclusivity
Anni Townend is a leadership coach who believes organisations are healthier and happier places to work if people feel properly valued. Her book explores the benefits of better people management and the relationship between being able to be oneself and being assertive.
In her professional life as a business psychologist. Townend's work focuses on helping people to develop more self-confidence and a greater sense of purpose, and these themes are explored in the book. As well as explaining the theory of assertiveness, the author includes a variety of practical examples.
Townend offers her readers an understanding of the crucial relationship between assertiveness and promoting diversity, and the book is an ideal companion for people who want to create more inclusive organisations.
She clearly sets out the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness and the importance of self-awareness and self-respect to feelings of worth and value.
The book takes a gentle journey from the philosophy of assertiveness through to managing conflict - the chapter on dealing with bullying is welcome.
Townend also examines personality types and team roles. Another section focuses on assertive relationships and diversity in organisations, exploring themes such as performance reviews, work-life balance and the business case for diversity and assertiveness. As she points out, "people perform better and make a bigger contribution to the success of the business when they feel valued and respected for who they are and what they do".
Townend makes good use of a mix of personal stories and organisational case studies to illustrate the importance of embracing change, and these examples help to soften the text. If I had any criticism, it is that I would have liked to have seen more time spent on some subjects. For example, further analysis of the institutional barriers that prevent inclusivity would have been helpful. Nevertheless, the author has managed to pack a lot of useful material into her book.
The subject matter of this book could have been worthy but dry: fortunately, Townend has written a user-friendly, likeable publication. She avoids jargon and treats the reader as an intelligent enthusiast.
The book should become a firm favourite with people management and development practitioners and would also be a useful source of reference material for CIPD students. However. I fear that it will inevitably appeal to the "diversity champions" in organisations and may not reach the wider readership it deserves.
Tracy Walters is head of diversity, CSR and well-being at work, Defra.