"Too Aggressive"

Oh, the labels we women wear.

If we speak up, push back, or interject- we are "too aggressive".

If we don't say anything- we are "too quiet".

For me personally, in a demanding sales role, sometimes being aggressive is what it took to get things done.

I had one manager who would always pass the difficult accounts to me. "Let Andrea handle it". Why? Because I could handle an aggressive or angry customer fairly and diplomatically. That does not mean I'd be walked on.

Yet, over time, I noticed a pattern. Leaders hired me to do the hard work. To handle tough situations, close difficult deals, and power through pressure. What they didn't want was for me to disagree or hold them accountable. This was even more notable and obvious when I had younger less experienced leadership.

Being assertive is not aggressive. Being aggressive isn't always a bad thing. It is defined in two ways. One negatively and one defined by google dictionary as, "pursuing one's aims and interests forcefully, sometimes unduly so". In sales, sometimes this is necessary.

I will wear the label of aggressive any day because I do not see it negatively. I see it as a label men have provided me when I behave the same way they do.

If you can dish it out, you damn well better be able to take it.