Here's how you can use assertiveness to resolve conflicts with colleagues in telecommunications engineering.

Express Your Ideas: Using thoughts and reasoning when arising an issues or suggesting solutions or addressing a certain problems. Do not use your thought as a final decision. Active Listening: Respect other views and reason even if is against your thought and come up with common answer to the problem.

Buenas tardes cuando se está en la búsqueda de una implementación, mejora o resolución de una falla es fundamental realizar una Mesa Técnica con el personal involucrado en el área y que salgan lo que se llama la lluvia de ideas para analizar y que salga la Solución más lógica y técnica para su implementación. De esta forma todo el personal aportará y logramos nivelar en función de la sumatoria de los conocimientos del personal que formó en la Mesa Técnica.

Focus on Facts, Not Blame: In telecommunications engineering, conflicts often arise due to technical disagreements, delays, or workload distribution. Assertive communication means sticking to objective facts without assigning blame. For example, instead of saying, "You always delay your part of the project," you could assertively say, "The last two deadlines were missed, which impacted our timelines. Let’s discuss ways to stay on schedule."

No doubt assertiveness is key in Telecommunications Engineering, as well as precision and clarity. By the way, it is the same in most fields. Be sure to say what you have to say in a respectful and contributive manner. The example of a disagreement with someone´s approach to a Network Design points to a lack of previous meetings or interactions. If I can communicate my concerns and I can suggest alternatives now, much likely I could have done it before. The most relevant issue in Network Design is to meet the envisaged schedule and performance (including escalation perspective) within the agreed budget. Alternatives should be considered and analyzed under this umbrella.

Ever been in a meeting where everyone nods, but you can hear crickets? That’s when assertiveness saves the day! I start by clarifying the issue: “Looks like our project timelines are doing the cha-cha instead of a straight line!” Then I share how I feel, like when deadlines slip, I’m juggling flaming swords! Listening actively is key: “What’s going on in your corner? I promise I won’t bite... much!” I suggest regular check-ins—like coffee breaks, but with teamwork! Let’s keep communication flowing like morning coffee!

Again, active listening is an essential component of assertive communication in a technical context, as well as in any field of activity. I understand that, sometimes, you can respectfully interrupt the explanation of a viewpoint to clarify something said that is important for the continuation of the theme. Depending on the situation, you can say what you understood from the explanation and ask for confirmation.

Além de ouvir as palavras, a escuta ativa envolve prestar atenção na linguagem corporal e no tom de voz do seu colega. Em uma discussão técnica de alta complexidade, como aquelas no ambiente de engenharia de telecomunicações, esses elementos não verbais podem revelar frustrações ou preocupações que não foram explicitamente ditas. Ao reconhecer esses sinais, você demonstra empatia e compreensão. Após ouvir, faça perguntas esclarecedoras para garantir que você interpretou corretamente a mensagem, mostrando que está comprometido em encontrar uma solução conjunta.

That´s alright. Not all disagreements are conflicts. Often they are different points of view, or just did not consider the whole environment.

Correct. Treat your colleagues as you´d like them to treat you. Keep in mind that they are, most of times, trying to contribute, even if they occasionally do it in an odd way.

In my experience, a solution that sastisfies all parties may not be the best for the project. it is important to acknowledge all contributions, and always analyze them keeping in mind the project´s objectives: schedule, performance and budget. A direct and clear feed-back is needed when a contribution was not taken into account.

✅ Expresar opiniones con claridad → Comunicar ideas de manera directa y respetuosa evita malentendidos. ✅ Escuchar activamente → Prestar atención a las preocupaciones de los demás fortalece la colaboración. ✅ Buscar soluciones en conjunto → Enfocar la conversación en acuerdos y no en diferencias. ✅ Evitar respuestas agresivas o pasivas → Mantener un tono equilibrado facilita la resolución de conflictos. ✅ Usar técnicas de negociación → Aplicar estrategias como el método Harvard ayuda a encontrar puntos en común.