Assertive leadership is characterized by a leader who creates a sense of power, progress, and purpose in the group. It can be both inspiring and motivating for subordinates. Assertive leaders are not necessarily all about aggression - rather they create an authoritative atmosphere that is empowering while also promoting team spirit. They make sure that the team enjoys working with them and feels good about taking risks together.
If you are an HR practitioner or a management student, you would have come across Thomas‐Kilmann's Conflict Management Modes (CMM). This matrix is designed to measure a person's behavior in conflict situations.
Many times students don't understand the true meaning of the word conflict. The "Conflict situations" are those in which the concerns of two people appear to be incompatible. In such situations, the matrix describes an individual's behavior along two dimensions: (1) assertiveness, the extent to which the person attempts to satisfy his own concerns, and (2) cooperativeness, the extent to which the person attempts to satisfy the other person's concerns. The above infographic gives you an overview of the model.