“No” the most powerful word in the world? Possibly…. Does “there’s just not enough hours in the day” sound familiar? As leaders, Time is often our scarcest resource and in an increasingly complex landscape, it’s easy to be pulled in a million directions at once and feel you’re getting nowhere or getting overwhelmed. It may be because we are saying yes to things we should be saying no to. I used to be awful at saying no, in fact I was programmed to say yes. But when I first started to say no I became more effective overnight. So if you feel you might be saying yes too often, here are a few tips to make no work:
1. Stay true to your purpose – if it’s not on mission, it’s probably distracting you.
2. Respectfully explain your prioritisation – in case you’ve missed something.
3. Don’t feel guilty about saying no; feel guilty about saying yes and doing a half-baked job instead.
4. Differentiate between where you are essential to the success of the ask, and where you are not – and suggest some alternatives.
>>What tips do you have for saying no (and staying friends afterwards?)
