26.05.2023
IT'S NEVER EASY TO SAY NO
One of the things that everyone has had great difficulty with in their careers is saying no. In the beginning, we usually say yes to everything. Then a person thinks that the more commitments he makes, the better it will affect his professional development. For most people, this means they'll get more praise, better pay, and ultimately a quick promotion. Unfortunately, the final results do not always live up to these expectations.
It can be especially difficult to say no when your boss is the one asking you to join a task force, take the lead on a new initiative, or commit to another team responsibility. Can you even say no to such a request? Do you have to begrudgingly say yes and then suffer from overwhelm and regret not saying no?
Here's how to say no when your boss asks you to take on extra work:
Start by going over your current pitch list with your boss. According to a recent survey by Resumebuilder.com, 61% of business leaders surveyed say their companies are likely to see layoffs in 2023. Organizations will continue to re-evaluate their priorities, reallocate work and end projects. This is an important opportunity to coordinate with your boss the projects you're working on to ensure you're working on tasks that are still critical to the company's success.
Bosses are people, not robots. They may forget what task they originally assigned you and may not know exactly the scale of the project the entire team is working on. Before your supervisor assigns you additional work, you should give them an opportunity to review what you are currently working on. His reaction may pleasantly surprise you. He can help you make changes to your priorities and explain how this new task relates to something you're already working on. Or he may change his mind and not give you the extra work, seeing the level of workload you are currently under.
If you say yes to the job your boss suggests you take, see if you can say no to something else. Some managers may not be proactive in stopping or pausing work in progress. I once went to my former boss saying, “I understand you want me to take this new initiative now. How about we pause the project we started this quarter and reassess things next quarter?. He agreed and said he was grateful that I had proactively brought this solution up as it had not occurred to him.
It's understandable that some of us may be worried about our jobs during this era of economic uncertainty. And at the same time, to continue to impact the company, we must focus on quality, not quantity.
Remember that the more responsibilities you take on, the less influence you can have on any individual project. Also, taking on additional work does not guarantee you a secure place in the company. If you can't complete some of the tasks you set out to do, doing more may end up backfiring.
The final option is to offer the commitment you want to say no to to someone else. Years ago I was assigned to organize our department's quarterly meetings. It was a great opportunity to work directly with senior executives from our company and bring in great external speakers. However, this commitment required a lot of work in addition to my daily duties. By the second year of performing this role, I was already suffering from burnout. Then I remembered a colleague who had expressed a desire to have more contact with our senior management. When I approached her with a proposal to take up this initiative, she welcomed the idea with excitement and enthusiasm. My boss accepted the change and liked the idea of me handing over this opportunity to another employee.
Remember, you should never delegate work without first asking someone for permission. Make sure you are familiar with your colleagues' commitments and career goals before offering them such an opportunity.
It's never easy to say no to your boss. But when you keep saying yes to every job, whether you realize it or not, you're quietly saying no to another job you have. The ability to say no is just as important as the ability to say yes. Saying no to your boss is a critical skill you must learn to successfully manage your career.
