Last month we discussed how to slow down to speed up to reduce burn out by better managing your team’s time and energy. This month we are focusing on navigating external pressures and how to say no to say yes. Saying no is challenging in a culture where saying yes is the norm. Those who always say yes are known as the go-getters who accept everything that comes their way. With only 24 hours in a day, how do these go-getters achieve all the tasks they agreed to?

Saying no is a key time management tool. How your team uses their time greatly impacts their successful and the success of the organization. As a leader, it is important to give your team the tools they need to best manage their time and part of that is encouraging them to say no so they can say yes when it makes the most impact.

We invite you and your team to take part in the following challenge:

Recognize when to say no

If you say yes to enough things, eventually you have to say no to something. When you have no bandwidth, saying yes to a new task can cause you to miss the deadlines on the things you already have on your plate. Saying no in these situations can help individuals and teams better focus on priority tasks, which can then allow them to say yes to more strategic requests later. It is important as a leader to understand and model this balance to help your employees focus their time, skills, and passion on tasks that move the needle organizationally.

Evaluate incoming requests with a checklist like the following:

• Am I the only person who can do this?
• Will this project move us closer to achieving top priorities and longer-term goals?
• If I don’t do this, will it matter in a week, a month, or a year from now?

If any of these are answered in the negative, then a strategic no may be necessary.

We challenge you as a leader to say no to say yes. Managing priorities and time leads to a more productive environment that provides quality results. This approach can help employees and leaders stay fresh and energized to continue tackling tasks effectively.

CEEK a Better Way!