No

It’s a powerful word and often scary to say. Many of us fear letting people down or missing out on a new opportunity. We wonder about the implications of saying no.

When was the last time you said, "no" to something you were asked to do or even "not right now?" These are powerful phrases and aren't used often enough at work. We feel like we have to say yes, or we'll be looked at as not being a team player. We feel like yes is the expected answer. We don’t realize that because we rarely say no that people start making assumptions about what we will do.

Yes. I’ll participate in that meeting.  

Yes. I’ll stay late/come in early tomorrow.

Yes. I’ll pick up this new hobby project.

Yes. I’ll interview that candidate.

Yes. I’ll take on another mentee.

Yes. I’ll edit the slide deck another time.

Yes. I’ll lead this initiative.

None of these things are bad choices or the wrong ones. By saying yes though, you need to say no to something else.

No. I can’t spend extra time with my team just catching up.

No. I can't take on that new exciting activity.

No. I can’t find time to do long-range planning.

No. I can’t fit in more time for coaching sessions with a team member.

No. I can’t review that new set of offering materials.

No. I can’t take my kids out for ice cream after school.  

No. I can’t get in my 7+ hours of sleep.

No. I can’t fit in my workout.

What we don’t realize is that many successful people pin their success on saying no to the things that are not their highest priorities. They know the small number of things that they want to focus on and are relentless about staying in those lanes. Saying yes to something else means being distracted from achieving their goals. They know that “no” is their power word.

Trying to say no or not right now to all the things that are outside of your priorities. You’ll feel a new sense of power.