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The Secrets Of Saying No At Work To Gain Time & Be A Higher Performer · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Saying no at work can feel risky, can annoy bosses, can damage relationships, and can do bad things to your career prospects if you do it badly.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Many people think that saying no creates the impression or the reputation of being a bad team player, of being difficult and disruptive.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Saying no in the right way and at the right times is an essential part of doing a good job and being able to deliver great results.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Saying no at work gives you the time and space to do a great job.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: I will share how to say no without offending and give you examples of different situations in a bit.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't say no, you quickly become overrun with work and very stressed as colleagues and bosses take advantage of you.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Take on too much work, and there is no way you can do a good job.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: You probably won't be able to complete everything even if you work until the early hours.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: You have to find ways of saying no in the workplace without annoying or upsetting to have any chance of enjoying work, being a reliable team player, getting pay rises and progressing your career.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Here is how to say no diplomatically at work so you don't offend, annoy or upset.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: The formula for how to say no at work that I use when saying no diplomatically to colleagues, bosses and leadership team members is firstly apologize, then say no clearly, then explain the business reasons behind why you are saying no, and then offer them alternative options that might help them.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: An example I am very sorry I can't update that report today for you because I already have two other pieces of work that I have to finish before 5 pm.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I can work on it tomorrow first thing, or I can I suggest that you speak to Alex who has more time than me right now.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Your tone and body language matter.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Be calm, clear, confident and sympathetic.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Position yourself as trying to help the other person rather than hinder them.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'll share more examples in a bit and talk about when you should say no and when you need to say yes.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and if you're new to this podcast, Enhanced.training provides resources, courses and coaching for you to build management expertise and confidence to lead any team to their best performance.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: For resources to help you deliver more in the time you have, do visit us at enhance.training and select resources.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Take months, if not years, off your next promotion by changing how you work and how you communicate your value to colleagues and bosses.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Why you gain so much from saying no at work at the right time.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: So you have the same amount of time as everyone else.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: How you use your time is super important.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Learning how to say no diplomatically means you have more time to do the work that you say yes to.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: This means you produce better quality work, all else being equal.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Saying no also means more of the work you do can be planned and organized, with you doing the work to your time frame.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: That means less firefighting, less stress, less panic, less rushing and less mistakes.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Think about what that would mean for your reputation, how people think of you and your career prospects.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: There are very specific times when you can say no with absolute credibility.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: These are typically when, firstly, you don't have the skills or confidence to do the work, or have less skills than colleagues say, or secondly, you don't have the capacity to do the work because you're fully committed to other work.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's pretty much it.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: You can't say no because you don't like the other person.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: You can't say no because you want to take it easy for a bit.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: There has to be a good business reason to say no.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: It is really important that you only say no for business reasons.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you say no for other reasons and are found out, your reputation will tank, the trust others have in you will drop like a stone.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: It is just not worth it, assuming you want to do a good job, get a bonus, and get promoted in the near future.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Here are two pro steps that you should take before you say no at work.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: I nearly always ask clarifying questions if I'm not sure about what I'm being asked to do, or if I can't evaluate the importance of the work being asked compared to my current work.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: It is a very good idea to find out the context.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: For example, plenty of people tell you their work is really urgent when it they only really need it tomorrow or in three days' time.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you get pushback after saying no, I normally take the person through the work I already have on, why it is important and who asked me to do the work.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: If they're still pushing me to prioritize their work, I ask them to speak directly to the person who gave me my current work and get them to negotiate directly with each other.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Do your best to avoid being stuck in the middle of two bosses.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And as promised, here are four examples of different ways of saying no at work.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Here's an example of saying no to an important boss.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: I am really sorry I can't do that work for you right now because Jane has asked me to sort out a major issue with the ABC customer.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's more important.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I hope to get this resolved by about 4pm today.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: I can look at your report after 4pm or you can speak to Fred who knows how to update your report.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: An example of saying no to a team colleague being a bit cheeky.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry Joe, I won't do that work for you as I think you mostly know how to do the work.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: What I will very happily do is help you go through it so you know exactly what to do next time.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Is that okay?
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: And saying no to your impatient boss.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: You've also asked me to review ABC Customer Early today, which I am part the way through.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Do you really want me to drop that and start this piece of work?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'll get both done quicker if I can finish ABC before moving on to this piece of work.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: I might get both done today this way.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Is it okay if I do this piece of work next rather than right now?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: An example of saying no to a boss because you don't have the skills.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Before discussing what is needed in detail, I need you to be aware that I have not done this before.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I will probably need a bit of support, and I will be slower than James or Chloe would be doing this.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: You will probably be better off asking them if you need this urgently.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Shall we go over to speak to them together?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Learn how to say no diplomatically, and you'll be a lot more confident in creating the space and time you need to do a better job, which in turn will put you on everyone's radar for the right reasons.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, in summary, saying no at work to bosses, to leadership team members and to colleagues, and doing so in a way that does not annoy, upset or damage your own credibility is vital to enable you to do a better job, to avoid not being able to deliver what you promise and to progress your career faster.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: To say no at work without damaging relationships, always explain why you are saying no.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: You need to give clear business reasons to say no.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Remember the formula for how to say no at work.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Apologize, then say no clearly, then explain the business reasons behind why you're saying no, and then offer alternative options that might help them.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Your tone and body language matter.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Be calm, clear, confident and sympathetic.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Position yourself as trying to help the other person rather than hinder them.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on the secrets of saying no at work to gain time and be a higher performer, please email me at support at enhanced.