Most of us have the habit of accepting any job delegated to us from our superior to please him/her. Whenever a task is delegated we will jump to say “Yes Boss”, “OK Sir/Madam”. It is a nice thing to say as long as you are able to fulfill the obligation on time. But when you’re unable to fulfill it, your reputation gets tarnished.
So isn’t it wise to simply say “No” if you cannot. It is understandable that this can be difficult, especially if you are a new employee striving to put yourself ahead of the competition you face from your colleagues, or you are a obedient employee and have never said “No” to your superior.
Just imagine the consequences when you are unable to complete your task. Your superior is simply going to accuse you for not accomplishing what you had accepted. And all the credits you earned are ultimately drowned and not recognized. The organization has to bear the consequences for your mistake. Simply, make your life easier by saying “No” to your boss.
Give yourself some time to think about the request before immediately saying no
If the request arrive via email or some other means besides a phone call or face to face conversation, don’t reply straight away. Set the request aside and think about it for a while.
If your boss asks you in person or on the phone, request some time to give it some thought and tell him/her that you will give them a reply by a specific time.
Consider the request carefully to determine if it is really unreasonable and whether you have to say no.
Prepare your answer before telling your boss no
Anticipate questions he/she might ask in response to your answer, and then decide how you want to answer them. Rehearse your conversation out loud to help build your confidence before the real conversation.
Choose the right time and place to speak with the boss
Have the conversation in private if your work situation allows you to get a moment alone with your boss.
Keep in mind your boss’ work day pressures and work style. If he/she is a morning person and gets grumpy in the afternoon, be sure to speak with him /her before lunch.
Pay your boss a compliment while denying his/her request
If your boss is asking you to take on more responsibility, that shows that he/she has faith in your ability to do the job. Acknowledge that it means a lot to you that he/she trusts you to do the job before telling him/her that you feel that you cannot do it.
Tell your boss why you have to say no to the request
Assuming that you have a legitimate reason for saying no, you have no reason to lie.
Most employers respect honesty in employees and will be grateful that you answered honestly, rather than trying to take on a project you cannot handle.
Offer an alternative solution
For example, f your boss asks you to serve on a committee, suggest someone else in the company that you think may be interested and capable of serving.
Try to compromise
Perhaps you can’t do exactly what your boss asked of you, but it might be possible for you to do some of it. For example, maybe you could offer to share the workload with someone else.
Are you interested to hear more about topics like this, do join us for a training session held by The Young Professional Group, and conducted by professional trainers from Digne Consult. Training sessions are scheduled to start in April 2015, in the mean time, do like us on Facebook and follow up on Twitter for more update.
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Referenced from: Short cuts to Excellence by Frank Kuijsters of Digne Consult
