James Steidl/Kyle Gruba
Gary Batey was already carrying a full workload when a senior manager approached him a few weeks ago with what might have become the back-breaker.
The manager had a hire to make and wanted Mr. Batey's help in the recruiting process, which "could have taken large amounts of time and effort," recalls Mr. Batey, a marketing leader at Nestlé Canada Inc. Canada Inc. in Toronto.
"The old me would have said yes, even though I already had a full plate of work." But "the new me asked, 'Why do you need me?' Isn't this really your job?"
And to Mr. Batey's pleasant surprise, the manager backed off of the request.
Times like these might cause many workers to think twice about saying no to any request from their bosses, no matter how overloaded they already are. "Employees are increasingly afraid to stand up for themselves because of fear of losing their jobs, so they will go along rather than raising objections even if they know what they have to do puts an undue strain on them, and could ultimately drag down the quality of everything they do," says organizational psychologist Bruce Katcher, president of Discovery Consulting Group Inc. in Sharon Mass.
But, as Mr. Batey discovered, it's possible and sometimes wise to push back. In fact, instead of being a job- or career-limiting move, saying no in a smart and tactful way can actually make you more effective and help put you on the yes track for moving ahead, the pros say.
"In order to get where you want to go in your career, you have to decide when to say no. If you only say yes, you're just adding more to the plate, and, when that's close to capacity, you can't do great work," says Michael Bungay Stanier, senior partner of organizational consultancy Box of Crayons in Toronto and the author of the new book Do More Great Work, which devotes a chapter to the art of saying no.
Both employers and employees can use this challenging time as an opportunity to reassess their attitudes toward saying yes and no, and, as a result, ease their burdens and get better quality work, the experts say. Here are some of their suggestions on how to deal with no:
Push back diplomatically
"Many assignments and requests come to you because you are the first person with a pulse your managers saw when they needed something done," Mr. Bungay Stanier notes.
"It's not easy to suddenly start saying no to bosses and workmates when you get an assignment you think is too big a burden or is something you don't really want to do. But your agreement to an assignment should never be a default and assumed response," he says.
His advice? "Rather than becoming a naysayer, I suggest you think in terms of saying 'yes' more slowly."
Ask questions to make sure that there are no alternatives to you bearing the burden and to get concessions that make the work meet your needs, he suggests.
"Your first question should be 'Why me?' " he recommends. Then follow up with questions like: 'Who else have you asked; is this something that only I can do; and, when you say this is urgent, what does that actually mean?' " he adds.
Such questions shift the balance, Mr. Bungay Stanier says. "The effect is that it is harder work for managers to get you to say yes and, in many cases, they'll look for a softer target who will say yes to the assignment you're dreading."
Set priorities
One of the real stressors of work is the nagging feeling that you've never really finished any one task. As new ones with higher priorities pour in, old ones have to be put on the back burner, and sit there unfinished, Mr. Bungay Stanier says.
"We get overwhelmed having a lot of incomplete stuff and having more piled on before you can finish what you already found overwhelming," he says.
He suggests making a weekly review of all of the stuff in your in-boxes and how they fit your goals.
"It shouldn't be about getting everything done, but getting the right things done. Figuring out what challenges can be shelved or deleted will immediately lighten your load," he says.
Once you've set the priorities clear in your mind, you still have to get your boss onside. "Talk about what you see as the gap between what you are doing and what you can do best and will have the highest payback," he says.
"People don't often have these conversations with their boss. But once you start having these discussions, it will come easier."
Rethink priorities
Even if you are willing to accept whatever workload you're given to protect your job or get ahead, you should use this demanding time as an opportunity to get clear about what you care most about your work and what matters to you, Mr. Bungay Stanier says.
"Make it clear to the boss that, if you accept the new assignment, it means something else you are working on will have to wait," he says.
What you'll find is there is often a false sense of urgency, Mr. Bungay Stanier says. "If the organization is saying you've got to get this done by Friday, by questioning the deadline, you will often be able to buy yourself more time."
Make no a career booster
You might think that being the one who questions managers will get you branded as a trouble maker. But if you are asking questions about your work regularly, you'll actually start getting a reputation as a strategic thinker, Mr. Bungay Stanier says.
"You don't just accept the status quo, you are thinking about the effects of new work on other priorities. That makes you a more valuable player in your organization, which already has enough people who don't know how to say anything but yes," he says.
"Until you start learning the art of gracefully saying no to overload, you are always going to feel overwhelmed," Mr. Bungay Stanier says. "You'll always be at the practical level of 'How can I hold up under the weight and how do I get it all done,' rather than the strategic level of 'What can I do that is the most useful for the company and best for me and my career?' "
What's in it for managers?
Managers should encourage feedback as a reality check on their decisions, and recognize employees for voicing their concerns and objections, Discovery's Mr. Katcher says.
Employers can be under so much pressure to tend to issues in the short term that they fail to notice work quality deteriorating in the longer run, he says.
"Employee expressions of fatigue should be an early warning that the quality of work and the value you are giving to clients could be at risk," he warns.
This should be a call for re-evaluating priorities, he says. "Are you wasting time on meetings and doing projects that really should be put on the back burner to deal with more pressing concerns?" he asks
That's not to say that employers shouldn't ask employees to shoulder more work that needs to be done. Mr. Katcher says. "Shifting workload from star employees who are your go-to people to less-effective employees can actually be a way to kick-start underperformers," he says.
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PUSHING BACK
The best way to get out of assignments tactfully is to ask good questions, career coach Michael Bungay Stanier advises . He offers three basic types:
Why me questions
May I ask why you're asking me?
Have you asked anyone else?
Have you considered asking [someone else in the office]who's got more experience with this than me?
Practical questions
When you say urgent, what does that mean?
How much time will this take?
If I could only take on part of this, what part would you like me to do?
Big-picture questions
Have you checked this out with my boss?
How does this fit with our other key priorities?
What should I not do, so I can do this instead?
Source: Do More Great Work by Michael Bungay Stanier