In this new role, I know that there will be more requests than I can say YES to...I know that I will have more ideas than I can say YES to...I believe there will be more people than I can say YES to - so what am I to do? How will I learn got say NO? Here are a few ideas for me - and for you - to consider as we learn to say NO:
- WAIT - give yourself time to make the decision
- LISTEN - have trusted advisers with whom to bounce your ideas around
- PRIORITIZE - be sure you know what your 3-4 big things are, and test ideas and people against those
- STRATEGIZE - have a strategic plan that helps to determine priorities for you and the organization
- REMINDERS - somewhere on your desk have a sign that says NO, or WAIT, or NOT NOW
- BUDGET - determine the budget and manage it well
- NAYSAYER - have someone at the table who sees the world through a half-empty glass and let them have a say
- REMEMBER - consider all the times someone said NO in the past and how it was beneficial to you and the organization
- REFLECT - remind yourself that you are not in this seat to win friends and have others like you
- PRAY - for wisdom of when to say NO and the courage to do so
And so begins the journey of saying NO...while most people will be remembered for the things they say YES to, one of the reasons they were able to say YES was a result of the many times they said NO before that. God grant me - and you - the wisdom and courage to know the difference.
1 comment:
Great advice. You might want to add transparency to the list. At one point I was overwhelmed with a constant stream of requests. Finally posted a list of the top priorities on my board. When someone came in with a new request, we would look at the board to see where the new request fit. In some cases it became a new priority while often it became a "not now". The best part was everyone knew how and why decisions were made. They nearly always agreed on the top priorities and felt we were working on the most important items.
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