When Is It Okay to Say #8216;No#8217; at Work

When Is It Okay to Say 8216No8217 at Work When Is It Okay to Say 8216No8217 at Work In todays installment of my column, Im going to tackle a question Recruiter.com hastouched on beforeWhen, if ever, is it okay to say no at work?This situation comes up in many different flavorsfor employees working for a company or corporationfor managers answeringtheiremployees requestsand for geschftliches miteinander owners answering to their clientsAlthough theabovelist is not exhaustive, it does give you the idea that regardless of what role you play inanorganization be it employee, manager, or owner you will always have someone that you need to answer to. And sometimes, that answer is going to be no. Were always worried about saying no at work, but its never the answer that gets us into trouble its how and why we give that answer that does us in. The great news about this is that we can always control the how, and sometimes even the why.The key is to be very clear about your overall goals and long-term plans. If the current situation does not support your overall goals or long-term plans,than it should be a candidate for one of the Four Ds delegation, deletion, delaying, or diminishing.Its Okay to Say No at Work When Youve Done These Things1.Co-created a professional business commitment plan with your manager.This is a documented that clearly states your career goals, your current roles and responsibilities, and your SMART goals that support your business commitment goals.2)Co-created an individual development plan with your manager.This document states your career path and career goals. It lists the skills that you need to develop and the things to need to accomplish toreach the next level of your career.3)Understood your managers business commitment plans and how your current role and responsibilities support both his and yourprofessional business commitment plans.Once you have done the above, you can intelligently decide if anyrequest in front of you supports the previously agreed upon road map. If the request doesnt match your goals, then you can work with your manager to find another solution (i.e., modify the request so that it does fit your goals delegate the taskto someone into whose professional business commitment planit does fitdetermine if the essence of the goal can be accomplished by some other means).The bottom line is to work with your manager or whomever it is you are answering to in order to find an alternative way to accomplish the essence of the goal if not the exact task itself.For more information on everything discussed here, including the Four Ds and professional business commitment plans, why dont we schedule an appointment, where I get to know more about your unique situation? I will be happy to make recommendations on what your best steps are moving forward.ContactLauraRoseRoseCoaching.info.