Management Voice Index
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In a perfect organisation everyone is fully motivated, no-one makes stupid suggestions and we all receive positive encouragement to pursue every idea we have. Unfortunately, organisations like this are few and far between and because of this we all have to learn…

How to say NO!

Generally speaking, there are three audiences to whom we might need to say NO! - our customers, our employees and associates, and our suppliers. Each group is quite capable of making plausible requsts for new resources, projects or extended deadlines.  In this issue of Management Voice, we will focus on employees.

When to say NO!

An employee may suggest a change to their current role or switching suppliers. They may put forward a project plan, a new way of reporting or simply ask for a specific day off.

For very different reasons you may need to say NO! to these requests, even though current management thinking is fully focused on supporting people to develop new ideas and not saying NO!

Our responsibility as managers is to use our organisation's resources effectively. If people are suggesting activities that you are sure are inapporiopriate or a waste of time, it is important that you say so. Here is a practical structure for saying NO!

Why do you need to say NO?

Be really clear with yourself. Do you know that this idea has been tried before and failed, do you believe it to be a distraction from delivering required results, are you sure that senior management will reject it? Whatever your reason, write it down, and reflect on it. Could you defend this reason to your boss, or respected colleague? If so, you really do need to say NO!

Try to speak face to face

If you are going to refuse a request of any sort, it is better to do it face to face, or to use the phone if that is not possible.  Leaving a voice mail or sending an e-mail will often make people feel personally rejected. It may well be appropriate to follow up a conversation with an e-mail, to confirm the discussion.

Give your reasons

If you can, give your reasons for saying NO! very clearly. This prevents you looking as if you have made an arbitrary decision, based on your feelings about the person.

Don't say Maybe if you mean NO!

This is the biggest pitfall – if you mean NO!, then you must be clear. Saying to someone for example that you will re-consider at a later date, or you will think about it, will give your employee grounds for thinking that the request or idea may be followed up when it won't and this will only lead to problems later.

Saying NO! is not a criticism

Be clear that saying NO! does not imply a criticism, it is a recognition of the organisation's demands at that time. The idea or request may in itself be perfectly valid, and no-one should feel criticised in such a case.

Learning to say NO! reduces stress

The more you can learn to say NO! clearly, the less stress you and your employees will be under. It is far better that everyone understands what is possible, rather than being endlessly frustrated through a lack of clarity.

Management Voice Index
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