Saying No
Employee
Executive
How to say no to your boss without damaging the relationship
Your manager keeps adding work and you are at capacity.
Strategy
Never say a flat no. Say yes to the decision and hand it back with a tradeoff. Make the cost visible so the priority call sits where it belongs.
I can take this on. Here is what it costs. Right now I am carrying the migration and the audit prep, both due the 30th. Adding this means one of them slips by about a week. Which one do you want me to move?
If they push back
If they say all three have to land: "Then I need either two more weeks on the audit or someone on the migration. Which is easier to get?"
What not to say
- I am completely swamped
- That is not my job
- I guess I can try
- Nobody understands how much I am carrying
Follow-up
Confirming what we landed on: audit prep moves to the 6th, migration and the new request hold the 30th. I will update the tracker.