The quality of your YESes depends on the number of your NOs.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by daily demands, wondering if you’re saying YES to too many things? You’re not alone. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 80% of managers admit having difficulty saying “no.” Additionally, research from the University of California found that declining low-priority tasks can increase productivity by up to 20%. Imagine what you could achieve with 20% more time and energy!
Therefore, in many cases, learning to say “no” could be the key to securing quality time for truly important matters.
This also ties into a revelation shared by a client about contributing value to the organization in areas previously considered complex, such as the five-year strategic plan. He said, “I discovered that defining the strategy wasn’t so complex as long as I dedicated quality time well in advance.” Sound familiar? Often, the issues we need to address aren’t that complicated; it’s the lack of time and mental space to tackle them, due to the many less important matters we say yes to.
This is where strategic ‘No’ comes into play.
But how do we implement this in practice? Here are three strategies I’ve seen work:
- Relentlessly prioritize: Each month and week, write down the most important topics. Everything else is negotiable.
- Foster a culture around this by giving visibility to your team: Teach your team members to assess the value of focusing on what’s truly key, both at your level and theirs. Therefore, it’s important to know how to say no to certain matters without fear of repercussions.
- Communicate clearly: A well-explained “no” is better than a half-hearted “yes.” Offer alternatives when possible or simply decline, explaining the reason.
In my personal experience, implementing these practices not only increased our productivity but also reduced stress and improved team satisfaction. It turns out that saying “no” allowed us to say “yes” to what truly mattered.
