Saying no at work is hard because "no" is ambiguous.
Do you mean: "Not right now, I'm busy" or "This isn't my job" or "This shouldn't be done by anyone"?
Your employer is buying your time. Act like a business. Determine if your customer is making reasonable asks.
The secret: people accept "no" if it doesn't sound like "no." 1/3
Framework for saying no without saying no:
Necessity: Ask "why" 5 times. Often reveals work doesn't need doing, is already done, or isn't valuable.
Fitness: "Help me understand how this aligns to my role?" "Who else have you spoken to about this?"
Qualify the work before accepting it. 2/3
Priorities: "Here's our current priorities. Where does this fall?" Don't let competing managers use your time as the forcing function.
Readiness: "How will we know this work is done?" "Do I have access to what I need?"
Notice you never said no. Instead you got them to shape the work with your questions. It might not even come to you or anyone any more. 3/3
@gerriet @raiderrobert +9001%
If something trualy is pointless, noone should get the penalty of having to deal with it!
Robert Roskam
gerriet
Kevin Karhan 