Hey Folks,
Lets talk about something most employees who care for their livelihood would never dream about saying to their bosses. The word we are talking about here is “NO” and by that I mean “No” to assignments/requests/demands given by their boss.
My Reasons For Saying “YES”
I used to be a “YES” employee, everything that was ever assigned to me, I’d take them. Even if I don’t know a thing about it or even when I was already drowning with my current assignments. So why do I always say “YES”? Here are some of my reasons (thoughts actually):
1) I fear of being branded (or marked) as
- Insubordinate or rebellious
- Unable to Multi-task
- Inefficient or Ineffective
2) I want to be on the good side of my boss
3) I felt that I have no choice but to accept because he is my boss
4) I want my promotion
5) Or simply, sometimes I just don’t know how to say “NO”
6) Or worst, I fear I be shown the door if I say “NO”
So did the “YES” man attitude work for me?
Saying “YES” Was Good
In the beginning, all was well. I could handle all the assignments and demands and completed them quite well. But I did end up attracting more assignments precisely because I did them well and never say “NO”. But that was what I wanted, to prove my value and get a promotion.
I did get my promotion and attracted even more responsibilities and more challenging assignments. Again a good thing because I still could handle them. But good things are good if it is not carried to the extreme. Occasional overtimes are OK, especially if it is part of the nature of your job (such as finance department being extra busy during periods where they close their account books). But the moment you start taking so much assignments that you consistently do overtime, you will start to attract the “not so good” things.
Saying “YES” Was Not So Good
Fatigue starts to set in and you start losing family/personal time. You will get irritated or lose focus easily because of fatigue. And finally, your mood gets affected, negative thoughts starts to creep in and you start attracting bad things. At this point, you better learn how to say “NO” to your boss. Well, actually, you should start saying “NO” selectively well before this.
If you carry on accepting assignments at this point, you will soon find yourself juggling between so many assignments that you start to be inefficient and more critically, you start making mistakes and blunders that you could not afford! That could become fatal! Fatal to your career, that is.
So How Did Saying “YES” Attract This Mess
So why did it happen the way it happened and how did saying “YES” turned from being good to being bad? It all started with my thought! Go back and take a good look at the reasons that influenced me to say “YES”. The only positive thoughts in there were “I want my promotion” and “I want to be on the good side of my boss”. But the rest of my thoughts prevented me from saying “NO” when it was necessary to say it.
Different Thoughts, Different Results
So what if my thoughts were:
1) I need to understand what I need to do to get a promotion
2) I will complete my assignments as efficiently as possible
3) I will not accept a task, with ample reasons, if I cannot handle it
4) I will learn from my boss, ask for guidance whenever possible
5) If I had to accept more assignments than I can handle, I must have the resources to complete them
If I had these thoughts in the first place, I would have said “NO” where necessary and will not be afraid to ask for resources or extension of datelines if the assignments cannot be declined! See the difference?
Why Saying “NO” Can Attract Good Results
By saying “NO” to your boss, you indicate to him that there is a problem. Explained to him what the problem is and negotiate something out of it. No bosses wants his project to end up in flames, right? Think positive. Giving you a new assignment may mean he isn’t quite sure of your current work load or he is still testing the limits of your capabilities. So tell him that you have reach it by saying “NO”! Because the other option is to go down in flames!
Summary
So do you still think saying “NO” to your bosses is necessary a bad thing? Not necessary, you just need to know when to say it and how to say it. Nows your turn to talk! Share your experience and views even if you don’t agree with what I said. It is always good to have both views so we can compare and learn from them 
Love,
James
PS: In my article, I always refer to someone as “HE”. The boss(es) need not necessarily be a “HE”, It’s just easier and less cluttered then writing he/she all the time. 
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Welcome back to Volume 4 of Positive Articles 
