Skip to main content

Don't Get Mad

What if one of your employees or followers comes to you and says no to one of your new projects or tasks? I have been looking at an article by Ernie Humphreys on “SayingNo to Your Boss”. He gives five approaches someone can take when saying no to your boss. What I have been doing is looking at the approaches and looking at what the boss should do when confronted with the creative no approach.
The third approach is “directly state your opinion supported with facts as to the relevance of a request”. This approach is the employee coming in and actually saying no but supporting that no with facts as to why they shouldn’t take on this new task. If they have done their homework and formulated a convincing case you may not be able to get upset with them for saying no.
Here is what you should do as a leader when you are confronted with this approach. First of all do not get mad because the person isn’t jumping for joy over the task or project.
  • Embrace the fact that they did their research.
  • Congratulate them on a good job crafting their argument. The congratulations may see them having a change of heart and wanting to be part of it.
  • Ask them if they still want to be part of the project using some of their ideas or changes and they can be the driver of the project.
  • Process what they have presented to you and com back with a modified version of the project. They will see that you care about their ideas and hopefully embrace the idea.
As a leader don’t get mad but embrace the energy and ideas that the person brings to the table. Let them know that you want them to be part of the project and you value their contribution. If you do this you will counter the no that is coming from the employee.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Where Have I Been?

 The title of this article is apropos since I haven't blogged in almost 12 years. I plan to start this blog up again and try to blog on a consistent basis. I will also be broadening the topics that I write about. Be sure to subscribe so you can get notifications about when I post. So what have I been up to since that October day in 2013 when I made my last blog? Let me recap for you. When that post happened I was in the middle of my Toastmaster journey and I'm happy to say that I crossed the Toastmaster finish line by earning my DTM. I didn't continue in Toastmasters after that since I changed jobs and took my leadership skills to Mathnasium and started running a Mathnasium in Blaine MN in 2016. I got the opportunity to blend my education degree with my MBA and use it as the Director of the Mathnasium in Blaine. I also had the opportunity to be the director at one in St Louis Park and one in  Andover. I ran these until 2023 when I decided to go back into the classroom and t...

Math, It's For Everyone!

 I used to write a lot on this blog about leadership and you can still read all of those blog postings. I may still write about leadership but this blog and my other two will focus on things I enjoy. Not to say I don't enjoy leadership but I'll be mixing it up more. I have a bible verse for the week blog and a sport blog and those will focus on those things.  This Blog will focus on leadership, politics, trips, math and topics I find interesting. Today I want to mention that I started a YouTube channel on math topics. I posted my first one last week and it dealt with finding 10s when adding a lot of numbers together. Whether you like math or find it to be the worst thing in the world please know that math is everywhere and in everything you do. Math isn't about crunching numbers, it isn't made to torture you. Math is more about problem solving, understanding processes, and making things easier. Everyone can be successful in math; you just have to understand the language...

Team of Rivals

 Today I'm going to give you a book review. My favorite books to read are non-fiction books about baseball seasons, baseball players, presidents, or history. The book I'm currently reading and almost done with is "Team Of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin published in 2005. This book is 754 pages and I have 23 pages left so I think I can give you a good indication about the book. This book is really a retelling of the political career and presidency of Abraham Lincoln as told through extensive research into diaries and memoirs of those who worked closely with Lincoln. I have really enjoyed this book and the writing of Kearns. She is able to piece together all of her information about Lincoln's presidency and life during that time. She gives us up close narratives of the behind the scenes at the White House and his cabinet especially during the civil war. More often than not Presidents will give cabinet spots to friends. This book shows that Lincoln surrounded himsel...