Be Responsible, Say “No”
In the can-do, must-do project world, saying “No” comes off as not being a team player. Of course we must say “Yes,” the team is depending on us. But saying “No” can be the most responsible action we can take.
Recent weblog postings from Ester Derby No is in the Air and Jeffrey Phillips Getting to No do a good job explaining the circumstances and implications for saying “No”.
My rationale for saying “No” is simple. No is a response to a request to accomplish or provide something. When we say “No” we are declining the request. In other words, no is a promise not to perform. It is spoken by someone who already has outstanding promises and is counting on others to fulfill promises as well. Those promises link forming a network of commitments that is the means of accomplishing our project. Inappropriately saying “Yes” leads to inevitable breakdowns when some other promise goes unfulfilled.
- A promise “No” allows the customer of the request to get someone else — maybe someone more qualified — to fulfill the request at the earliest moment rather than after the performer has missed fulfilling the commitment.
- The freedom to promise “No” gives the performer the opportunity to fully and sincerely promise “Yes”. Without that freedom there can be no dignity for the performer. The relationship between the performer and the customer drifts towards indentured servitude.
- Permission to promise “No” maintains or improves the quality of the pre-existing and always changing network of commitments since one broken promise can cascade into many broken promises. Saying “No” is the opportunity to find someone that is in a good position to say “Yes”.
I’ve written extensively at Reforming Project Management on making and securing reliable promises on projects. What must we consider in saying “Yes” or “No”? Sign-up for the Let’s Play Catch! mini-course to learn the basics of making promises reliably. And when you do I’ll include Securing Reliable Promises on Projects, A Guide for Developing a New Practice as a bonus.
Give yourself and others on your team the freedom to say “No”. It’s the responsible thing to do.
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