78% claim they find it most difficult to refuse their boss’s request, even if the request makes excessive demands on their time, energy or work-life balance.
There can be many reasons why an employee needs to refuse a manager’s work request.
But they are likely to say no only in two situations:
- They feel safe that they will not face repercussions
- They don’t give a damn
As a leader how do you respond when a team member refuses a request?
Do you feel disrespected?
Do you start judging the team member for being lazy?
Or do you perhaps start questioning your own assertiveness with the team?
Agreed that a large part of leadership involves getting stuff done.
This means convincing, requesting, delegating, directing and mentoring people to take on work that you need to get done.
But sometimes we start taking it for granted that just because we asked, the other person will say yes.
And we take it personally when someone says no.
But what if the no has nothing to do with you
And how you handle the no tells more about you than the person refusing your request
How you respond also sets the tone for not just your work relationship with the employee but also the culture of your team
So how safe is it for your team members to say no?
Do they fear your response?
Or do they worry about the repercussions of saying no?
Or are they so disengaged that they don’t care?