The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - Sometimes "No" Is the Best Answer | FF07
Episode Date: February 26, 2021It's easy for leaders to get caught in a loop of rolling up their sleeves and constantly helping their teams through difficulty, but this isn't always the best way to empower their growth....
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Hey everyone, thanks for coming by the People Process Progress podcast.
This is Foundations Friday, Episode 7.
Sometimes no is the best answer.
What do I mean by that?
I mean, in this day when we all want to be helpful,
whether we are managing people or we're individual contributors or we're executives,
sometimes it's too easy to say yes and take on more work and be in extra meetings and go, go, go, when really the
best thing for ourselves and our teams is to say no and to empower others to take up the slack,
to give ourselves a little more time instead of going from meeting to meeting to meeting to
meeting if we are not the critical element in those meetings. And sometimes when we take on
work, you know, we all want to
help. And sometimes we've got to roll our sleeves up and help to get past a certain trouble spot
on a project or on a response or something. But sometimes we get caught in the loop of continually
doing that and continually being the resource that our people depend on, as opposed to stepping back
as leaders and saying, I'm going to help you out this time.
Let's get through right now. Then let's formulate a plan to get you the help you need. More time,
more money, another person. Saying no is not a bad thing. It is actually kind of like escalation,
where I talked about a few Foundation Fridays ago isn't a bad thing. Saying no shows an ability to manage ourselves, to stay strategic if we need to,
and really to give ourselves the time that we need to be more efficient
and to give others the room that they need to become empowered
and grow professionally, personally, in whatever space they're in.
So I hope you all are having a great Friday, closing out the week.
Stay safe out there.
Wash those hands and Godspeed.