Demanding jobs — when is it necessary to say NO to your Boss and HOW.
Demanding jobs aren’t for everyone. For those of us who like a challenge, they can be very fulfilling. But if you are really pushing yourself, you’ll face situations where you can’t do everything that is being asked to you.
When your manager gives you more than you can handle, how you communicate it can have a big impact on your career. It’s something you will learn eventually through experience. When managers ask for too much, it’s often unintentional and there is a great way to let them know. Here’s how.?
Ask yourself whether the amount of work you have is reasonable for your role — Or, is this a unique situation where it makes sense for you to work beyond what is considered normal? If the answer is yes to either, then you’ll need to handle the work. If you can’t handle what’s required for your role then you might need to look elsewhere.
Say: I know this task is important and I can definitely priorities it — This is a critical step and it’s all about empathy. Put yourself in your manager’s shoes and realize that they often have more work than they feel like they can get done — just like you. Effective managers succeed by prioritizing the things that really matter and the last thing they want to hear is that you don’t share their priorities.
When you start with empathy, it lets your manager know that you’ve listened. It means that you understand what’s been asked is important and you share the same goals. Once you’ve said this they’ll be much more likely to listen to what you have to say next.
Then say: These are my priorities for this week — This is where you remind your manager of the other important things they’ve asked for: make sure the tasks that you mention fall within the deadline of the new task. If the new task is due in a week, you communicate your priorities for that week.
Managers often forget about everything you’re doing, particularly when they are responsible for a big team.
Finally say: In order to complete this new task by next week, I can push this other deadline back — Now that your manager has the full picture of what you’re up to, you can begin to negotiate. Do your homework and figure out the least important thing on your list of priorities and propose pushing that deadline back. Doing this will increase the likelihood that your manager will agree to your solution.
When you take these steps, a good manager will often realize that you’ve asked for too much and accept the solution you’ve offered.
