Great Leaders Need to Say “No!”

I’m willing to bet there isn’t a single leader out there who doesn’t wish they had at least 25 hours in a day to get everything done. Great leaders have a compelling, positive vision of what they want to achieve in the future, and a strategic plan to get there. These leaders know that there are limited amounts of time, resources and staffing available to achieve success.

As much as we wish for it, we’re not going to get more time. The key, then, is to use the time we have as effectively as possible. Saying “no” is critical to freeing up time that could, and should, be spent in better ways.  Effective leadership is about saying “no” to the requests, decisions, and actions that are not effectively turning your vision into a reality. The yearning to be well liked and make only decisions that others agree with is the Achilles heel of leadership.

Steve Jobs, arguably one of the greatest innovators of our time, understood the power of “no.” In 1997, shortly after Steve was reinstated as the CEO of Apple, he surveyed every single product team in the company. He called them into Apple’s conference room one by one, and the teams had to convince Jobs that their product was essential to the company’s vision and strategic plan. Jobs then cut the number of projects Apple was working on from 350 to 10. (To be fair, his predecessor, Gil Amelio, had already started the turnaround work by cutting the number of Apple projects from 350 to around 50.) With that many “no’s” it’s safe to assume there were a lot of unhappy people working on important projects that no longer existed.

The problem with saying “no” is that it can put the leader in a situation where employees may lose their enthusiasm, and become unhappy or even disengaged. There’s a right way, and a wrong way, to tell an employee “no.” Here’s how great leaders say “no” in an encouraging way that keeps their teams motivated, enthusiastic, and engaged:

Listen. Show that you respect and value the ideas and opinions of others by taking the time to hear out others’ ideas before you respond with “no.”

Ask questions. If you are truly listening for understanding (as you should be), ask questions that allow you to more fully explore the merits of an idea or recommendation.

Gain more information. Instead of saying “no” outright, gain more information to see if this idea or recommendation could be the best use of resources to turn your vision into a reality.

Respond with a conditional “no.” Though you may not support implementing the idea or recommendation at that moment in time, it may be an idea worth pursuing further down the road. Respond with something along the lines of, “Although our plates are full with our current projects, I fully support you implementing this idea when you complete the XYZ project.”

Provide a “no” with encouragement. People take “no” personally. They may interpret “no” as, “my idea is not worthwhile,” or “you don’t trust me to turn this idea into a success.”  Encouragement can help take the sting out of a “no.” You might say, “Although I don’t want to implement this idea now for X and Y reasons, I don’t want you to be discouraged. We can’t implement every idea, but improvements cease in our organization if people like you stop coming up with ideas that may or may not work. Keep thinking of ideas to improve our team.” Hopefully, you can give a positive response if the next idea takes you closer to the vision.

Be clear and direct. If you know your answer is “no,” and you are hesitating because you know it won’t please the recipient, you are doing them a disservice by not quickly and directly letting them know your decision. Don’t waste their time or your time by softening a “no” to the point where it sounds like a “maybe.”

Provide an explanation. I recently overruled a staff decision, and said “no” to a recommendation they had made. I don’t often tell my team members “no” because I have a high level of trust in their decisions and recommendations. But in this case, I had gut-instinct concerns about the decision, and explained to each team member why I wanted to move in a different direction. After I explained my decision, I asked for, and received, each team member’s support for the new direction.

Be humble. When you do say “no,” let people know that you’re willing to look at the recommendation again if new information emerges. When new information does present itself, be quick to make the decision and give recognition to the team member who asked for the original “yes.”

“No” is a necessary word to have in your leadership vocabulary.  Great leaders say “no” in a way that promotes continued innovative thinking and engagement from employees. When you tell someone no, you free up your time and others’ time, both mentally and physically, to work on the things that are most closely aligned with your vision. Effective leadership depends on your ability to prioritize your time. Make sure you’re not wasting valuable time saying “yes” to the things you know will not get you and your team closer to your vision.