A manager’s job involves making it easy for her employees to get things done by creating fertile environments in which work can happen. She focuses her team so that they can do what they do best. She cultivates camaraderie and friendship on the team, and helps people learn new skills. In all these things, she is an enabler, a coach, and a champion.
But to create this environment, she sometimes must say no. She must say no to the team. She must say no to her peers. She must even say no to her boss. Each of these nos is hard, in its own way, and a strong manager must develop effective strategies for saying no. Here are a few that I have identified.