 Client Question “My manager keeps giving me more things to do and I already have a full plate. How do I say no without causing me to be seen in a negative way?”
The next time that your manager asks you to add something new to the list, you need to listen first. It allows you to ask some clarifying questions on what is being delegated to you.
Once you have a better idea of what it is, then you need to decide whether you can handle it in addition to what you already have. If you can’t manage it without having other things fall behind, then you need to have this conversation with your manager.
Create a list of what you have to do and your view of where all those items fit into the list of priorities. You will need to clearly show that there are competing priorities and not enough resources (you and your team) to accomplish all of it by the required deadlines. Have some recommendations of how to reallocate resources, change scope, change due dates or what can be pushed to the back of the list. Get their input to your ideas and understand how they view the priorities. Find ways to come to a compromise on how to do all that is required without having to burn out the team and yourself.
You want to show that you are willing to do all this work, but you can’t do it all at the same time. You will need to be creative with solutions when there is so much work, but not enough people to do it. Look for ways to stop doing things that don’t make sense for you or your team to do anymore. Find ways to eliminate unnecessary meetings so you can focus on getting things done.
Having these conversations and managing the workload of you and your team is what leaders need to do. Be open to the discussion and coming to the right answer for the organization and your team. It shows that you can have an influencing conversation with your manager and be strategic about the work, your team and the organization’s priorities.
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