When it’s good to say ‘no’

Trees don’t waste their energy trying to grow in all directions; they concentrate their efforts on heading for the light. Arborialists help by pruning energy-sapping branches that hinder more than help the tree’s survival and growth. And organisational leaders should take a leaf out of their book (thank you, I’m here all week).

Prioritisation is the art of deliberately choosing to do fewer things in order to do them better, with the aim of creating more overall value than struggling to do everything. It’s also a useful form of natural selection, because work that is repeatedly deprioritised will eventually become obsolete. Plus, prioritisation improves effectiveness and efficiency, so even priority 2 work has more of a chance of being done – albeit later – as a result. The case for prioritising is a no-brainer, right? And yet... it’s a skill that many leaders lack, and here’s why:

• It involves saying ‘no’ to things, and that’s uncomfortable for positive, helpful and ambitious people
• It makes enemies of those who stood to benefit from the deprioritised work
• Making choices about what/not to do introduces the risk of being wrong later

So it’s easier – up front at least – to say yes to everything. But in a world of limited resources, the consequences catch up with you faster than a child chasing an ice-cream van:

• You end up over-promising and under-delivering, and that’s uncomfortable for positive, helpful and ambitious people
• You make enemies of those you are under-delivering to
• Making no choices about what/not to do increases the risk of failing later

If you fail to prioritise, it will create the exact same issues you were hoping to avoid – with bells on.

Because now, you are not in control of the situation, everything becomes urgent and the chances of marshalling your resources for maximum effect are slim to zero. And even if you could do it all, you can’t do it all all of the time. Working 16-hour days isn’t sustainable (been there, got the t-shirt). The drain on cashflow from funding every initiative isn’t sustainable. And, crucially, it robs you of a couple of critical things any leader needs to do:

• Develop the team, so the team can work better together to do more work. Failing to develop your team is like not getting your car serviced. You can get away with it for a while but the performance will start to deteriorate until it inevitably breaks down.
• Think – about the bigger picture, about what’s next, about what if, about life the universe and everything, etc.

Prioritising is needed to create headroom to do both these things. It’s also needed as contingency for when the stuff hits the fan – which is OK as the exception to the rule, but not when it rules your life until you have no life.

Not prioritising requires no leadership. No tough calls, no consultation, no direction. But, ultimately, the team will see that lack of leadership as the route of no hope, and they’ll stop following. And that will be much more painful than biting the bullet of what not to do.

Rich Alderton specialises in Executive coaching, so if you're looking to take your business to the next level call us on 07873 823 800, email us or complete our enquiry form.

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