Habits of High Performing Leaders
These two letters combined create a most powerful word: NO
Why don’t you say no more often?
Is it because you’ll feel guilty not wanting to let someone down?
Or, you want to be seen as the go getter who gets it all done?
Or, you have no choice because that's how it just is?
The most common concerns reported by middle-aged adults involve getting everything done in their busy life, their energy level, job complications, and insufficient sleep. Of the 100+ women who attended my workshops this week, ALL shared the same concerns: a suffocating calendar and too many demands.
Early in my career I was a yes ma'am. Yes to taking on new clients, yes to leadership roles, yes to travel. I also said yes to the PTA, to the charity, carpool and to hosting the school social. I was in a season of yes as I was becoming a leader, a mom, a community member. I’m exhausted thinking about it.
It is hard to say no when you’ve accepted big jobs and responsibilities at work and at home.
The biggest deterrent to saying no is a belief that success = more.
Mo', mo', mo'.
More meetings.
More work.
More, more, more does not equal success.
You say yes so often it gets harder and harder to say no. Yes becomes a default, especially for women.
When you choose other people's priorities over yours, you de-prioritize yourself.
You say yes at your own expense.
If you are asking yourself, how could I ever say NO to what's on my to-do list, calendar and commitments, I get you.
The balance between yes and no comes when you commit to finding a better balance. (note: better balance vs balance which is elusive)
What if you embraced a week of no in pursuit of finding a better balance?
W.O.N (Week Of No)
What would look different next week if you decided it was your week of NO?
What if you said, not right now, but when time allows, I’ll swing back to you.
What if you declined 1, 2, 3 calendar appointments, and asked for someone to send you the meeting notes.
When you say no, you prioritize what’s important. No is your secret weapon.
When you say no, you…
Establish yourself as someone who prioritizes.
Set boundaries around what you will and will not do.
Create an expectation.
Get decided.
Best of all, you get clear on your yes-es.
No is a strategy to saying yes
to you, your life and your business.
Saying no is courageous. It takes work.
You might be thinking, I can't take any more work on. But, this work has long-term ROI.
When you say no you begin to get more decided. When you are decided you get powerful. When you say no, the asks get less often because you are training people how to treat you.
A W.O.N. will create the space for YES.
Say yes to a week with more time to create and do work that lights you up (the work you miss doing!)
Say yes to the things that will build your business, get you promoted and have you creating extraordinary success.
If you are asking yourself, how do I say NO to what's on my To Do list, calendar and commitments, I can teach you how to reframe, reset and rework your vision to have you showing up more powerfully for yourself and your people.
Start bringing new discipline to how you are showing up, when you are showing up and how you are leading yourself.
If you are considering working with a Coach or want to know more about the components of a Coaching engagement, let’s get on a call with this link.
The question I get most frequently on these calls, ‘what results can I achieve?’ Here’s what one client shared:
The biggest impact working with Christina ...."Thoughts control your emotions, which control your actions"...You cannot have a positive action from a negative thought or emotion. Journaling as a tool to help "clear the cobwebs" in order to have more productive thinking has made a huge impact.