{"id":529612,"date":"2015-10-07T11:39:06","date_gmt":"2015-10-07T15:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/?p=529612"},"modified":"2022-07-11T12:18:22","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T16:18:22","slug":"my-boss-cant-say-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/my-boss-cant-say-no\/","title":{"rendered":"The Boss Who Just Can’t Say No"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>While I usually write from the perspective of the nonprofit leader, this week I’m writing from the point of view of the staff. I hope to open the eyes of leaders who are stricken with a particular (but very common) malady.<\/em><\/p>\n

You see your boss coming down the hall. He\u2019s looking enthusiastic. But is that a touch of guilt you detect in his face?<\/p>\n

He stops at your desk and says, \u201cSo I just met with Joan Anderson\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You immediately break out in a sweat.<\/p>\n

Joan, you see, is a long time donor. And every time she speaks to your boss, all of a sudden your workload doubles. When it comes to Joan, your boss just can\u2019t say no. And somehow, the staff ends up getting the brunt of it. Every. Single. Time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to secure a big upgrade from Joan and she has a great idea she\u2019d like to fund.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This is even worse than normal. You cringe. On top of your regular ridiculous workload, one of your key staff people just took a new job she couldn\u2019t refuse so you already have more to do than normal. Guess you\u2019ll be selling those concert tickets you had on StubHub. You certainly won\u2019t have time to go.<\/p>\n

Your boss has \u201cthe curse of the pleaser.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he does it all the time \u2013 not just for funders like Joan who want to underwrite new programs.<\/p>\n

When your board chair demands a \u201cvery simple\u201d report for a meeting and needs it in the next 48 hours (and the report is not remotely simple) your boss says, \u201cOK.\u201d<\/p>\n

When your lead funder pushes you to focus on her latest priority, even if means dropping the ball on previously established milestones, your boss says, \u201cNo problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

And you want to pull your hair out.<\/p>\n

Because you understand the consequences. And because you\u2019re the one who\u2019s going to have to skip your kid\u2019s soccer game to get all this work done.<\/p>\n

The curse of the pleaser.<\/p>\n

Today, I want to help you overcome this common malady.<\/p>\n

What do you do with the boss who can\u2019t say no?<\/p>\n

STAFF THOUGHT BALLOONS<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s what you want to say when you’re boss can\u2019t say no\u2026<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You want me to do more with less?<\/a> You\u2019re nuts, right?<\/li>\n
  2. Can you just stay in your office and not talk to anyone with power? Like ever?<\/li>\n
  3. No worries boss, I\u2019ll just assign that brand new program to THE STAFF MEMBER YOU CUT FROM MY BUDGET!<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. Our organization needs better health coverage for therapy. For YOU!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Why is this so frustrating? It\u2019s not that you don\u2019t want to work hard. It\u2019s just that it seems like the staff always gets the short end of the stick. While your boss may have the curse of the pleaser, somehow he never seems to care very much about pleasing the people who actually do the work. Or even if he does express sympathy, he never protects the staff by pushing back.<\/p>\n

    WHY YOUR BOSS CAN\u2019T SAY NO<\/h2>\n

    Phew! With that out of the way, it\u2019s important to understand where your boss is coming from. Because his goal isn\u2019t really<\/em> to make your life harder, even if it sometimes seems that way.<\/p>\n

    I know all about this. I was an Executive Director for 8 years. I had the curse.<\/p>\n

    Come to think of it, I think I always had the curse. When I was 3 I stood on our picnic table and sang gibberish with a plastic ukulele anytime we had a barbeque. The performance was typically not requested.<\/p>\n

    Pleasers are drawn to nonprofit leadership positions. It\u2019s pleasing to get up at a gala, speak reasonably intelligently and garner applause. It\u2019s good to be Queen.<\/p>\n

    Then why do many leaders seem to only want to please the board, donors, funders, and volunteers? Why doesn\u2019t the staff make the list?<\/p>\n

    Two reasons as I see it:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The need to please trumps the reality of execution.<\/strong> In order to make everyone happy you have to block out the notion that the request might be hard (or impossible) or just ridiculous.<\/li>\n
    2. Pure unadulterated fear.<\/strong> Pleasers don\u2019t like conflict. Very unpleasant. And saying no to your boss (or someone with more power than you) \u2013 well that\u2019s risky business to anyone. To a pleaser, it\u2019s especially hard. Often too hard.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      But as you well know, actions have consequences. And your boss needs<\/em> to understand this.<\/p>\n

      One of the biggest consequences is that the staff will feel disrespected and resent the boss\u2019 inability to say no. Morale will drop because the staff doesn\u2019t feel supported. If turnover is higher at your nonprofit than you\u2019d like, perhaps the reason is the curse of the pleaser.<\/p>\n

      The other huge consequence is that the quality of the work will inevitably drop. It has to. You have limited resources and if the staff has to juggle too many balls (and constantly change which balls they\u2019re juggling) quality will suffer.<\/p>\n

      These are serious consequences. And I was just getting started.<\/p>\n

      3 THINGS YOU SHOULD (AND SHOULD NOT) DO TO HELP A BOSS SAY NO<\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Do NOT complain.<\/strong> It won\u2019t get you anywhere. The boss who can\u2019t say no also doesn\u2019t like to hear the word \u201cno.\u201d Because they just did some heavy duty pleasing. Can\u2019t mess with that. And so you might end up hearing one of those speeches. You know the kind. \u201cIf Thomas Edison had complained that he needed more light to invent the light bulb, where would we be?\u201d<\/li>\n
      2. Do NOT assume.<\/strong> Do you think your boss knows what you do all day? He or she may not. Remember, your boss is overworked too. Use your weekly check-in (you do a weekly check-in, right?) to educate your boss about the activities you are engaged in. Cover the depth of those activities. Put your work in context \u2013 illustrate (a document with percentages maybe?) the growth in your work. Be sure to correlate that with the growth rate \u2013 or lack thereof \u2013 in your human resources.<\/li>\n
      3. Learn to say NO yourself.<\/strong> My blogger friend and colleague Vu Lee has a blog called Nonprofits With Balls<\/a>. He tells people that the reference is about juggling. That totally works but I believe I mean it differently. A good boss wants push-back from you when appropriate. A good boss needs<\/em> it. Saying \u201cyes\u201d to your boss is not the key to being a great employee. In the nonprofit world, saying yes to your boss can sink you. Most importantly, it can sink the work. If you\u2019re worried about saying \u201cno\u201d, you might instead say \u201cYes, but\u2026\u201d That can lead to a discussion about a longer timeframe or an open discussion of why the new item is important and where it fits in the overall priority list.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        WHAT TO DO IF YOU YOURSELF HAVE THE CURSE OF THE PLEASER<\/h2>\n

        How do you balance your impulse to please those who have the power to fund your work (or not), lead your board, or even replace you, with your desire to support your staff? Are you the boss who can’t say no?<\/p>\n

        First, no matter the request, always keep your mission and strategic plan front of mind (you have a strategic plan, right<\/a>?) This is what really matters. Does the request help move the mission forward or backward? At what cost to the organization? To the staff?<\/p>\n

        Let\u2019s practice how to respond in a few situations. Here are typical requests a CEO might get from somebody with power \u2013 a board member, a donor, a foundation\u2026<\/p>\n

        1) A funder commits to underwrite a new program that is not part of your strategic plan:<\/span><\/p>\n

        Option 1: Redirect.<\/strong> Is there a way to tie the germ of the funder\u2019s idea into the work outlined in the plan?<\/p>\n

        \u2018Of course your idea is a good one and is a testament to how committed you are to our work. Let me tell you about our strategic priorities as approved by the board and give you a sense of the powerful path we have created for moving forward.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

        Option 2: Punt and huddle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \u2018Wow. How generous and what a testament to your commitment to our work. I\u2019ll clearly need to talk to my team about this idea. You can understand that my strong staff will need to be a part of this decision. And of course you would not want us to jeopardize the quality of the work you support so generously by taking on too much.’<\/em><\/p>\n

        2) The Chair of the development committee asks for a \u201cvery simple\u201d report and wants it by Friday (Simple? Yeah right.)<\/span><\/p>\n

        Option 1: Get to the \u2018why\u2019 And compromise.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \u2018Let\u2019s talk a bit more about what you need and why.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

        Option 2: Yes, but\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \u2018Yes, that\u2019s not a problem, but we\u2019ll have to you by next Wednesday. We can\u2019t do a good enough job putting that together without jeopardizing a critical deadline we already have committed to.’<\/em><\/p>\n

        Option 3: Just say yes.<\/strong> After the above discussion, it may just have to get done and folks are going to have to drop what they are doing. But at least you can explain to your staff why this is necessary.<\/p>\n

        3) A board member has a \u201cgreat\u201d idea for yet another fundraiser.<\/span><\/p>\n

        What is she really saying? Could she be feeling undervalued?<\/p>\n

        \u2018You know Mary, that is a great idea but the staff would shoot me if we added another event. That said, I was talking to Tom the Development Director and he was lamenting that he didn\u2019t have a board member who would take on X \u2013 I think you\u2019d be perfect for this. And let\u2019s sit and talk about special events in general so you can be part of brainstorming our plans for next year.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

        DO YOU KNOW ANY \u2018PLEASERS\u2019?<\/h2>\n

        If you recognize the curse of the pleaser in yourself or your boss, share a story in the comments below. I\u2019ll respond to them all. Tell me about the jam you are in as a result of saying \u2018yes\u2019 when you should have said \u2018no.\u2019 I\u2019ll offer a few lines of possible script or a few questions to consider before you say one or the other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        If your boss has the “curse of the pleaser” this post is for you. Your boss won’t push back when those in power make crazy requests. And you bear the brunt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":529615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,28,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-529612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ceo","category-lessons","category-senior-staff"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Boss Who Just Can't Say No<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If your boss has the "curse of the pleaser" this post is for you. Your boss won't push back when those in power make crazy requests. 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