It seems pretty easy, doesn’t it? The word is “no”. It's not as easy as it sounds for some people. Many people have a hard time saying no when asked to do a favor, or anything. They just would rather go along and do something they either don’t have time to do, or don’t want to do, than to say that one simple word, no. Some people will avoid what they consider confrontation at any expense, and that may involve saying no. If you have a difficult time turning down requests for favors, practice saying no until it becomes easier to say.
Your supervisor asks if you’re able to
an extra shift, but the thing is, you can’t. You’re up to your ears in other
projects and you like eating dinner before 10 pm with your family. It can be a little intimidating to push back
when your supervisor asks you to do something. Don’t give the flat, “no” or an awkward, passive
aggressive, “Well, umm, see I would, it’s just I’ve promised to do such and
such. Instead, try, “Thank you so much
for thinking of me for this, but I was planning to spend this evening with
family, and they are counting on me.
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To Your Co-worker
Your
co-worker asks you to help her with a patient's care that you have very little
expertise in. Now, if you have time, you
might want to consider helping, because you’ll strengthen your relationship
with your colleague and be seen as someone who’s willing to pitch in. You also may learn a new procedure. But if you’re set on turning the opportunity
down, just be sure to skip a fake excuse about how you would help if only you
weren’t so swamped. If you say that, but then assist in other area’s, it's
clear you were not being honest.
Instead, try something closer to the real reason. It looks like this: “I
appreciate you asking me, however, I have my own patients that I am behind on
right now, and I have to catch up with them.
To Those Under You
Yes, you want to encourage brainstorming and love when your employees come to you with new ideas. However, sometimes you already have a clear plan in mind, and what you’d really like is for your employees to execute and follow it. First of all, listen to what they have to say, they could have a new way of doing a procedure with a patient that is great. However, if your way is better, stick to it, explain that it needs to be done a certain way, and then let it go, don’t over explain.
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To a Patient or Their Family
OK, this one’s particularly tricky.
You don’t want to come off as patronizing to someone who is in your care.
Consider the request, and let them know you are considering it. If you have to say no, do you have a reason
to back it up, which they will appreciate.
Offer an alternative to their request.
You may come to an agreement right away, just not exactly as they
requested. Some patients and their
families will make unreasonable requests, while others make requests, that
simply cannot be honored. Regardless,
always be respectful in explaining to patients why their request cannot be completed.
When asked for a favor, it's always a
nice gesture to accommodate if in fact it does not put you out. The solution is to balance your responses.
Don’t always say yes, and don’t always say no.
There will always be some co workers that tend to take advantage of
other workers’ inability to say no. You
have the opportunity to be the person that brings reality back into the
picture: “You can’t always get what you want”.
You will find that you gain respect, even from the person requesting the
favor. Just be honest that you can’t or won’t be doing the favor, and don’t go
into lengthy explanations. There needs to be a balance of your time, and the
favors that you do for those around you.
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