Don't Just Say No

"Just Say No" is good advice when asked to do drugs or to vote for Sarah Palin. But when you're responding to suggestions from employees, from your direct reports, from students, or from anyone over whom you have authority, resist the temptation to "Just Say No."

A couple of incidents this week revealed two common responses to a boss figure who just said "no":

• In one organization, a very enthusiastic, top-performing employee brought a suggestion to management and was shocked that it was abruptly dismissed, with comments like "that would be totally inappropriate", "that's unacceptable" and "this stops here." The employee felt completely shut down and disrespected, and it was pretty obvious that the boss wasn't receptive to further discussion on the issue. Despite this, the employee was convinced that the idea would be very good for the organization. So, with a positive yet rebellious spirit, the employee went underground and worked to implement the idea anyway. The boss soon found out, and came down hard with disciplinary action. Things got ugly. Relationships got damaged. Motivation plummeted.
• In a second organization, employees had gotten quite used to their suggestions being dismissed, with some variation of "we tried that before" or "that wouldn't work here". Over time, the employees completely stopped voicing their suggestions. When management then ran into a problem that they couldn't solve and asked employees for help, nobody would volunteer solutions. Subsequent third-party interviews with staff revealed that they had many ideas that might have been helpful, but were resentful and hurt enough to "let management figure it out for themselves, since they're so smart." 

In both cases, the boss said no. In some cases, there was attempt at explanation, as in "we tried that before." But, in neither case did the boss invest any time in dialogue with the employee to gain common understanding.

In the first case, dialogue with the enthusiastic employee might have allowed the boss to see the value in the suggestion, or allowed the employee to see why it validly needed to be modified to be effective in the organization. If they could have gained common understanding of each others' point of view, they would have been able to come up with a modified suggestion that would have been truly fantastic. Even if the boss had been able to leave a door open for the employee to present a modified suggestion, the toxic ugliness could have been avoided.

In the second case, dialogue with the employees could have helped them see why their suggestions actually wouldn't work, or it could have helped management see how the ideas might work now where they wouldn't have before. Without dialogue, the employees felt ignored and rejected, and stopped volunteering any of their creative energy, even when asked.

So, when subordinates bring ideas to you, invest some time in dialogue, and make it clear that you value their suggestions. If you have to say "No", work to gain common understanding, and draw out and validate the employee's reactions and emotions, leaving the door open for future suggestions and creative input.

When it comes to employee suggestions, just say no to Just Saying No.