Do I Have To Say 'NO'?
Published on: 13/10/2015
Issues Covered:
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Mary Rafferty Founder
Mary Rafferty Founder
Mary rafferty

Mary Rafferty is an ICF credentialed Leadership Coach and Advanced level Mediator (MII) with many years of experience supporting leaders and managers to build high quality robust relationships in their teams and a culture of open and transparent communication.

She has coached and/or trained hundreds of managers to nurture better relationships – engaging constructively in giving feedback, motivating their teams, navigating difficult conversations as well as developing their own resilience, clarity and flow, becoming more decisive and overcoming their inner critic. 

Mary holds an Honours Degree in Education, a Masters Degree with Distinction in Social Science and has attended a wide variety of specialised trainings in the field of conflict resolution.

Mary Rafferty writes:

When invited to outline their key challenges in ‘Difficult Conversations’ / ‘Managing Conflict’ courses, being able to say ‘no’ effectively to a request or a demand is high on most participants wish lists.

Delving a little deeper, concerns that emerge around turning someone down or setting a boundary on an aspect of their behaviour or actions include concerns about

  • the relationship being damaged
  • the other person getting angry and the situation becoming confrontational
  • they not accepting the ‘No’ and trying to challenge our power or authority
  • having to ‘waste’ time explaining over and over again that the answer is ‘no’
  • guilt about not granting the request

This article will explore some of these dilemmas and posit some

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 13/10/2015
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