Why “No” may be the most important word for a Mops Pro
Avoid learning this lesson the painful way
Almost every Marketing Ops pro that I’ve worked with has wanted to do well in their career. Yes, there was one person who I remember working with who wasn’t interested (can you believe it?), but they were definitely the exception.
In our minds (or at least in MY mind), we equate being willing to accept requests, being agreeable, and being someone who always finds a way to get things done as qualities that will help us advance in our career.
One of the ways these beliefs can manifest themselves in our behavior is that we have a tough time saying “No” when a request is made to our team.
Ironically, saying “No” to some things has incredible power to help keep you focused on impactful tasks, the completion of which is going to help you progress in your career.
In some cases, the better answer may be a softer “Not Yet”, rather than a firm “No”, depending on the situation.
If the request comes up in a meeting, conversation, or message where it’s obvious a response is expected, using something like this can buy you some time to evaluate the request.
“That’s a really interesting idea. Do you mind submitting a ticket in our project management tool with the details and your requirements so I can be sure I’ve got everything I need to scope the project? Once I have that information I can review and get back to you.”
Now comes the important part
Maybe the task meets your requirements, aligns with priorities, and you can fit it into your schedule.
But if not? You need to pull the trigger and say with confidence, “No.”
Ok, maybe not just “No”, but something along those lines. Something like “Hey Co-Worker, thanks for this request. I took a look, and with our current commitments to Q3 priorities, we’re not going to have time to work on this right now.”
Or “This is awesome, but my time for the next 6 weeks is committed to xyz project, so I won’t have time to act on this until after that is completed. Can we pick this up then?”
Or maybe even, “You know what? This request is actually a better fit for the Abc team. If you want to run this request by them they may have time to fit it in.”
If you’re looking for ideas, there’s over 99 ways to say No - you can find that empowering list here.
I know - it’s painful. It may feel like you’re letting someone down. One thing to remember is that you declining to work on a project is not a reflection on the value of the idea. At another point and time, that task may be easy to prioritize, because you would have different objectives that you’re working towards.
The simple math is that you have limited time and energy, and it’s already been committed elsewhere. It isn’t fair to you or the requester to try and squeeze something in.
Determining your priorities and sticking to them takes effort, but it’s an important skill to master. Communicating honestly about your ability to work on a project is also important - you need to be your own best advocate and protect your time and attention.
This skill doesn’t apply just to tasks. You’ll have opportunities to contribute to an important “tiger team”, submit ideas in response to a brainstorming request, or participate in a broader company initiative. Some of those will be great fits, and others will definitely need to get the “No” treatment.
Getting comfortable with these conversations is important skill to practice. It may never get easy, but it can become more routine as you find your own way to decline (or simply delay) lower priority requests.