How To Tell the CEO No

Mike felt stuck in the proverbial political corner at work. Senior leadership had given him an assignment with a deadline he knew he couldn’t meet.

This often happened to Mike. Being high in both the Strengths themes of Achiever and Responsibility, combined with a strong core value of respecting authority, made it difficult for Mike not to feel obligated to do whatever he was told even if it was unrealistic or would end up forcing him to work ridiculously long hours for weeks at a time.

We had been working over the last year or so on boundaries and using his voice during high level meetings to share when he had a different opinion or an innovative idea. In the past, particularly in meetings with leadership authority, he struggled to disagree with others or point out information which wasn’t being considered in a strategic meeting.

He had made great strides in this area, so when he called me and told me that he was going to have to go back to 14 hour days for a while, I was surprised. Why’s that? I asked. He explained he’d been given a directive from the very top, and well, what he’d been told to do wasn’t so doable yet he felt he couldn’t refuse.

Has this ever happened to you? Many times I’m working with high level leaders who express similar predicaments. You just don’t say no to the CEO or I wasn’t asked if it was doable. I was told to do it period. This sense of duty crosses the line of what’s reasonable or even wise in some situations. So what can Mike do?

I asked Mike if it was possible to accomplish the project in the timeframe he’d been tasked to deliver it in and he said no. I asked if he’d shared that when given the directive; nope. We don’t say no here, it’s a really nice culture and no is seen as disagreeable or even uncooperative. Hmmm. 

I shared with Mike some negative reality. If Mike chose to work the 80 hour work weeks in order to accomplish the project (and still he wasn’t positive he could accomplish it putting in the 80 hours), what other responsibilities would end up getting dropped? In other words, what other directives would he fail to deliver? He listed several. So, really you’re in a lose/lose position here if you don’t speak up. Right.

So, what to do. I gave Mike three different strategies. The first move in all three strategies were the same. He must go to his VP prior to meeting with the CEO and share the three strategies he intended to present in the upcoming meeting with the CEO and ask her to support him. She agreed.

His three strategies were simple: 1) he would deliver the results he was being asked for in the timeframe given; however, he would need “these” resources to do it. 2) he could deliver the desired outcomes without these resources but this would be the timeframe. 3) he would deliver the results in the timeline given, but he would need to be released from these daily reports and these daily meetings.

These strategies were based in reality, respectful to authority and met Mike’s Achiever and Responsibility theme drivers. It also helped senior leadership make better decisions because they now had greater clarity on what was needed.

Now we had a win/win.