Saying yes to more work can be the best thing you ever do for your career

Saying yes to mora work can be the best thing you ever do for your careerSaying yes to mora work can be the best thing you ever do for your careerWe have all, at one time or another, felt exasperated when our boss comes to us asking us to do more work. Again? Doesnt anyone see what were already doing, how full our plates are, and how hard were working?The chances are, however, that they do see that. And thats why the boss is asking they think you can handle it, and that you can handle even more than that besides. Its a test for whether you can be trusted with more responsibility, which is the test for more promotions.And its also why you need to say yes to some requests for more work.People only get promoted when they can be trusted with more responsibility. With more work comes less free time, but more power, better skills, and, in the future, salary increases. Coming in and punching a clock - doing only whats in your job description - will not get your career to advance.Recognize that too many blanket nos change managers perception of you. Employeeswith successful careers become known as the people with a solution, not just a complaint. And that means saying yes, even when you have limitedtime, experiences, resources or bandwidth.When it makes sense to say no or wait to more workThere are many good reasons to set firm boundaries and say no. If youre being asked to do something unethical, definitely dont be pressured into a yes.Another reason to speak up If a project is never going to happen with the resources given. Dont just say no, however treat it as a negotiation and make a case for what you need. Saying no marks you as an obstacle to progress. Politely pointing out what resources are necessary to make a project successful marks you as a careful, strategic thinker.How to politely decline If youre a people-pleaser on the verge of burnout, graciously decline with reasons about how your contributions to the kollektiv can be better spent. I know that revenu e is one of our biggest priorities, and I can provide much more value by focusing on client pitches to bring in more revenue rather than taking on these spreadsheets.Another reason to say no if youre on the verge of burnout and you want to make a conscious decision to scale back in your career. Pay attention to signs of burnout, like fatigue and snappishness.But recognize that too many blanket nos change managers perception of you. Employeeswith successful careers become known as the people with a solution, not just a complaint. And that means saying yes, even when you have limitedtime, experiences, resources or bandwidth.Here are key moments in your career when youll need to be a yeasayer.Say yes tolearning a new skill you wantYour boss comes over to you with a promotion. Its not exactly the promotion you wanted. It will mean working with people you dont enjoy during long hours you wont enjoy.But with your increased scope of responsibilities, you will finally get management experie nce and the chance to try out all the ideas in your head. This is a yes-moment. Successful people know they should always take responsibilities that stretch their definition of whats possible in their jobsand make themselves uncomfortable enough to learn.When youre considering a new project or promotion, consider will it teach you some new skill or experiencethat you can carry with you past this job or this boss? Then its worth it.Saying yes means getting used to being uncomfortable. Our brains need new challenges to grow. According to Keith Rollag, the author of What to Do When Youre New, he believes that if we can change what we experience, we can change our brain, and all the things that our brain facilitates, including intelligence, personality, habits, and attitudes. Youll never get that valuable experience if you keep your head down and repeatwhat youve always been doing.Say yes tobeing testedWhen your manager comes over to you with a request for a job outside of your usual re sponsibilities, understand that you might be being tested for a new role or more responsibility. Youre not just saying yes to your managers request, youre saying yes to your future at the company.If you turn down that responsibility, you may think youre holding-gesellschaft out for a better set of responsibilities. In truth, however, when you say no to more work, your boss may hear that youre not ready for any new responsibility and wont come to you again.Media mogul Shonda Rhimes knows this. After being known as a naysayer, Rhimes challenged herself for a year to say yes to challenges she had been to afraid to try. She practiced going out of her comfort zone led her to become a doer and not just a dreamer.You just have to keep doing something, seizing the next opportunity, staying open to trying something new, Rhimes advisesin her book Year of Yes. It doesnt have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life. Perfect is boring, and dreams are not real. Just . . . DO.Say yes to being a team playerYour colleague asks you for your help on their project. Making yes possible may mean staying at work later and putting off your own projects, but being helpful wont just help the team, it will build your social capital in the office. When you make your own big request for help, your colleagues who have all been the recipients of your help will remember your long hours and will back you up.Of course, if youre being asked to dothe work of three people on ones persons salary,you shouldnt be blindly saying yes. In those cases, you should make sure theres a time limit to the extra scope and update your boss regularly - maybe even weekly- on every major thing you do, so he or she knows the level of your contribution.Part of being a successful person means letting people know how great at your job you are. It means letting them know exactly what youre doing, so they know what you can and cant do. Your job is to communicate that your yes is a measured decision. W hen you agree to a project, it will get done, but on your terms.