ist magazine February 2023

idea! Stop trying to be so productive”? Of course not! They will probably say, “Great idea. I should try that, too.” Your team and co-workers will respect your wishes, as well, if you communicate your plans ahead of time. If you are in a leadership position, you are modeling good communication techniques for your team when you take this approach. When you tell your team in advance that you will be unavailable, you are demonstrating that you trust them to Despite your best efforts, you should be prepared for people who will try to steal your time. When this happens, not if, hold firm. If you have a previous pattern of accepting “got-a-minute” meetings, then you should expect that it will take time for people to get used to the new you. When you get interrupted, simply say, “I’m in the middle of something. I’ll be free at 11am. Come back then and I can help you.” If they persist and say, “But it will just take a second.” You say, “I can’t stop what I’m working on. I’ll be free at 11.” make good decisions. 3 : HOLD YOUR GROUND.

This is called the broken record tech nique. Yes, you could have answered their question in the time it took you to repeatedly say no but that isn’t the point. The point is you are establishing new expectations. Don’t give up a long-term win for short-term relief. To recap, the cornerstone of communicating like a boss is to be clear, direct, concise and nice. When you develop these skills and learn to be you will quickly realize the tangible benefits of higher quality work and increased productivity. Don’t lose sight of the bigger, and maybe more important, benefits of increased trust and respect you will earn from others and the feeling of confidence you will experience when you set boundaries and learn to protect your time. n assertive when it comes to protecting your time,

About the Author: Liz Uram is a nationally-recognized speaker, trainer, con sultant and author. She equips leaders with the tools they need to communicate like a boss so they can make a big ger impact, get better results and motivate others to do their best. With 20 years of experience, she’s developed sys

tems that work. Uram’s written four books packed full of strategies leaders can implement to get real results, real fast. For more information, visit lizuram.com.