How to Get Better at Saying No

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Are you guilty of going along to get along, thinking your team was about to make the wrong decision but not raising your concerns? Agreeing with your boss's ideas when you have better ones, saying yes to an assignment when you'd much prefer to say no? Today's guest says this kind of compliance is a bigger problem than we might think in our everyday lives and especially at work. When we acquiesce to avoid conflict, or even because we think it will help us get ahead in our careers, it can become a vicious cycle. leading us to behave in ways that aren't at all aligned with our long term goals or true values.

She explains why we fall into these patterns and how we can break out of them, to get to a point where we're either complying from a position of understanding and power, compromising, or just saying no. Dr. Sunita Sa is a psychologist and professor at Cornell's S. C. Johnson College of Business.

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