Dear Reader,

Back when I worked in media and entertainment, one thing I prided myself on was being easy to work with.

➡️ You have an urgent request even though I have 20 other things on my plate? No problem, let me push those aside to accommodate you.

➡️ Need me to move my schedule around to fit into your calendar? Sure! I’d be glad to.

➡️ Want me to work over the weekend to meet the arbitrary deadline you’ve set? I mean, I didn’t really have that many plans anyway…

On the outside, I was cheerful and happy to take on more. On the inside, I was starting to feel more and more like a doormat. And becoming more and more resentful.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved knowing that my colleagues trusted me and knew they could come to me with whatever they needed. That felt fantastic.

However, my willingness to say yes to everything was slowly but surely burning me out.

Once I started (uncomfortably) setting some limits, prioritizing what actually needed my attention, learning to delegate (also uncomfortable!), and realizing that saying “no” didn’t make me a bad person, things began to shift.

I had more energy. I could really put my all into my top priorities. And believe it or not, some of my relationships with colleagues actually got stronger because I was earning their respect.

The lesson for me wasn’t that I needed to stop being helpful, flexible, or easy to work with. Those are qualities I still value.

It was learning that being easy to work with doesn’t have to mean being endlessly accommodating.

✅ You can be generous without always saying yes.
✅ You can be flexible without always being the one who bends.
✅ You can be someone others rely on without making yourself available for everything.

✅ And sometimes, saying “not right now,” “I can do that by Friday,” or “I’m not the best person for this” is actually better leadership than automatically saying yes.

So, a little challenge for this week:

Pay attention to your yeses.

Is there one you’re about to give because it genuinely makes sense? Or are you saying yes because you don’t want to disappoint someone, seem difficult, or risk not being seen as the person who can always be counted on?

There’s a difference.

And if this hits a little close to home, hit reply and tell me: What’s one thing you need to say no (or at least “not right now”) to?

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With ease, Tracy

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