Some advice I've received from more senior consultants was about learning to say no to avoid burning out. I have a couple of questions about that:
-Can you / should you do that as a junior consultant?
-What are effective ways to do this without impacting your career progress?
I'm a huge proponent of this!
There's a huge “yes” culture (especially in corporate America and on LinkedIn). You need to learn to say no to opportunities that will take more than they give.
That said, be selective. You need to be careful who you say no to and what you say no to.
It's hard to give a sufficient answer in writing but ultimately you need to weigh the downside risks of saying no versus saying yes.
Example A: A Partner asks you to do another slide or more research on x topic. You better darn well say yes!
Example B: Your coworker asks you to do another slide or more research on x topic. Maybe question why they aren't doing it? (In a *careful* way).
Example C: A Partner is really trying to get you into their practice and on one of their projects and you don't want to go into that field. You need to say no! But, you have to be very tactful in how you do this.
Example D: A club/group wants you to help them run an event or become a chair. Unless you're seriously passionate about the topic and/or think it will be a great networking opportunity, you probably should say no (hard to find *more* time).
Make sense? It's all contextual!
a) yes you should. say no and propose what to prioritize, also take time for each project with your project manager so you can define boundaries and also how you will avoid working long hours and staying effective. You will do so much better at work if you have had a good sleep and most importantly, you will stay motivated.
b) other ways to say no is to propose different ways of approaching the problem, scoping differently, sharing the work differently, doing what you are best, checking what the client can do themselves. a good project manager will care about your lifestyle and your happiness too. Of course we dont always work with good project managers, but if you feel scoping, structuring or balancing workload is a weakness of your project manager, simply make suggestions yourself.
c) other good working habits are a daily checkin and early checkout in which you discuss what still needs to get done today and what can be down-prioritized. Also insist that someone teaches you if you are doing something that is just way over your head, and you notice you will spend 8 hours on it instead of 2 just because you did not get enough guidance.
best regards
Thank you for this insightful answer
Hey there,
I am a big fan of this.
Being able to say no is a superpower in consulting (and in life). I once read that what separates very successful people from merely successful people is that they ‘’no'' more often.
Very early in my consulting career, I was told by my then-EM to be wise and choose my battles (from smaller things such as pushing back on an analysis to larger things such as taking time off, flying home early if needed, etc.) and also to care for myself because if I don't, no one else will (since there is always more work to do…).
The less you push back, the more you'll become a pushover that finds themselves working always late, working weekends, always being asked for more analysis, one extra project on the side, etc.
How can you push back properly:
Consulting is a marathon and not a sprint and those people that say yes all the time burn out quickly.
Cheers,
Florian
I would actually consider saying “yes” to everything can potentially be more harmful than saying “no” selectively.
- Yes, you should do it. As mentioned, you need to identify to whom say no (and identify those tasks that strengthen your brand and/or enable you to develop more skills vs. those that not).
One of the key reasons why to say no to certain requests is that you focus on selected ones, where you can put all your energy and develop high-quality output (and it is always better to be considered as a superstar). Also, it is critical to keep some capacity for potential “senior requests” - e.g. if a partner asks for something urgent.
- A key element on that is to give a strong reason when declining e.g. you are already involved in X/Y/Z activities besides your project,… This not only justifies your “no” answer, but also shows that you are demand (and strengthens your positioning as consultant within the office). Additionally, if you are a junior consultant being approached by a more senior member and you do not have capacity you can also refer him to discuss with the seniors with whom you are currently working (to mitigate the disadvantage of the gap in seniority)
There's more work than can be done. So outside your project, if people ask you to take on extra work, you have to be realistic, look at what's in your plate already and be able to communicate that.
So it's not that you are saying no - you are rather explaining that you won't be able to realistically deliver given everything else that is already on your plate. ;)
Another piece of advice is to watch out for those managers that always try to force a lot of work to junior staff… just try to stay away from them…
My advice is simple: find mentor who has an interest in your development and in you sticking around without getting burnt out! He or she will help you navigating this space as well as other challenges.
This is critical because otherwise, you will burn out. There's no shortage of people having suggestions for “extracurricular” at MBB and other consulting firms.
To some degree, you are expected to do this to advance in your career. However, if you said yes to everything, you won't last the 1st year…
Thank you! Love the contextual perspective as it helps put this in practice
My pleasure! Also, just for a personal touch so to speak, I was actually just offered a role by a BCG Partner that I used to work with. He wants me to come back. If you'd like to know how I politely avoided the request without making anyone feel bad then feel free to shoot me a message!