In today’s episode, Vishal uncovers the powerful impact of strategic “no”, not as a limitation but as a performance accelerator. Backed by robust research from Amy Edmondson’s work on psychological safety to studies linking clear boundaries with improved focus, you’ll discover how saying “no” can free up time, reduce stress, and reinforce strategic priorities. Expect a dose of tough love as we explore how high-performing leaders use “no” to protect what truly matters, and empower their teams to do the same.
Reference:
1) High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety: https://hbr.org/2017/08/high-performing-teams-need-psychological-safety-heres-how-to-create-it
2) The Surprising Truth about Low Performers: https://www.businessinsider.com/low-performer-layoffs-firings-elon-musk-mark-zuckerberg-management-tech-2025-3
3) Psychological safety: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_safety
4) New i4cp Study Uncovers Why Leaders are Burning Out, and What New Approaches to Leadership Development Can Do About It: https://www.i4cp.com/press-releases/new-i4cp-study-uncovers-why-leaders-are-burning-out-and-what-new-approaches-to-leadership-development-can-do-about-it
5) Shared leadership: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_leadership
6) Impact of Toxic Leadership on Employee Performance: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9760724
7) Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams: https://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/Group_Performance/Edmondson%20Psychological%20safety.pdf
8) To Excel, Diverse Teams Need Psychological Safety: https://hbr.org/2022/03/research-to-excel-diverse-teams-need-psychological-safety
9) The Relationship between Psychological Safety and Management Team Effectiveness: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9819141
10) Why You Should Collaborate Across Boundaries: https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/boundary-spanning-the-leadership-advantage
Music Credit: Switch It Up, performed by Silent Partner, from the YouTube Studio Audio Library