By Mike Myatt, Chief StrategyOfficer, N2growthLeaders need to take greatcare to avoid creating a culture of no. There seems to bea popular movement afoot that believes the word"no" is the super antidote to the farinferior word "yes." There aremany well known axioms espousing the benefits of learningto use the word no with greater frequency. In fact, thereare some very bright people that believe you cannot become agood leader without developing a mastery for using the word noas evidenced by the following quote from Tony Blair: "Theart of leadership is saying no, not saying yes." Icouldn't disagree more...In today's post I'll share my thoughts onwhat I refer to as the fallacy of no.Let me ask you a few simplequestions: How do you feel when you're told no? Doesit leave you feeling positive about yourself? Doesit make you feel like your contributions and opinions arevalued? While inherently obvious, it should not go unnoticedthat the use of the word no is 100% negative. The word no endsdiscussions, stifles creativity, kills innovation, impedeslearning, and gates initiative. Put simply, the word noadvances nothing, grows nothing, builds nothing and incentivizesnothing. No is not all it's cracked-up to be...Let me put it to youanother way...If as a leader you find yourself always sayingno, what does that tell you about your leadership ability? It meansyour vision is not understood, your team is not alignedand your talent is not performing up to par. It means you'renot teaching, mentoring, communicating, or leading. Theperception that strong leaders say no and weak leaders say yes issimply flawed thinking. A constant stream of "no's" isnot a positive sign, it's a warning sign that needs to beheeded.The most common reasons people tend to cite in supportof using no is it helps to keep them from wasting time, thatis somehow manages risk, and that it helps them focus by not bitingoff more than they can chew. These agendas are betteraccomplished with clear communication, effective collaboration, andprudent resourcing - not by saying no. Great leaders help peopleget to a yes - in other words, they teach them how notto receive a no. Rather than just kill something with a quickno, a good leader uses every adverse scenario as adevelopment opportunity to help people advance their criticalthinking and decisioning skills. While I understand thatthere are times when using no may be your only option, thosetimes should be the exception and not the rule. Bottomline...Yes is not a sign of weakness - it's a sign of intelligentleadership. Next time you're tempted to say no, do yourself a bigfavor and find a way to work around the obstacle and toward ayes.