The following is an e-mail that came my way this week.  Dear Alexandra: I graduated from college last year, so I’m still at the bottom of the totem pole at my company.  I have four senior colleagues who delegate work to me, and they have no problem doing so…all day long.  Trouble is, there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything, and I find that I’m either saying no to someone all the time, or I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  Any advice?  Thanks, Pam. 

Hi Pam, This is a sticky situation, because you want to be perceived as a can-do, enthusiastic employee and should therefore try to avoid actually uttering the word “No” to anyone you work with.  However, you have to be mindful of your own stress level and sanity as well.  My suggestion is to try and pre-empt situations in which you will have to decline an assignment, specifically by formalizing your daily responsibilities with your official boss.  Talk to your boss about who on the team is authorized to delegate work to you and note the type of assignments you can expect from each person. 

If one of your managers comes to you with an assignment but your time is already accounted for, tell that manager that you wish you could help, but you are working on another project that requires your attention.  Either you can go to your boss directly and ask him which task you should prioritize, or you can give the manager the option of speaking to your boss about it herself.  Remember to stress how much you enjoy working with this manager, because you want her to leave with the perception that you really do want to do the task and can’t help being caught between conflicting responsibilities.  In a nutshell: get your boss to say “no” for you and keep yourself looking good to everyone!