​Saying “No” Is a Leadership Skill.

​Toddlers know how to say no without hesitation. Somewhere along the way, adulthood teaches us to soften it. Women, especially, are taught to hedge, soften, over-explain, and apologize. As adults, many people struggle to say no. They say yes when they want to decline. They say “maybe” when they’re completely exhausted. 

​Social conditioning, peer pressure, power dynamics, and the fear of disappointing others can make this boundary feel impossibly hard.

​And yet the most powerful leaders have a secret:

​They don’t say yes to everything. 

​They say yes to what matters.

​They know what they want, they protect it, and they insist on it. 

​Saying no isn’t selfish. It’s clear, it’s kind, it’s valuable, and it’s important. Saying no is about integrity and deeper wisdom. It’s about living in alignment with your values. 

​And the better you get at saying no, the more freedom, space, and time you have again.

​And it’s learnable.

​In this workshop, I’ll teach you how to say no thoughtfully, decisively, and without spiraling afterward. You’ll learn the hidden traps behind why it’s so hard to say no. Then, we’ll workshop six specific phrases that you can use to help create space for you to say no. 

​You’ll also receive a one-page cheat sheet of scripts you can keep at your desk, pin above your monitor, or pull up at the exact moment you need the words.

​Angela Parker described this workshop as "rewiring her brain,” and others have said that these scripts were “life-changing” because they “didn’t require a harsh line, but rather created exactly the space they needed to be both kind and clear.”

​In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:

• ​Clarify what you actually want (so your no becomes simple)

• ​Strengthen your boundaries without guilt or apology

• ​Recognize what a true yes and a true no feel like in your body

• ​Use short, unforgettable phrases when you freeze or fawn

• ​Break the default-yes reflex with one clutch strategy

​Say no to a boss, superior, or authority figure — while making your life more bearable, not harder.

​About your facilitator, Sarah K Peck:

​Sarah K Peck is the founder and CEO of Startup Parent and the host of The Startup Parent Podcast, an award-winning podcast featuring women in entrepreneurship, business, and parenting. She runs The Wise Women’s Council, an annual leadership program for women to come together honestly while navigating the challenges of working and parenting.

​Sarah is also a 20-time NCAA All-American swimmer and has successfully swum the Escape from Alcatraz nine separate times, once doing the swim totally naked as way to raise $33k for charity: water. Her writing and work has been featured on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and more. She lives in New York with her family.

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