I agree with patio11, but I'd probably find a slightly softer way to say it, especially if you're new to the company. Keep in mind, if he's from a different te

I agree with patio11, but I'd probably find a slightly softer way to say it, especially if you're new to the company. Keep in mind, if he's from a different team, he has no authority over you. If he keeps asking you to do things unrelated to your teams priorities, this becomes an issue for your manager. In any case, your first priority should be to your own team, so I would find a friendly way to say this. "Hey X, Thanks for your mail, it's good to hear from you. I understand where you're coming from on your request. I'll discuss it with my team leader the next time we have a meeting. I should also let you know that I've got a set of high-priority tasks in relation to (my team) at the moment, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to you on this. If this is a critical request, I'd be grateful if you could speak to (my manager) about this. Thanks very much" General principals : * Be friendly and clear on your priorities. * Set expectations correctly. * Communicate that your priorities are defined by your team/manager. * Explain that if changes to these priorities need to be made, they should go through your manager. I hope that's helpful. Good luck !