Asking for Help

"My door is always open"

Some people have trouble asking for help.

They don’t want to be seen as weak. They don’t want to be seen as incompetent. They don’t want to feel like they have let you down by not doing it themselves.

As leaders, we need to inoculate our people to this assumption. When delegating, point out the potential issues. “If you get an unexpected output here, come talk to me ASAP, so you don’t waste hours using garbage data.” or “I need your help to know what’s going on with the project. It’s important to me that you don’t stress yourself out going around in circles. If you get stuck, please come talk to me ASAP.”

Don’t assume that your people know they can come to you. Don’t assume they will ask for help when they are stuck. Make sure you say it specifically and let them know that you prefer they knock on your door and ask, rather than wasting time and effort going in the wrong direction.

Be aware that some people avoid offering help to others. They wait to be asked, because they don’t want to insult the other person’s competency. Don’t fall into this trap as a leader—check in with your people regularly and offer a lifeline when they need one. “Do you want any suggestions?” or “Need an extra set of eyes?” tend to land more effectively than “Are you stuck?”

(Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash)