Asking for help doesn’t make you less of a leader. It teaches your team that asking is allowed.
RESILIENCE
WHAT THIS MEANS
A group takes its permissions from whoever is in front. If you never admit needing anything, everyone around you learns that needing things is a weakness to hide, and problems start arriving late and expensive. Asking out loud is not a confession. It is a demonstration that the door works.
Find something you are currently struggling with alone and say so to one person on your team this week. Be specific about what would help. You will probably get the help and, more usefully, the next person will ask sooner.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
What have you struggled with rather than ask for help?
MORE IN COURAGE & RISK
- When the plan fails, say it plainly. People can handle bad news. They can’t handle being managed.
- Shaky hands during a presentation mean you care. Hold the note cards tighter and keep going.
- Say the unpopular answer in class. Even if you’re wrong, you just showed everyone it’s allowed to think out loud.
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