I’ve written before about guarding against training your team to expect you to solve every problem they can’t solve easily or quickly. You can guide, offer suggestions, certainly encourage – but insist they operate at just-beyond their comfort level. Insist on their participation in the solution. Then they gain the confidence to tackle new problems.
However it’s also important to train people to ask for help from experienced people, rather than stewing and floundering on their own. My observation (myself and others) is that our pride gets in the way. Many of us don’t like situations where we don’t know the answers.
Most of us have the “movie” image of a Special Forces soldier – always confident, in control, always knowing what to do, knowing how to do everything. That’s not reality. If they don’t know something they need to know, they ask for help. If there are others with more experience, they ask for coaching to sharpen their skill. Their teammates will give them help. This is deeply embedded in the culture. All high-performing teams operate this way.
Is there an issue you’re facing right now where you should ask for help?
