How to figure out when to ask for help

As a rule we don’t like to ask for help. Mostly we are driven to do things on our own and be independent-minded. Asking for assistance can make us feel uneasy because it requires surrendering control to someone else and can potentially leave us feeling incompetent. So psychologically there are some pretty strong deterrents for seeking help.

Looking from the perspective of what can happen if we DON’T ask for help is a good way to arrive at a more balanced view of the 'seek-help' versus 'go-it-alone' decision-making process.

The most obvious argument is that things can keep getting worse if we:

> Don’t have the capability to tackle the problem;

> Do nothing;

> Make changes in a knee-jerk fashion;

> Try to solve the wrong problem

The regret, ‘I wish I had asked for help earlier’ is common!

Downsizing, restructuring, rationalising, running ‘lean’ and outsourcing have all led to businesses shedding employees who do not contribute directly to the day-to-day ‘business-as-usual’. Often these employees were the ones who had the problem-solving skills and experience or who had very specific technical skills related to those ‘abnormal’ challenges that can make businesses run ‘rough’. The argument that ‘we will just deal with that if and when it arises’ is all good as long as you DO deal with it when it arises … by seeking qualified help!

AstuteOps Tips

Seek help if:

> You have conversations with key employees, and they are lost for answers;

> Your requests for answers or data are repeatedly deferred or ignored;

> Different parts of your business have polarised beliefs about the same problem;

> Everyone points at one department/team as the source of the problem, and won’t help that department/team to fix it

> You, as the owner or leader, feel that you are ‘being kept at arms-length’ from a problem;

> The problem gets worse, not better, for 3 consecutive months after you start trying to solve it