A Courageous Scaredy Cat

A few nights ago, we heard a strange sound coming from the roof of our barn. It sounded like a mournful, distressed appeal for help. Our barn cat had wedged herself into an inescapable place. The heat was so intense that she would have died if she had not been rescued. She was not too proud to call for help and was saved by my son. 

Why do many of us struggle to ask for help when we get stuck? This month’s HBR has an excellent article that answers this question entitled “Why it’s so hard to ask for help?”  The author explains that this problem is worsening. “With the shift toward remote work now leaving many of us isolated from our colleagues, the challenge of asking for help has only intensified.”  

Asking for assistance is something heroes in our popular culture rarely do. The iconic Western hero is a rugged individual, independent and self-reliant. Think Lone Ranger. While this worked when taming the Wild West, it doesn’t work for team leaders today. “Going it alone” is a recipe for disaster. 

Instead, leaders need to role model the vulnerability required to ask for help and make it easy for their employees to do the same. I recently worked with a company that requires all managers to ask the same question during one-on-one discussions with employees. That question is, “Where are you getting stuck?”  It takes self-confidence and bravery to admit we can’t do it alone. The HBR author concludes the article with, “Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. To the contrary, it can be one of the most courageous things we can do.“