Video Transcript of Your Best Next Move “Why It’s Actually Good to Ask for Help”
Hi everyone, Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly tip for your Best Next Move – where I help you have more agency in your work, acknowledge your capacity to act, and see what you can do right now.
During the last few months, I’ve heard from many of you that you often feel worn out, not just from the anxiety and stress of working through the pandemic and all the means for you – professionally and personally – but also because many of you have taken on more work during this time.
The way we work has changed in a virtual environment, and that often means taking on more work in order to offload our team but also because there are more demands now on leaders with all the stakeholders – and associated initiatives – we have to manage.
I know many of you are high-achievers: you want to say “yes” to additional assignments that will stretch you, add to your portfolio as a leader, and to your contributions to the organization. But that doesn’t mean you need to burn the candle at both ends and wear yourself out.
Here’s a relevant scenario I’d like to share: one of my clients in a large tech company was asked by a member of the exec team to take on a high-visibility project that was a new, enterprise-wide initiative that arose out of the pandemic. She was flattered because this was something she felt strongly about and could get excited about leading – she also was worried about how much additional work this would be on top of everything else she was currently managing. She felt stuck, paralyzed, thinking of the large scope of this project, not sure how to respond. She wanted to say yes but couldn’t figure out how to do that and not bury herself in more work.
After a while, she decided to think about what it would take for her to feel confident saying yes. She knew she needed support – so she asked for it. She took a simple, but a small step to ask if some other, talented people in the organization could be part of her project team. This approach would give her the strategic role she was best suited for – while giving others an opportunity to contribute as well.
The answer was yes – she would get the help she requested – which gave her the confidence to take on this project and also got some other people excited about joining her. Instead of getting paralyzed thinking of the broad scope and demands of the project, she took that first step by asking herself: what’s one thing I can do – now – to move this along.
She used the agency she had to act – and in the process was not only able to get this important project going, but perhaps as importantly, she used her strengths-spotting skills to engage others who could contribute – as a result building capacity in them and herself. A win for everyone.
So, here’s my tip: you don’t have to go it alone…which is a mentality we tend to develop in times of stress and uncertainty, hunkering down just bulling through what’s in front of us. When you’re faced with a scenario like the one I shared, think about who can help you take that first step to making the progress you need. You are doing them and yourself a favor.
I want this to be a year of momentum for you, one of possibility thinking where you take advantage of the agency we sometimes forget we have.
That’s my tip for this week. Let me know if you have a real-world situation you are dealing with – and we’ll hash it out in a future video tip.
I’ll see you next Monday; take care of yourselves!