There are moments, situations in our daily activities when we know we need guidance.
Initially, you might have a common fear of being judged, and instead of becoming more worried about not getting guidance, you will be concerned about looking weak, underprepared, or vulnerable.
In mindit.io, we learn how to break out from this fear and seek help; we acknowledge its importance and power. Strength and courage are needed to ask for help, to get inspiration from one another.
Personally, I reframed my fear so that failure would be defined by not getting guidance and help versus the opposite. I got direction, which I asked for, but I did not expect the advocacy and mentorship I received that lasted long beyond that moment of help. I realized both parties are gaining a partnership and trust for the long run.
Have a quick check-in with someone who has experience in a specific area or topic. Even though we cannot bump into each other in the hallway or over coffee, now we can have a quick call.
“Hi, I’m working on dealing with this case, I know you have experience here, and I’d love to get your guidance.
How did you handle it?
What’s one piece of advice you would give?”.
This could take only 5-10 minutes, but it becomes totally worth it while accelerating your learning journey.
We can often use this approach when it’s about knowledge-gathering, simple introductions, getting perspective, solving complaints, and finding solutions.
A difficult stakeholder, unforeseen risk, a new technology, system limitation, a corner case…
We are learning to ask for help through these experiences and even look forward to it thanks to the learning and partnership resulting.
In mindit.io, we do not worry about the job position, titles, level of experience or knowledge, seniority benchmarks. We do not worry about boundaries or limitations. We choose to see those as opportunities instead of challenges. No matter the status, confidence level, or context, we get comfortable asking for help and help others do the same.
