A few years ago, I was talking with a colleague about a high-profile project at work. I said offhand, “That project looks so exciting — I wish I could work on it.”
Was just thinking about why I have always struggled asking for help and realised, deep down, I don’t want to come across as guy who doesn’t know it!
While all of us are figuring it out, the ego dictates that I should be knowing everything under the Sun! Which eventually leads to missing out on great opportunity at times.
Thanks for sharing this one. Could resonate much. :)
My first day of business school, our section practiced a reciprocity exercise, where we each had to ask for something from the group. We were encouraged to be bold, and collectively asked for everything from "I need help learning to drive" to "Can anyone intro me to Selena Gomez?" It was really uncomfortable to ask for something so publicly, but we looked at a lot of research showing that those who gave help frequently AND asked for help frequently were the most effective/productive. The research shifted my perspective from "you should give much more than you ask for" to "you should both give and ask frequently."
Powerful insights here--asking for help also shows your humanity to others.
Was just thinking about why I have always struggled asking for help and realised, deep down, I don’t want to come across as guy who doesn’t know it!
While all of us are figuring it out, the ego dictates that I should be knowing everything under the Sun! Which eventually leads to missing out on great opportunity at times.
Thanks for sharing this one. Could resonate much. :)
My first day of business school, our section practiced a reciprocity exercise, where we each had to ask for something from the group. We were encouraged to be bold, and collectively asked for everything from "I need help learning to drive" to "Can anyone intro me to Selena Gomez?" It was really uncomfortable to ask for something so publicly, but we looked at a lot of research showing that those who gave help frequently AND asked for help frequently were the most effective/productive. The research shifted my perspective from "you should give much more than you ask for" to "you should both give and ask frequently."
I love this so much -- thank you for sharing!