Why Strong Teams Ask for Help | Leo Bottary

I think it, teams need to create a feedback culture, 'cause, uh, really noticing when people are doing things right and calling it out and having that positive recognition of each other, but also that then links to when things aren't going well, actually not stepping over issues or assuming that the leader needs to have those conversations.

We can hold each other accountable and have some open feedback conversations, too.

I think it's really, really important.

100%.

They need a feedback culture, and you also make sure for sure, and this is why the psychological safety's so important, you can't be afraid to ask for help.

Yeah.

And this is huge in a lot of companies.

I actually do [laughs] I do a webinar on something called the courage to ask for help.

Mm.

And it starts, and I'll do it on Mentimeter a lot of times, where whether it's in person or virtual, and, you know, and Mentimeter of course allows you to upload PowerPoint slides, and then of course y- you can poll questions and things like that.

So I do it in the form of word cloud, and I say, "How does asking for help make you feel?" And to a person, there's a few positive words up there, but most of it is incompetent-

Hmm

... terrible, helpless, you name it.

It is not great, because they see asking for help as a sign of weakness.

Mm-hmm.

But in fact, when you talk to really successful people, they see it as an act of resourcefulness, and that's the difference.

So when you finally get them to transition to the idea that asking for help is what successful people do, that's how they're wired.

That's, they recognize we have resources around me, that we all, none of us knows everything.

Let's help each other.

And sometimes, too, it's even how we ask for help, right? I can either ask you, "I need your help," which now feels I need the help, right? It's just a bad sentence in many respects.

But how about, "I would love your help on this project."

Mm-hmm.

So now I'm, it's extending as an invitation.

It's also an acknowledgement to you that you can make this project better by your involvement as opposed to me just doing it alone.

Right? And that there's something just a little more, I think, inviting for all involved when you can create it as an invitation and not some kind of a request.

And so I think when people start developing some skills around reframing some of these things, you know, it's important.

And, and clearly the same thing with feedback.

I think it, teams need to create a feedback culture, 'cause, uh, really noticing when people are doing things right and calling it out and having that positive recognition of each other, but also that then links to when things aren't going well, actually not stepping over issues or assuming that the leader needs to have those conversations.

We can hold each other accountable and have some open feedback conversations, too.

I think it's really, really important.

100%.

They need a feedback culture, and you also make sure for sure, and this is why the psychological safety's so important, you can't be afraid to ask for help.

Yeah.

And this is huge in a lot of companies.

I actually do [laughs] I do a webinar on something called the courage to ask for help.

Mm.

And it starts, and I'll do it on Mentimeter a lot of times, where whether it's in person or virtual, and, you know, and Mentimeter of course allows you to upload PowerPoint slides, and then of course y- you can poll questions and things like that.

So I do it in the form of word cloud, and I say, "How does asking for help make you feel?" And to a person, there's a few positive words up there, but most of it is incompetent-

Hmm

... terrible, helpless, you name it.

It is not great, because they see asking for help as a sign of weakness.

Mm-hmm.

But in fact, when you talk to really successful people, they see it as an act of resourcefulness, and that's the difference.

So when you finally get them to transition to the idea that asking for help is what successful people do, that's how they're wired.

That's, they recognize we have resources around me, that we all, none of us knows everything.

Let's help each other.

And sometimes, too, it's even how we ask for help, right? I can either ask you, "I need your help," which now feels I need the help, right? It's just a bad sentence in many respects.

But how about, "I would love your help on this project."

Mm-hmm.

So now I'm, it's extending as an invitation.

It's also an acknowledgement to you that you can make this project better by your involvement as opposed to me just doing it alone.

Right? And that there's something just a little more, I think, inviting for all involved when you can create it as an invitation and not some kind of a request.

And so I think when people start developing some skills around reframing some of these things, you know, it's important.

And, and clearly the same thing with feedback.