HELP! I need somebody ...

Last weekend I took my 5-year-old daughter to a playground. She climbed up really high on a playground climbing wall and got stuck. She was scared and called for help. 

“Mommy, I need help!”  

She realized that she was at a point where she had no clue what to do and she asked for help without hesitation. She did not wait there for hours on end until it was time to go home. She stopped. She thought. She needed help and asked for it.

Most leaders are afraid to ask for help. They see it as a sign of weakness. So they sit there for hours on end having no clue what to do, wasting time instead of reaching out to others.

Multiple studies show that the difference between ordinary achievers and exceptional achievers is their willingness to ask for help. “Leaders who ask for and accept input from team members are more successful and inspirational than leaders who believe they need to go it alone,” says Dr. Paul Schempp, author of “5 Steps to Expert.”

So what happens when we do ask for help? When we ask for help, we engage others in problem solving. Seeing things from different perspective opens your mind up. Involving other people in troubleshooting can spark inspiration in the most unexpected ways. It also creates trust among your teammates. Having a leader who is willing to accept that he does not know everything is a sign of  humility.

So, the next time you feel lost reach out to your coworkers and ask for help.

About the Author 

Karina is a senior-level global executive with over 10 years of international experience in building successful teams, organizing resources and directing global operations to achieve profit, product and service objectives. She helps individuals, teams and organizations recognize and realize their potential and align them with overall corporate and individual goals. Karina currently leads global Empowerment at ENAVATE.