Help
Do you ever feel like you are drowning in the sea of things to do, awaiting the next wave of urgent requests to dunk you and send yet another well planned day sprawling?
Do you struggle to ask for help and feel you ‘should’ be able to get everything completed?
Are you aware of your team floundering, following your example?
Many teams are trapped operating below their capacity through a culture of self-sufficiency. Believing that working through tea & lunch breaks demonstrates their loyalty and work ethic. This martyrdom attitude actually does the opposite. It increases stress (often at the cost of higher cortisol levels in team members) and reduces efficiency, effectiveness and creativity.
The most important feature in high performing teams is feeling psychologically safe. As a team leader it is up to you to create this environment for your team. How ‘safe’ do you think your team members feel? What is your gauge? What evidence would you provide if asked to prove that your team feels psychologically safe?
In my work with high performing teams one of the first signs I look for is how much trust there is among team members. Trust is the essence of all teams. Trust has 2 parts – operational trust and vulnerability based trust. Often people can trust someone to do a task (This is operational trust), but the depth of relationship is not there to show vulnerability. When it is, people will ask for help, admit when they are stuck or do not know what to do next, or admit they have made mistakes.
How often does your team ask for help? How often do you ask for help? Asking for help early is a sign of team strength and health. Being willing to take risks and learn is also a sign that people feel safe. How often do your team try and do things on their own? Great team environments encourage people to both ask for help when it is needed (the culture sees questions as a good thing acknowledging that you don’t know what you don’t know) and to “give something a go/give it your best shot”. Not getting it perfect the first time is seen as part of the learning experience. People know that feedback is the “food of champions” and readily accept input from more experienced team members. These are signs of a healthy team environment. How often do you see these being displayed?
If you’ve read this article and pondered the health of your team, I encourage you to take the first step and show some vulnerability. Ask your team to help you. Tell them you want to create a culture where people feel safe and engaged and you need their honest feedback around their perception of the current constraints. Be prepared for some tough feedback. Do not take it as a personal attack. People will often put forward one or two prickly things to see if you are sincere. If you handle this well they will then often give you a list. This can be a little overwhelming. Again, do not take it personally. It is part of the journey. Ask them to prioritise the list. Be transparent on what you will tackle and in what order. Communicate through the process and invite input.
Asking for help is not something our culture actively encourages. Creating a team culture where there is high trust and team members can depend on each other will put your team leagues ahead of the competition. It also makes work a really great place to be! Is this an area you need to take action on today?
