SOS! Someone please help me! How to ask for help and actually receive it
Image: Hannah Busing from Unsplash
While the title may come off as a tad dramatic, it definitely isn't unusual to wish someone would swoop in and help you deal with a task. No matter if you need to make a deadline, or if you've hit a dead-end and struggle to progress any further—sometimes help from outside is what it takes to make things right!
We can attest to this, since comms work is not only very creative, but also requires solid time management skills and learning new things every day. While creativity can never truly run out, sometimes you can become stuck. Asking one of your fellow crew members for support can really turn things around, and together you can come up with the perfect subject-line for your newest pitch, for example. On other days, there might be an unexpected change of plans and to match the speed of the news cycle, it's important to know that your team has got your back.
I need somebody
This might sound cheesy, but admitting to yourself that you require help is already the first step. People usually struggle to ask for help because they fear rejection. Asking someone for support makes you vulnerable, and in that position, receiving a “No” or a “I told you so” is the last thing you want to hear. Another reason to hesitate when asking for help is that you don't want to inconvenience others. As noble as this approach sounds, it's ineffective and sets you back majorly. It's always in a team's best interest to help each other out and not pass blame.
To some people in leadership positions, asking the team for support can feel like a personal failure. It's all a matter of perspective, though. When asking others to take over for you, you're essentially delegating a task, which is a good leadership quality. Remember that leadership is not about doing everything yourself, it's actually about working together with and managing your team. When asking for support, similar rules apply, as they do for task delegation. Be SMART about it.
Specific – be specific with the task, so others can gauge if they can actually help you.
Meaningful – explain why this task is important.
Action-oriented – clarify what specific steps need to be taken.
Realistic – don't ask for outlandish things. The task needs to be reasonable.
Time-Bound – specify when you need it done.
This concept proves to be a great guideline to ask others for their help, in a professional and efficient way.
Help! I need somebody, not just anybody
Knowing how to ask for help is just as essential as knowing when and whom to ask. So who do you ask? It's always easier to ask members of your team who are involved in your task or have a basic understanding of what the context is. Introducing someone, completely new, takes a lot of time and can easily be overwhelming for the person. So try asking someone who is already involved, and make sure to ask about their availability beforehand.
Help me if you can
How you ask is as important as who you ask. Try to be as humble and appreciative as possible in your request. Most of all, be mindful of other people's busy schedules and try to not sound demanding. It might be the case that someone doesn't have the time to support you at the moment. Try to understand where they are coming from instead of reacting badly or feeling dejected. It's really not personal, try finding someone else who's got time and the capacity, instead.
And I do appreciate you being 'round
Helping others is incredibly rewarding and when you ask in a respectful and precise way, you're a lot more likely to be assisted. This is especially the case, here, at the Laika spaceship. In a working environment, this can make a huge difference in your team's feeling of solidarity—as this is a bonding experience. Everyone needs a little support sometimes.
When reaching out, you get faster results, minimize frustration, and strengthen the team's bond. At Laika, we're striving to create an environment that encourages sharing responsibilities and supporting each other. That's the only way to stay flexible and sane in the fast-paced realm of the comms cosmos.
SOS or not… in the end, everybody comes to the rescue and everyone is helped!