Why Asking for Help Can Move Your Career Forward

By Stephanie Wilcox (Middlefield, CT)

When was the last time you asked for help at work? If you can’t recall, or if the answer is never, you may be very comfortable in your position and are confident in the work you produce. But there’s more to your career than being good at your job. Don’t be afraid of appearing incompetent or unqualified or putting others in an awkward position. If you haven’t sought out help regarding career progression, dealing with staff, dealing with managers, managing work-life issues, exploring career paths, or any other topic of importance, you’ll need to let that mindset go. Asking for and accepting help can mean career advancement. Here’s why.

1. Asking for help shows you want to do the best job possible.

If you have given a good shot on your own, but want to ask someone for their input on a challenging task, you’re just being thorough. It isn’t incompetence if you’ve already put in a solid effort. Good, insightful questions show you are paying attention and you are informed.

“I believe that, ultimately, career advancement comes from getting to a good answer, getting the work done, and getting the work done right and on time,” says Rhonda L. Lessard, FSA, MAAA, Head of Medical Cost Analytics at Aetna. “If you need to get help to do so, then it supports that goal. If avoiding help means that a poor answer results, or that the work is substandard or late, then failure to ask for help has indeed impeded your career.”

If you are producing good work in a timely manner, it will advance the department and your career development. Consider the alternative: not asking for help when you should be “can be very unfortunate when it stands in the way of producing good work,” says Lessard, who oversees a staff of nearly 100 and answers many career-related questions on a regular basis. “We can’t all know everything, but we all know something and have certain skills that can be, in essence, traded with those around us for the knowledge and skills that they have.”

2. Asking for help will allow you to build important relationships.

Good relationships, including those in the workplace, are about give and take. Lessard says, “I encourage all of my teams to openly offer assistance to anyone who reaches out to them, because one day we will need it in return.” When we learn to accept help from others and can offer it in return, we are helping build each other’s career by growing our network of support. Think of it like networking.

“By modeling that we are stronger together, that internally we work collaboratively, I hope to instill this belief in (my staff) and keep us all talking to each other,” continues Lessard. “We are stronger together, we get to better answers together, we win together, we are a team, and a team helps each other.”

3. Asking for help shows you are comfortable with yourself.

Confidence is very much about letting someone else show you the way on occasion. It’s a sign of strength, saying ‘I have a respect for your opinions and wisdom’ and ‘you probably have a solution to this.’ It’s allowing someone else to contribute, which is flattering, and shows that you aren’t too proud to ask. You can bet that confidence is one of the characteristics your boss will be looking for when she considers your next promotion.

Tips on Asking for Help

“Asking for help is a tricky thing,” admits Lessard, because “you want to drive to the best answer while developing your own knowledge base, but without seeming like you are not the right person for the job in the first place.” Here are a few things to consider when asking for help.

• Be respectful of others’ time and try to ask questions at the appropriate levels. E-mail your boss to say “who can I ask?” It comes across as being respectful of her time, so you aren’t always relying on her.
• Find a balance. “For a person’s own development, she will be better served in trying to work through to the answer herself than by asking for help over and over again,” says Lessard.
• Request time on someone’s calendar to discuss. Lessard suggests that, when reaching out to someone you don’t know, an e-mail outlining the request is most appreciated. A face-to-face meeting to get to know them to read their reactions and whether they understand everything is also encouraged. “For smaller requests,” says Lessard, “especially from people I already know, I’m happy to take requests via e-mail so that I can answer them at my convenience.” If questions and answers go back and forth, Lessard’s general rule of thumb is that after three replies, “it’s time to pick up the phone or set up time dedicated to discuss.”
• Don’t forget the importance of sharing credit with those who help you.

One last thing to consider is that your job should always have a challenge factor. If it didn’t, you wouldn’t have the same drive to do the best job possible, and your work quality would likely suffer. As Lessard explains, “If I strive to keep my staff working just outside of their knowledge comfort zone, that will help them to maximize their own development and therefore the productivity and effectiveness of our whole department.”

Don’t shy away from asking for help. Done right, asking for help can mean stronger relationships, increased confidence, and doing an even better job than you thought possible on your own. Asking for help can be a major factor in your career advancement.