better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

You’re Not Alone

30 March 2014

Perhaps the title of this post conjures up images of aliens buzzing the earth and waving a cheery hello to us, to remind us that we’re not the only species to have made a few technological leaps over the years, such as the invention of peanut butter or the telephone.

It is good to know that we are not alone and that this also applies to our organisational life. Whatever we are doing at work, and wherever we may be doing it, there is always help and support on tap.

We do not have to struggle on solo, weighed down with knotty problems, or lacking an entry point for a particularly thorny piece of work. We do not have to be the only ones to think through our issues. We do not have to work 24 hours a day to write slides for expectant executives, or take time away from the fee earning environment to muddle through tedious paperwork.

Instead we can choose to get help. We can put our pen down, let go of the mouse and push back in our chair and say;

‘Enough! I need some support …and I’m going to get some.’

We can tweet, or phone, or email a trusted source of good ideas and great contacts and let them know what we are looking for. We can be proactive and can take time to help ourselves. I did this a few years back when I was struggling to write ILM procedures – I asked Twitter for help and Twitter delivered for me. It was an object lesson that sometimes the smartest words we ever say are NO or STOP.

So, this week, what will you do to get some support? Hire a PA or a coach? Ask a friend to make the tea? Take a chum out to lunch and talk through your frustrations? Whatever you do, the mantra is – do something. We are not alone and the world is full of opportunities for us to be supported. All we have to do first is to make a choice to get help.

Next week: Three Tips For Confident Networking