May Busch* says that when a manager hires someone for a new job they actually want them to succeed — so don’t be afraid to reach out for help when it’s offered.
I love staying at a nice hotel except for one thing.
It’s the sight of a doorman (so far, I’ve only encountered men) coming to open my car door, offering to help with my luggage and insisting on holding the door open for me to walk through.
While he’s smiling, my brain is in overdrive: Does he think I’m weak? Do I look incapable? Is he just angling for a tip?
Of course, he’s just doing his job. The issue is that I’m fiercely independent.
However, when it comes to your career, being comfortable to accept and even welcome offers of support is essential.
Yet it’s easy to feel nervous about accepting help from your managers.
Like my client whose boss offered to help her get up to speed on everything about the business and support her as much as possible in her new role.
She asked me: “This is great, but how do I let them know what I don’t know without them thinking maybe I’m not the right person for the job?”
I’ll share my answer here in case it helps you too, and it’s about these three steps.
Let go of the fear factor
It’s impossible to know everything there is to know. This is especially true when you’re in a new role.
Remember that your managers chose you for the job, and they want you to succeed. So your interests are aligned.
Instead, appreciate what great managers you have.
All too often, you’re left to sink or swim on your own.
Identify the ‘buckets’ where you could potentially need guidance
See where you feel comfortable with your knowledge versus where there are gaps.
That will give you a clue as to where your manager can be most helpful.
In my experience, no matter who you are, what business you’re in and what stage of your career you’re in, your success comes down to three main areas.
How you work with people; how you work on the business, and how you work on your self.
On the people side, the biggest help your managers can provide is helping you understand who the key stakeholders are, and helping you build those relationships.
From the business perspective, it’s about understanding what makes the business tick.
What’s the strategy for the organisation overall and how does your Department contribute to that?
To come across as being the right person for the job it’s helpful to take a stab at answering those questions for yourself first.
That way, you can come into the conversation with your manager with your observations and hypotheses.
From the self perspective, it’s going to be more about how you can utilise your manager as part of your ongoing community of support.
Build in regular catch-ups
It’s impossible to set out a curriculum that’s the complete set of knowledge you’ll need for the entire year.
That’s why it’s important to get your manager’s permission to have ongoing conversations where you can bounce ideas off of them and get their advice.
These can be regular meetings or ad hoc, depending on how your manager likes to work.
Think of this as taking a master’s degree program and also having access to ‘office hours’ with the professor.
These catch-ups also allow you to check in with your manager on how you’re doing so you can make mid-course adjustments and adapt as things change.
If your manager doesn’t come to you proactively, you can still adapt these steps to guide your manager to help you, especially steps two and three.
Start by identifying the ‘buckets’ of where you have all the knowledge and resources you need and where you could use some advice and insight.
Then take the initiative to set up a meeting where you can talk through one of the gaps and get permission to come back when you have other ideas to bounce off your manager.
Don’t sit back and wait for others to come to you.
Take charge of your own career and go out and get what you need, whether that’s from your manager, mentors or outside sources.
Finally, when your manager offers support, this is not a life preserver you cling onto like a drowning person.
They’re still your boss and they’ll be forming impressions, as all humans can’t help but do.
So don’t treat their offer as an invitation to let all your insecurities hang out.
*May Busch works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared at maybusch.com.
