Please, say No

 Please, Say No.

Every responsible parent asks their child if they need help with their homework, hoping against hope that once in a while, the child will say no.

Every responsible employer asks their employees if they need help with a task, hoping against hope that once in a while, they will say no.

Every responsible team leader asks their team members if they need help with support with a task, hoping against hope that once in a while, they will say no.

Photo taken during a Babishai Poetry Training, 2017.

We’ve all done it. We tell them to reach out, tell them not to sit on their difficulty and that we have an open door policy. We mean to be kind, we really do. There are just those times when you need an extra ten minutes to kick back, close your eyes and think of nothing except day dream. You want to have an extra time in the bathroom without someone knocking on the door, with an urgent need. You want to take your tea while seated, not spilling it on your clothes and on the floor, because someone urgently needs you.

Yes, every responsible parent asks their child if they need help with their homework and yet we hope that once in a while, they will say no. Maybe they do say no, and they say it often and then we feel irrelevant in their lives.

Where do we find the balance? Do we want our staff members to never have to lean on us. It may mean that we have fully equipped them, or it could mean that they do not find us useful.

Keep on being  a responsible team leader and ask them if they need help.

Keep on being a responsible parent.

And don’t scald yourself with hot tea. Learn to take ten minutes break, long baths and long walks too.

 

Breakfast at Eden Camp in Pader, during the Rich Diction 'You and Your World' Trip.

Bless!

 

Beverley