"Help"
"Sometimes giving someone space is the most selfless thing you can do." Brownell Landrum
Agatha Fry, she made a pie
And Christopher John helped bake it
Christopher John, he mowed the lawn
And Agatha Fry helped rake it
Now, Zachary Zugg took out the rug
And Jennifer Joy helped shake it
Then Jennifer Joy, she made a toy
And Zachary Zugg helped break it
And some kind of help is the kind of help
That helping's all about
And some kind of help is the kind of help
We all can do without
I love this poem by Shel Silverstein. I used to read Shel Silverstein poems to my boys when they were younger. His choice of words, correspondence of rhymes, and illustrations were wonderful. I still enjoy them. This one in particular relates to operations and leadership, especially when things go wrong.
I recall several times in my military career when events went horribly wrong. It was a natural phenomenon in an organization traveling at the speed of light, trying to tackle a mountain of complex tasks. Sometimes we would get a giant egg in the face and find ourselves momentarily paralyzed, sitting among the wreckage of a big mistake. And of course, our higher headquarters (corporate) took notice.
Most of my headquarters empathized with our situation. They felt duty-bound to help. They might send a team of experts down to help us clean up the mess or teach us how to do something better or instead they might leave us alone, giving us time and space to set ourselves straight. Often the latter was what we preferred. It was better for us to be left alone to fix what was wrong instead of entertaining a person or team from our higher headquarters. We had enough on our hands. We would remark, sarcastically, "we don't need any help at the moment," meaning the good intentions of others were appreciated but not needed or that 'help' would actually be a hinderance.
I found myself as the 'helper' when I commanded at a senior level. I would always offer help but I would ask commanders if they truly needed help using the same sarcasm. Often they had the people and expertise to right the wrong. They could always call on I and my staff and we would come to their aid. Forcing myself and my team upon them to help was often the kind of help we all could do without!
Who needs help and who needs to be left alone to help themselves? It is question worth pondering before someone breaks a toy.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell