January 18, 2021

Hold your own spoon

Man spoon feeding a toddler

Oh no! Not again 🙁

Another question from someone who could have figured it out for themselves and instead they come and ask me.

I inwardly sigh and give them the answer… again.

I’ll be honest, it does give my ego a boost, but there must be a better way.

Sometimes they need my expertise. I get that. But all the other times, maybe I am spoon-feeding them too much? Maybe asking me is too easy? Maybe they need to learn to hold their own spoon? Or maybe the consequences of them making a mistake are too high, so they need reassurance or protection? Maybe they think I am micro-managing and that I need to be in the loop? Maybe it’s something else?

I wonder what it is that encourages this behaviour?

The next time I will ask them…
“What do think the answer is?”
“How could you find this out for yourself?”
“Have you looked on the XYZ system?”
“Why ask me when the answer is available on the XYZ system?”
“What will you do the next time you have a similar question?”

I am curious to find out what answers I get!

My best wishes, Paul

Paul Matthews

CEO and Founder of People Alchemy

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