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

share this article:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

related posts

Labrador puppies on a lawn

Learning from puppies: Training is for life not just for Christmas

Training is often still just focused on the training event. But to generate impact we need to create capability and see ourselves as capability managers.

Read More
cat stretched out comfortably on a cat sofa

Do you already know the cure?

Everyone seems to be searching for the magic information that will make a big difference in their lives. The truth is… you already know.

Read More

Setting up learning for success

In the second of two articles on establishing successful learning, Paul Matthews examines collective responsibility

Read More

Setting expectations

Setting up learning for success – In part 1 of 2 practical articles on how to establish successful training programmes Paul focusses on setting expectations

Read More

search blog

Get your free weekly tip

You agree that we can keep a record of your details, and send you other occasional offers. See our Privacy Policy