Too many founders fall into the trap of thinking they need to have all the answers. We’re told to project confidence, to fake it till we make it. But the ability to strategically ask for help, and to accept it graciously, is actually one of the most powerful – and underappreciated – skills of a successful leader.
Why Vulnerability IS Strength
- Access to Expertise You Lack: No one person is an expert on everything. Seeking targeted advice on areas outside your core competency saves you time, costly mistakes, and potential embarrassment.
- The Signaling Effect: Showing your team that it’s okay to not know everything builds a culture of collaboration, and encourages them to ask for help when THEY need it, preventing problems from festering.
- Attracting High-Value Mentors: People who are genuinely good at what they do enjoy sharing their knowledge. Being receptive to mentorship makes you magnetic to those connections.
- Deeper Bench Strength: Delegating effectively requires being able to both ask for support on a task AND let go of the need to micromanage how it’s done. This frees you up to focus on the big picture.
- Accelerated Learning: Seeking advice from those who’ve been there before shortens your learning curve dramatically. Why repeat avoidable mistakes?
Asking for Help the SMART Way
- Do the Homework Upfront: Don’t waste a mentor’s time with questions a quick Google search could answer. Show you respect the value of their insight.
- Specificity Matters: Instead of “I’m struggling with marketing,” ask “What’s one low-cost customer acquisition channel you’ve seen work well for early-stage B2B SaaS, and why?”
- Be Open to the Unexpected: Sometimes, the best advice challenges your initial assumptions about the problem itself. Don’t get defensive.
- Follow Up and Show Results: Let the mentor or advisor know how their input impacted your decision-making. This strengthens the relationship, and makes them more likely to help again in the future.
[tagline] The smartest leaders surround themselves with people who know more than they do. They’re not threatened by this – they’re empowered by it. [/tagline]
