Never be too old or too shy to ask. That’s the topic of today’s LFTWednesday post – never stand in your own way of asking, ‘Why?’, ‘Can I just check that again?’, or ‘Will you show me? I’ve no idea how to do it.’ I think there’s something quite admiral in being able to hold up your hand and say, ‘I’ve forgotten…’ or ‘Can you give me some pointers on?’ As they say, every day is a school day.
As we welcome younger people into our businesses and networks, we need to remember to provide positive role models for them. And part of that means being brave enough to show our flaws. Let them know it’s ok to ask if they don’t know how to do something, or what something means.
Many of the young people we work with at Lighthouse Futures Trust face daily challenges from social anxiety. They’re working on it though, and we see them improve every day. Some of them even stood on a stage at ASDA this week and presented to a packed room. We honestly couldn’t be more proud.
We advocate for asking questions here. They’d love to come to your company and ask questions too – find out what you do, what your workplace is like, why you don’t wear a three-piece suite and pocket square to the office… Young people come through secondary schools and colleges like ours being positively encouraged to take an interest, join debating clubs, talk in front of others, so let’s remember that spirit we had in our youth and join them at it!
No more sitting at our desks wondering where that folder is, how to use the scanner, what the code is to the back office, and how to access the all staff calendar. Do it this afternoon! And if anyone asks you what might seem like a ‘daft’ question (no question is a daft question, remember) then don’t give them a hard time about asking it. You might need to ask the next one!