Being Asked Again

Yesterday’s blog was a long one. About double the size of my normal posts. But it was the basis of some thoughts I think need to be explored.

Being asked for help is a two sided proposal.  First, being asked to help or lend a hand is an invitation for you, or me, to get involved in something of value for the good of the relationship or community or cause that many support. We often sit on the sidelines and wonder how others got involved when in fact, the opportunity to do so exists most of the time. All we need to do is respond to a request for help and involvement. Then we are in, involved, part of the scene that is making something happen. If you believe in it, explore it. Get involved. Step forward. Know that your help is always needed. Volunteer. Or wait to be asked. But if asked, for heaven’s sake, respond. Say yes. Do something positive.

Second, being asked for help requires us each to have courage, take the leap and say yes. The courage is needed, I think, because we don’t always know if we are capable of doing something. Truth be told, we don’t know if we do have the capability until we test ourselves. Try it. If it works, keep at it and acquire more skills and confidence in doing more of the same. If you do this, you might just be on the road to a new expertise. I might add, you are on the road to an expertise you didn't know you had!

That’s a pleasant surprise. We learn throughout life that we are more capable than we give ourselves credit for. And we often have the opportunity to become an expert in something that we hadn't fathomed before. The expertise comes with experience and skills honed through challenges well met. The expertise, by the way, remains with you as long as you practice it. Let up a little and you will lose a lot of the expertise. Take a prolonged vacation from the practice and you will most likely lose the expertise entirely. Forever.

But that aspect is not the feature of this post today. No, I want to focus on being asked, being ready to be asked, and having the courage to say yes.

We Americans have a good life but it has become too easy. We actually expect things to be good and well provided. Streets and highways are to be well built and maintained. They are supposed to be where they are because that is where we want and need to go. Schools, too, are supposed to be in the right place offering the right programs at the right time. If there is a problem we expect the problem to be taken care of, eliminated, fixed. The same with local infrastructure – water, sewer, communication networks, power grid and natural gas distribution. Whether owned and operated by a unit of local government or a public corporation, we expect the systems we rely on daily to be managed properly and expertly.

Until they don’t function as expected. Then we have a tizzy fit. We shout at the board of education, the city council, the village board of trustees, or the utility customer service agent. The former seats of authority might provide you some results; the latter most likely won’t (customer service agents).

My point is not to complain or expect consistent operating results. No, my point is this: don’t take so much for granted; get involved with the things you think are important and need some help to be better.

Every organization needs people within it dedicated to the mission and long term vision of the organization. Yes there are workers who do as they are told and expect salaries and bonuses if they exceed their performance objectives, but such folks often are not the vision people every organization needs if it is to succeed for the long term.

The same goes for public authority bodies. Active citizens who care that their communities, counties and states function properly today and for the long term are needed to get the job done. There is more to be done than there are ready hands to do the work, let alone the ready minds prepared and able to do the more difficult tasks of planning, organizing and asset acquisition necessary to prepare for the future.

If people come together to do these works in good faith a magical thing happens. Context erupts.

This is subtle. Often those involved don’t even know it is occurring. But small truths are discovered. We see them as facts. We work at something we don’t know, explore it and research it. We learn things. Small at first, we later place them together to see what might happen and we learn even more things. We expand our understanding of how the issues work together. They develop a context of meaning and performance relationships.

From this context we learn that other issues and problem areas have related solutions and dependencies. And those enrich our body of knowledge so we can perform well in a multitude of arenas for the organization.

Doing leads to understanding. Understanding leads to knowing.

This is not a perfect thing. Many things change enough and often enough to upset what we had understood earlier. So more doing is required. To keep us fresh and up-to-date.

Entering the context at some point pulls us into knowing and understanding. We can only do that by willingly getting involved and becoming a part of the whole enterprise. It starts with being willing, screwing up the courage to try, and hearing the plea for help.

Are you listening? Are you willing? And…?

March 10, 2015