How Can I Help My Coworkers?

Today marks three years since I left the American Red Cross, and yet I routinely return to a question then President and CEO Gail McGovern would encourage all of us to ask ourselves everyday: How Can I Help My Coworkers?

I think about this now particularly as it relates to new employees, when during their first few months on the job there is so much to learn: new people, new procedures, new culture, new norms. When I observe the seasoned barista roll her eyes at the newbie; when I hear about a clique of tenured employees loudly complaining about a new colleague just released from training; when an experienced operations team purposefully makes it difficult for the new account manager to be successful...I hear Gail's voice in my head.

We were all new not at just one point, but at all points of change in our careers. Some people master certain tasks, certain concepts more quickly than others. How much would it cost us to be more generous with their learning curve, possibly even help to minimize it? How difficult would it be to share hard-won tricks of the trade to make another's path to competency a little smoother? To take an extra moment to allow someone to feel safe to practice and perfect a new skill? To encourage "it's okay to make a mistake, go slow, try again, you'll get this" is leadership regardless of your position. Its kindness, its empathy and it says everything about the organization's culture and the character of those who work there.

I can remember getting pushback "that's not my job" when I would suggest an employee extend themselves to a struggling coworker. I would think: as human beings, isn’t that all of our jobs? In the words of Jay Shetty: Kind is the new cool.

I know how you feel. I have felt that way too. What I found helps... is a common technique to work through customer objections in customer service and sales, but it is also a disarming way to say to a new colleague, "I have been where you are, and I got through it. Here's how." Its not just offering a roadmap, but compassion and support when someone needs it most.

In the final episode of Season Three of FX’s "The Bear", accomplished and famed chef Thomas Keller plays himself in a scene where the lead character Carmy is a new chef beginning his culinary career in TK's kitchen. It's Carmy's first day and he has been assigned the task of preparing the staff's dinner before the restaurant opens for service: roast chicken. TK goes to Carmy, welcomes him and demonstrates how to truss the chicken, while sharing personal stories and anecdotes. TK's patience, the expertise, the encouragement, the care in which one of the most acclaimed chefs in the world displays in this quiet moment with his new employee is profound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmIsNs7LerQ

What I love most about this scene is the calm transfer of knowledge, of skill; the modeling of what mastery looks like and the willingness to share it with others just starting their journey. Yes, I realize this is a fictitious TV show, but the power in the lesson remains: How can I share my knowledge to grow another's confidence; How, regardless of my position on the org chart, can I help my coworkers?

We are only truly successful when we help others succeed.

#teamleadership #leadership "howcanIhelpmycoworkers #thebear #nuture