‘Tis Better to Have Asked and Be Told NO Than to Have Never Asked at All
My brother-in-law is a plumber. He keeps all kinds of plumbing tools and equipment in his truck: pipe benders, borescopes, plumber’s torches, wrenches, pneumatic tools, augers, etc. You name it, he’s got it. As a professional, he knows how to use each one to get the job done.
It would be troubling to hire a professional plumber who asked YOU for a hack saw and basin wrench or worse yet, how YOU would fix the problem. That’s not why you hired a professional!
Managers are no different. Which begs the question, how do you operate as a professional? Do you come each day with the necessary tools, equipment, and know-how? Or, do you rely on others to tell you what to do and how to do it?
Sure, in any organization there’s always going to be someone pointing you in a particular direction, but that direction should be along the lines of “the sink is over there and there’s water all over the floor.” That’s when you go to the truck, pull out your tools and get to work.
“It’s better to ask for something and be told NO than it is to not ask for something and be asked later why you didn’t.”
A manager’s tools could range from business applications used in the past, a network of experienced people who have solved similar problems, to the ability to quickly size up a situation and apply the right knowledge to accomplish an objective.
What if your company doesn’t have the tool that you know you need to get the job done? It could be anything from software, to changing a process to be more efficient, or maybe even a new employee to fill workload gaps. In this situation it’s okay to ask for what you need. Are you going to be challenged by your manager? Of course. You’ll need to justify and explain the benefit to the company. But, it’s better to ask for something and be told no than to not ask and be questioned later why water is still all over the floor and the sink continues to leak.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get a mop and clean up the mess in the kitchen.
