Earlier in my management career, I thought I needed to be the person with all the answers. When facing work challenges, I believed people would see me in the best light if I didn’t let them know I was stumped. Problem was, I didn’t have all the answers. Maybe that was because I didn’t have the experience. Or, maybe I just wasn’t smart enough, I thought. It took some time, but I eventually learned that not having all the answers was OK. More importantly, however, I realized knowing when to ask for help was what really mattered. The simple act of admitting I was struggling boosted my credibility with coworkers who became eager to help. It also forced me to become more involved in generating my own solutions through an approach we coach our clients to use. The process, called “Team Consulting,” supports leaders in getting their team involved in helping them solve problems and find answers. Whether you use Team Consulting or another, similar process, take the steps to ask your people for help, unlock the power of their potential, and get the solutions you and your business need.

Here are three challenges business leaders commonly face that provide valuable opportunities to ask others for help:

Missing goals. Whenever we recognize our clients are missing vital goals, our consultants recommend the Team Consulting approach. This method pushes leaders beyond feeling like they must be the answer-guru at all times, gets their team members involved, leverages their diverse abilities, and enables the identification of which corrective actions to take. While it’s not often easy to admit that you are struggling with hitting your goals, this approach can yield solid ideas and solutions.

Mining new business solutions. Whether you need to develop a new product, service, or process to make your business better, bigger, brighter to the market’s eye, etc., again, this affords a great chance to ask your people to help. If you go at it alone, you’ll miss the mark not only because you may not have the best idea but also because you’ll likely fail to get genuine buy-in. When doing something new, that buy-in is essential if you want your organization to accept it, own it, drive it, and get the results you all want and need. Getting your people involved, considering those on the front lines creates that energy and momentum you’ll need while raising the odds that you’ll land on the right solution.

Making improvements in self-development. One of the core strengths to MAP’s workshops is our focus on helping leaders improve themselves. We do this by enabling them to get transparency around their leadership style, including strengths and weaknesses. Then, we help them identify a couple of key opportunities to work on improving and use the Team Consulting process right then and there. They get a greater understanding of the value in asking others for help and, in doing so, gain insight from others.

What are some other challenges when you might need to ask others for help?