How To Ask a Manager For Assistance

In large established companies you are likely to find that there is a more formalised support structure in place to help you do your job and operate effectively within the business. From the first day, there are likely to be well established channels of upward communication through which you can pose questions and these channels will most likely to be explained to you on your first day. In a large company, you may be informed of the H&S contact, HR contact, facilities manager, line manager, department head etc…

The experience in smaller companies – which according to the Small Business Development Corporation of Western Australia account for nearly 50% of all Australian employees – is likely to be less well organized. This is because small businesses are growing and changing rapidly and may not have had the time or in-house expertise to put in place an effective upward communication system within the business. This is not a criticism of small business as the lack of formality can provide a greater sense of freedom to its employee. However, it will mean that the small business employee will need to be able to demonstrate the following traits if they are to succeed:

• curiosity
• able to approach people for assistance
• comfortable with uncertainty
• comfortable approaching senior people and asking difficult questions
• being comfortable with receiving criticism and feedback.

So, if you are facing a barrier or an obstacle in your work which is preventing you from working effectively or is jeopardising your well-being, what is the best way to ask a manager for assistance? Well, consider that your manager is likely to be time-pressurized and may become impatient or frustrated if your dither. Also,  your manager may not appreciate it if you simply offload the problem without making any attempt to find a resolution yourself.

You can counteract all these likely tensions and constraints by adopting an assertive communication style during your meeting with your manager.  To do this, you should prepare in advance exactly what you are going to say. An assertive interaction would have several stages:

• Schedule a meeting time to talk to your manager
• Clearly explain the problem
• Explain how it is troubling you
• Suggest some possible solutions
• Explain what you would like your manager to do (help)
• Explain the benefit of your managers help and the possible consequence of no help
• Let your manager respond and listen to what he/she says

This should mean that your interaction with your manager will be concise, precise, clear and efficiently constructed. Most good managers will recognize that you have adopted an assertive and efficient communication style and will be more receptive as a result. Because you have explained it clearly and suggested possible solutions you will also have made it easier for them to help you, meaning that the encounter is likely to more beneficial to you.
Another problem that occurs more frequently in small companies (although not exclusively), is a lack of quality feedback about your performance from your manager – which can leave you de-motivated or unsure if you are doing your job right. This can be due to a lack of training and a lack of a formal performance appraisal system.

If you find that you are in need of some performance feedback from your manager, then you should adopt a similar assertive approach that we have shown above, but adapt it slightly

• Schedule a meeting time to talk to your manager
• Explain that you would like some constructive feedback
• Explain in which areas you would like feedback
• Acknowledge that you are not expecting an immediate response.
• Explain the benefit of your manager’s help and the possible consequence of no feedback.

A good manager should value the fact that you have taken the initiative which will make them more receptive to your request. It is important that you make it clear that you are not expecting immediate feedback as this could be putting them on the spot – it is vital that you give the manager the time and space to prepare and provide feedback at a later date.

At the root of any good request for assistance from your manager is assertiveness, brevity, clarity and a willingness to participate in arriving at a solution to the problem, rather than simply off-loading it onto the manager.