Teach me to fish
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A common proverb goes something like this:
Catch a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
The point of this is that I can only go so far if you catch a fish for me every day. If you teach me how to fish so that I can do it for myself, then I’m good to go with or without your being around. I need to learn how to take care of things on my own.
Teach me how to cook: a story
I confess that my wife is the one who does most of the cooking in our home. If you’ve seen me, it’s obvious – my body shape indicates that she’s fed me well (heh). But I don’t want her to do all the cooking all the time, and I recognize that it’s a bit selfish on my part to expect her to cook for me. Especially when I can step up and do more cooking.
The problem is that I don’t work well with clutter. I cannot begin to think about making more dirty dishes when there are some that already in the sink. I have to start with a clean kitchen, or at least clean enough for me to cook. I was taught to clean as I cook, so that the cleanup time and effort are minimized. How can I do that if there is a mess waiting for me before I even begin?
Yesterday afternoon my wife decided to get started on dinner, but she wanted me to make lunch. I obliged but was soon overwhelmed by how busy our small apartment kitchen had become. I vented my frustration.
“Never mind,” my wife said, “I’ll do it. I’ll make lunch.”
“No,” I told her. “I need to learn how to deal with this.”
So I took a step back and expressed what my real concern was, and we talked through it. And, guess what? Our daughter said it was the best spaghetti she’s had in a long time!
Teach me how to do my job – another story
I knew when I started my job as a Business Analyst that it was going to be intense because I’ve had so much to learn and so little time to do it.
At work I’m very involved with getting our clients set up with Microsoft Dynamics CRM and everything about our customization that goes along with it. Different people have specific skills and responsibilities, and I’m still learning every day what my role on the team is, since it’s evolved.
So I’m bent on figuring out how to deploy new and import existing CRM organizations, pursuing my coworkers to let me know how I can help move the implementation process along to please our clients. What pieces can they teach me to do so that the end result can be done?
Sometimes my coworkers will take care of something I’ve had a question about for me. I’d rather have been taught what I needed to do. I recognize the element of timing. But still, I love when one of them makes the time to show me how to do something so that I don’t necessarily need their help if they are not around.
I’m being vague on purpose, because this doesn’t apply to a specific thing about work. It applies to my work overall.
Back to fishing
I haven’t literally been fishing in many years, but I can certainly appreciate what the proverb is saying. I recognize my own need to delegate and train others in what I know how to do, both in my paid work and volunteer work. It’s not so that they can take my job. Rather, it’s so that the job can be done, maybe even better than what I can do by myself!
I look forward to it because I’m focused on making the result the best it can be.
Comments!
I do so love comments.
What I need
Examples and short vignettes of how you’ve seen this in your life. Build on what I’ve shared here. Add to the conversation.
What I don’t need
Put down remarks or unsolicited advice on how I should have or could have handled these situations better. Blatant self-promotion. (Remember the Comment policy.)
Make it a great day!
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