The job of an estate manager is akin to that of a juggler who’s trying to keep different objects afloat for as long as possible. Because the main responsibility of estate managers is to ensure that household operations are done properly, they are often required to handle multiple tasks at the same time.
While estate managers have the necessary skills and are often used to multitasking and having a lot of things on their plate, sometimes, there are things that they can’t do on their own. However, some of them would rather bear the burden alone than ask for help.
The Importance of Asking for Help
For some reasons, many of us consider asking for help to be a sign of weakness. Some of us think that it can diminish our self-confidence and self-esteem. Managers, supervisors, or estate managers, think it can diminish their authority and make them appear unqualified for their job.
But the truth is, asking for help is actually a sign of great strength. It shows your awareness of your limitations and not letting pride get in the way of completion of a job. You know when it’s time to admit that you can’t do everything on your own. That there are things you don’t know despite your skills and experience.
As an estate manager, asking for help can help boost your staff members’ morale. It shows that you trust them as a person, and, more importantly, their wisdom and abilities. It shows that you’re willing to step back and give them the opportunity to show what they can do.
When to Ask for Help
Here are some instances when it’s time for you to suck it up and ask for help.
- When you don’t know what you’re doing. If you have no idea what you’re supposed to do, it’s wiser to ask someone more knowledgeable than you. Regardless of what you need to accomplish, there’s no use trying to solve it on your own if you don’t know how to. It would only make you look stubborn or, worse, incompetent.
- When you have too much work to be done. No matter how skilled and experienced you are, you can only do so much. If you find yourself reaching your limit and buried under mountains of work, there’s no harm in asking for help. With more people working, the task is finished more quickly and mishaps that could get you in trouble are prevented.
- When you made a mistake. Because nobody’s perfect, it’s inevitable that you’ll make a mistake at one point in your career. What’s bad about mistakes is not the fact that it happened. It is your attempt to sweep it under the rug and pretend that it didn’t occur. When you make a mistake, the first step is to admit it. Then, if correcting it is beyond your abilities, ask your staff for assistance.