How good are you at asking for help when you really need it?

Our reader poll today asks: How good are you at asking for help when you really need it?

• I’m great at it. I know when I need assistance, and I don’t hesitate to ask for it 14.43%
• I’m okay at it. There are times I could ask for help sooner 43.29%
• I’m not good at it. I struggle to ask for help except in extreme situations 34.82%
• I’m terrible at it. I never ask for help no matter how much I need it 7.46%

Don’t go it alone. 85% of you report that you could be better at asking for help (with a whopping 43% admitting you’re not good or are terrible at asking for help). If you’re in this majority, ask yourself why you’re not good at asking for help. Is it that you’re unaware that you need help? Or that you don’t know who to go to for help? Or is it more about ego, pride, and unwillingness to admit you can’t handle something? Then ask yourself what’s worse – asking for help or failing at a task and needing to ask for help after you fail. The answer should be pretty obvious. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of maturity that demonstrates you know your limitations and you trust those around you enough to enlist their aid in solving a problem. Maybe if we all get better at asking for help, we’ll solve more problems and build stronger relationships in the process.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.