Ask for Tutoring

There was never anything unusual about needing a tutor in school.

Sometimes we understood most of the lesson but got stuck on one part.

Sometimes the teacher's explanation didn't connect.

Sometimes we missed something earlier and needed help filling in the gap.

And sometimes we simply needed someone to sit beside us and say,

“Let's look at this another way.”

Then we became adults and somehow decided we were supposed to know everything.

We start businesses and think we should understand marketing, finance, sales, operations, technology, contracts, leadership, and strategy.

We become managers and think we're supposed to immediately know how to lead every personality.

We become parents, spouses, employees, entrepreneurs, and community leaders—and somewhere along the way, asking for help starts feeling like evidence that we're not capable.

But needing help doesn't mean we can't do the assignment.

Sometimes it means we're serious enough about the assignment to get the support necessary to complete it well.

Ask for tutoring.

Tutoring can look different as adults.

It might be a coach.

A mentor.

A class.

Technical assistance.

A therapist.

A colleague who knows something we don't.

A consultant.

A YouTube video.

A book.

A professional organization.

Or simply asking someone,

“Can you show me how you do this?”

The important part is recognizing when we're stuck.

Because there's a difference between working through something difficult and spending six months struggling with something someone could have helped us understand in an hour.

Resourcefulness is valuable.

Independence is valuable.

But neither requires us to figure out everything alone.

That's especially important as we move into a new grade level.

New levels introduce new material.

Something that came naturally before may suddenly require instruction.

The systems that worked when the business was smaller may not work anymore.

The leadership style that worked with one person may not work with a team.

The way we managed our time in one season may not support the responsibilities of the next.

That doesn't necessarily mean we're doing something wrong.

We may simply be learning something new.

Expanding consistency means becoming consistent about getting help too.

Not waiting until everything is falling apart.

Not pretending we understand because we're embarrassed to ask.

Not repeatedly avoiding the same assignment because we don't know where to begin.

Ask the question.

Schedule the meeting.

Take the class.

Find the person.

Use the resource.

And when someone offers information that can make the assignment easier, be willing to learn.

The goal isn't to prove that we can struggle independently.

The goal is growth.

Eventually, a good tutor doesn't do the assignment for us.

They help us understand enough to do it ourselves.

That's the difference between support and rescue.

Support builds capacity.

It gives us another tool.

Another perspective.

Another way to approach the problem.

And eventually, something that once required help becomes something we know how to do.

Maybe even something we can teach someone else.

So if there's an assignment sitting unfinished because you don't understand the next step, don't automatically assume you need more discipline.

You might need instruction.

Raise your hand.

Ask for tutoring.