Asking for Help
How Will This Session Help Me Get Ready For Work?
Sometimes we associate communication with giving information but often good communication relies on us asking the right questions. These can be questions we ask ourselves to reflect on what we are doing and why. It might also mean asking questions of others to challenge systems and attitudes that stop us or our company from being better. There are ways to do this clearly and positively, leading to good outcomes for everyone involved.
Questions to get started
Can you think of a time when you felt nervous about asking for help? Why? What happened?
What would make it hard to ask for help in a job or at college?
What do people do that makes it easier to ask them for help?
Focused Virtues
The Focused Virtue for this session is Wisdom.
Wisdom helps us to know when and which questions to ask. This might be to ourselves ‘what is motivating me to do this?’ or ‘how could I do this better?’ It might also be to others ‘is the most efficient way for us to do this?’ or ‘Is there something I can do to get more opportunities in this company?’.
Ask Yourself: "Can I grow in wisdom to know which questions I should ask and find te words to ask them clearly and positively?"
Strength Through Awareness, Influence Through Empathy.
Skills Development:
When you start your very first part-time job or work experience, it’s easy to think that the way things are done is the only way they can be done. But it actually takes a lot of wisdom to look at everyday tasks, spot the lazy assumptions everyone makes, and ask the right questions to figure out how to do things better.
To get into this mindset, you need flexible thinking. This just means looking at a problem from different angles and being open to changing your approach. We all make hidden assumptions without even realising it, like thinking a job has to be done a certain way just because "that's how it's always been done." Wisdom helps you challenge those habits by asking yourself: "What if we did the exact opposite?" or "Is there a real reason for this rule, or is it just an old habit?"
If you want to suggest a better way of doing things without annoying your boss or coworkers, you need to use strategic questioning. This means being curious rather than confrontational. You want to invite people into a chat, not make them feel like they are being judged. The best trick is using open questions that start with what, how, or why, because they give people room to actually explain their thoughts. Instead of asking a closed question like, "Don't you think this system is rubbish?" try asking, "What do you think are the best and worst parts of this?"
Save closed questions—the ones that only need a quick "yes" or "no"—for checking quick facts, like asking if a job is finished. When it comes to brainstorming and fixing problems, stick to open questions. By using a bit of wisdom, you can help your new team find brilliant new ideas and make your shifts run much more smoothly.
Interview Practise: Case Studies and Questions
You are working your first Saturday shift at a local charity shop. The manager tells you to sort through a new box of donated books and put them straight onto the shelves. As you start, you notice several books are torn, dirty, or missing pages. The person who trained you said, "Just put everything out, we need the shelves full."
How can you use wisdom and flexible thinking to challenge this assumption? What is a strategic open question you could ask your manager to help improve how donations are sorted.
Can you tell me about a time when a plan you made wasn’t working and you had to change your approach. What questions did you ask yourself?
If you noticed a process or a task at work that seemed slow or confusing, how could you raise this with your manager in a positive way?"
Guidance and Resources for Facilitators
1. Content & Background Knowledge
Challenging System Assumptions: Entry-level workers, particularly migrant women, often feel they must follow every instruction blindly without question, even if a system is inefficient, unsafe, or confusing. Wisdom helps learners see that asking polite, strategic questions improves processes for everyone.
Flexible Thinking: Shifting mindsets away from "This is how it has always been done" to "How can we make this better, easier, or safer?"
Open vs. Closed Strategic Questions:
Closed: Quick factual answers ("Is this box full?").
Open Strategic: Opens up discussion without causing defensiveness ("What are the trickiest parts of this process?" or "How could we organize this to save time?")
2. Key Misconceptions to Address
"Asking my boss 'why' will make me look difficult or disrespectful." Reframe: Starting questions with How or What makes your inquiry sound helpful, constructive, and proactive rather than aggressive.
"If a process at work is slow, I just have to deal with it silently." Reframe: Managers appreciate employees who notice problems and suggest thoughtful improvements.
3. Step-by-Step Workshop Activities
Activity 1: Turning Complaints into Strategic Questions (20 Mins)
Setup: Provide unhelpful complaint statements.
Task: In pairs, convert them into positive, strategic open questions:
Complaint: "This stock delivery system is a nightmare and takes too long."
Strategic Question: "What are some ways we could re-organize the delivery intake so the team can sort items faster?"
Complaint: "The handover notes are confusing."
Strategic Question: "How could we create a simple written template for end-of-shift handovers so no details are missed?"
Activity 2: The "Fresh Eyes" Workplace Challenge (15 Mins)
Scenario: Review a messy or inefficient routine (e.g., sorting donated items, managing a laundry room, or scheduling break times).
Task: Groups identify one hidden assumption and pitch one open question to ask a supervisor to improve the routine.
4. Reflection & Discussion Points
"Why do questions starting with 'How could we...' sound more polite and helpful than 'Why are you doing it like that?'"
"How can your past life experiences give you 'fresh eyes' to spot better ways of doing things at work?"