How many times in life, especially now, could we all use a little help? But often, why do we find it so hard to acknowledge it, let alone ask?.

It’s taken me too long to recognise that asking for help is the very opposite of being a sign of weakness. Let me illustrate with a painful admission.

Regular customers will know that sometimes at Cafe Allez! Belvoir Castle, we can get busy!. You will also know, though, that we won’t compromise our standards just to increase speed and also, you’ll know that making a decent coffee involves quite a few process steps and takes a little time: from grinding the beans, to pulling the espresso shot, to pouring and then steaming the milk, before bringing it all together with care and hopefully, a flourish!.

So, rewind to earlier this year when, as the shop’s barista for the day, I have literally stepped up to the machine at 9am when we open and stepped off it at 3:45pm when the queue dies down a little. No break, no food, possibly a snatched coffee for myself. The workload on these days is relentless and if you’d lingered at our serving screen you’d have seen a constant flurry of frenetic activity and a constant line of drinks tickets for me to make.

Now, Claire is a stickler for getting food out of the kitchen as swiftly as possible and we both share a fervent desire to make sure that, once your order’s been placed, you are not waiting long for your drinks or food. Our little kitchen, the menu, the team, the tech: all optimised to make that happen. So you can imagine my frustration when Claire would occasionally wander over to the coffee machine and, in the midst of the madness, pick up a ticket and say “hmm, that customer’s been waiting xx minutes for their drinks. Do you want some help?”. My accurate, heavily edited but inappropriate answer was, “I’m working as fast as I can!”.

And I was!. I’d really thought about how to use our equipment and my time to produce drinks to our standards as quickly as I could.

But on reflection, was that the best I could do? Why couldn’t we put two of us on the machine to speed things along? After all, whilst one is pulling the espresso shots, another could be steaming milk … or putting the right syrups in the cups… or mixing the hot chocolate…

I’ve always maintained that a well-run coffee shop could teach many large corporations a thing or two about real teamwork. So what had been stopping me? I could validly say our COVID risk assessment encourages us to distance at work but there was something deeper: pride, maybe a touch of vanity. As the boss, I wanted to demonstrate I could go above and beyond with limitless stamina. I also wanted to ‘own’ the whole process as a committed barista.

Really, what sort of example is that to set, though? I wouldn’t expect or encourage a team member to work all day without a break, after all. And having invested in a serious espresso machine, didn’t I owe it to our customers to get drinks to them as fast as that machine would enable?

Fast forward to now and – with 200 Degrees’ help – we’ve designed and implemented safe ways of working so two talented baristas can team up at peak times. Yes, drinks are going out faster, but our baristas can be less stressed, even more consistent and still proud of what they – we – are serving.

Importantly now, I am trying to recognise when it’s time to ask for help: it’s a sign of strength, a sign that I recognise we could be serving our customers better in that moment, a sign that I trust my team and a sign that I know that, deep down, being the solo ‘hero’ is impressing nobody, including myself.

It’s been a big lesson to learn so late in my career, but I would encourage you all to raise a hand and make a simple ask for help whenever you, or your family, or your team, would benefit from it. I promise you’ll feel better and achieve more.

Finally, a great tip from a wise friend of mine, Vince: always ask for help, not “a favour”. A favour implies some obligation to repay it some day, a straightforward ask for help is simple, honest – and usually appreciated.