Enabling

We have been doing a lot of different things where I work. Recently I was tasked with training our staff how to use some of the new technology effectively. As I got to thinking about how I was going to do this and the steps that I was going to show, I got to thinking (I’m ADOS – attention deficit..ooo shiny) on how we got to this point. 

I have been the “tech guy” for five years. (seems longer) Over those five year it was always my responsibility to use the technology and if someone needed help, I just fixed it and by doing so didn’t give them tools to use. It dawned on me that over five years I had allowed, enabled me and the rest of the staff to fail. They couldn’t do something so I got interrupted which meant that I didn’t get something done or had to work late to make sure that deadlines where met. I had enabled us to fail.

Sometimes enabling the fail is a good thing as it causes us to back up and see it from a different perspective and if we are on the wrong path, jump to the right one. But that only works if you have the tools to do so. It’s ok to enable the fail as long as you also enable the success. For five years, I hadn’t enabled the success; giving the rest of the staff the tools where they didn’t need me as often. Now sometimes it will come down to the tech guy coming to the rescue and others it won’t.

What are some areas in our own lives where we have enabled the fail but not the success? How can we back up and begin to enable the success?

For me, it’s a tech training seminar.