Recently, I had a lot of conversations about how to have more impact. One of the easiest ways is to be more helpful. I strive to be helpful and have thought a lot about how to be more helpful. This is especially important in a fast-paced, collaborative field like tech.

In trying to improve myself and help others I developed a framework to gauge and improve how I assist others: the Helpfulness Ladder. It’s a simple ladder to climb, from unhelpful to exceptional.

The Helpfulness ladder will help us all ascend. Think about your response and try to climb up a level.

Exploring the Helpfulness Ladder with an example

Work is a team sport, and we are all more productive with help. “I’m too busy to be more helpful!” you say. I know we are all busy! You can climb the ladder in seconds and save future self time. Last week, I wasted an hour searching for a document a co-worker found and shared in seconds.

Imagine someone asks, “How much did we spend on Marketing in May 2024?”

The levels of helpfulness in responding to this question can vary widely depending on the depth, quality, and appropriateness of the response. Here’s the Helpfulness Ladder for this scenario, ranging from harmful and unhelpful to extremely helpful:

Level 0: Harmful (Actively Unhelpful)

  • Response: Providing bad information or blocking access to the needed information.
  • Example: “Read through the rules and regulations for marketing spend,” or confidently providing a number that is wildly off.

Level 1: Unhelpful (No Meaningful Help)

  • Response: Ignoring the question or providing a dismissive answer.
  • Example: “You’ll have to figure it out,” or simply not responding.

Level 2: Minimally Helpful (Basic Acknowledgment)

  • Response: Acknowledges the question but offers little or no meaningful assistance.
  • Example: “I’m not sure,” without any attempt to assist further.

Level 3: Somewhat Helpful (Surface-Level Help)

  • Response: Provides a general or vague answer that might help but lacks detail or specificity.
  • Example: “I think the file is on the shared drive, but I don’t know where exactly.”

Level 4: Moderately Helpful (Adequate but Generic Help)

  • Response: Offers a straightforward answer that directly addresses the question but doesn’t go beyond what’s asked.
  • Example: “The file you’re looking for is in the Marketing folder on the shared drive.”

Level 5: Highly Helpful (Thoughtful and Detailed Help)

  • Response: Provides a thorough and accurate answer tailored to the question, ensuring clarity.
  • Example: “The file is in the Marketing folder on the shared drive, under the 2024 Q2 Reports subfolder.”

Level 6: Extremely Helpful (Proactive Assistance)

  • Response: Provides a detailed answer and offers additional proactive assistance to ensure the issue is fully resolved.
  • Example: “The file is in the Marketing folder under the 2024 Q2 Reports subfolder. I’ve emailed you the direct link just in case.”

Level 7: Exceptionally Helpful (Empowering and Anticipatory Help)

  • Response: Provides a detailed answer, additional assistance, and anticipates future needs or related issues.
  • Example: “The file is in the Marketing folder under the 2024 Q2 Reports subfolder. I’ve emailed you the link. I also included a guide to accessing other quarterly reports, in case you need them for future projects. Let me know if you’d like to go over the data together!”

Essentially, a high quality response will generally have more of these elements:

  • The answer
  • Context around how you found the answer
  • A link to necessary or related resources
  • An offer for additional assistance

Responses can be weakened due to the following issues:

  • Lack of clarity. Avoid formatting issues, excessive wordiness, or illogical ideas that obscure your message.
  • Incorrect or inadequate information. Provide proper context, consider adding screenshots, avoid jargon and expand acronyms (e.g., “definition of ready (DoR)”).
  • Unhelpful or unprofessional tone. Remember that you are interacting with a person trying to do their job. Avoid being dismissive, sarcastic, or rude.

This concept is widely applicable. For example, consider a teammate asking, “How do I debug this code?” A Minimally Helpful “Google it” pales next to a Highly Helpful “Check the logs – here’s a trick I used last week.” Research backs this: studies on workplace empathy (e.g., from Harvard Business Review) show proactive help builds stronger teams.

How to Deal with Less Helpful Responses

Navigating interactions with less helpful colleagues can be challenging, but it’s essential for maintaining productivity and a positive work environment. Here’s a guide to addressing various levels of unhelpfulness:

  1. Dealing with Harmful Responses (Level 0):
    • Document Everything: Keep a detailed record of the harmful responses, including dates, times, specific statements, and any resulting consequences.
    • Escalate to Management: If the behavior is intentional or repeated, consider discussing it with their manager to find a constructive solution. Focus on factual evidence and the impact on your work.
    • Seek Mediation: If possible, consider involving a neutral third party to mediate the situation.
    • Use GenAI: Tools like ChatGPT can help draft messages, so consider working with GenAI to craft a response; for example by prompting, “a co-worker has been unhelpful and harmful in response to my simple asks. help me write a message to their manager communicating the situation.” Be sure to edit the output to ensure it is factual and objective.
  2. Addressing Unhelpful or Minimally Helpful Responses (Levels 1 and 2):
    • Clarify Your Needs: Rephrase your question, providing more context and explaining why the information is essential. For example, instead of “Where’s the file?”, try “I need the marketing budget file from May 2024 to finalize this report. Do you know where it’s located, or who might?”
    • Seek Alternative Sources: If possible, find the information from another source or colleague.
    • Set Clear Expectations: If the behavior is recurring, gently communicate your expectations for responsiveness and helpfulness. For example, “I understand you’re busy, but timely responses are crucial for project deadlines.”
  3. Navigating Somewhat Helpful or Vague Responses (Level 3):
    • Ask Specific Follow-Up Questions: Probe for more details to clarify the vague response. For example, “You mentioned the file is on the shared drive. Could you give me a more specific folder name or path?”
    • Offer to Collaborate: Suggest working together to find the information. For example, “Would you be available for a quick screen-share so we can locate the file together?”
    • Document and Request Sources: If they give you an answer, but not a source, you are well within your rights to say, “Thank you! Where did you find that information – could you share a link, please?”
  4. Encouraging More Helpful Responses (Levels 4 and 5):
    • Express Appreciation and Reinforce Positive Behavior: When someone provides a helpful response, acknowledge their effort and highlight the value of their assistance.
    • Ask a Small Favor: If someone is generally unhelpful, try asking for a small favor or additional help to win them over, a method sometimes referred to as the Ben Franklin Effect. For example, “Thank you! I’ll work with that. Do you mind if I ask follow-ups as needed?” or “I really appreciate your help with this. Could you quickly look over this other related item for me? Your input would be very valuable.”
    • Inquire About Their Process: If they provide the answer without explaining the process, ask, “Thank you! Can you please share how you figured that out so I know for next time?” This encourages knowledge-sharing and empowers you to learn.

Benefits of Being Helpful

Being helpful is good for everyone and costs you little. There are many benefits that enhance individual performance, team dynamics, and organizational success. Here are the top advantages, grounded in practical outcomes and supported by general insights from workplace studies:

  1. Foster Stronger Relationships and Trust Helping colleagues builds trust and fosters positive relationships. By being reliable and approachable, you create a network of mutual support that encourages collaboration and teamwork.
  2. Boost Your Reputation and Influence Consistently being helpful establishes you as a go-to person, increasing your professional credibility and influence. This reputation can lead to greater recognition, promotions, and leadership opportunities.
  3. Elevate Team Performance A helpful attitude lifts the entire team, reducing friction and improving efficiency. By sharing resources, clarifying goals, and assisting with deadlines, you contribute to higher team productivity and innovation.
  4. Drive Personal Growth and Skill Development Helping others sharpens your problem-solving, communication, and teaching skills. By explaining processes and solving problems, you deepen your understanding and expertise.
  5. Increase Job Satisfaction Contributing to others’ success triggers positive emotions, reducing stress and boosting morale. By being helpful, you feel more connected, valued, and fulfilled in your work. Gallup’s workplace engagement data ties prosocial behavior to higher employee happiness and retention.

In summary, being helpful with support requests has a ripple effect of benefits. By adopting this mindset, you:

  • Build stronger relationships and trust
  • Enhance your reputation and influence
  • Elevate team performance
  • Drive personal growth and skill development
  • Increase job satisfaction

When to Be Less Helpful

Remember, being helpful is not about sacrificing your own well-being, but about finding a balance that benefits everyone involved. It is fair to set boundaries on your time, to prioritize your own work, and protect your sanity. There will be times when you need to focus on people who reciprocate or triage the requests based on those most in need of assistance.

Conclusion

I hope that the Helpfulness Ladder can promote intentionality, empathy, and effectiveness in interactions. By visualizing helpfulness as a progression from minimal to exceptional support, individuals can grow personally and professionally, foster a more collaborative environment, and get more done.

Next time you’re asked for support, pause. Could you add context or a resource to climb a rung? Try it! Ask a clarifying question like, “What do you need this for?” to tailor your response. Small steps up the ladder make a big difference for your team and organization. Being as helpful as reasonably possible is a low-cost, high-reward habit that pays off for everyone involved.