The dangers of being a good helper

One of the life lessons I learned from earning Eagle Scout is the importance of being helpful. This has always moved me ahead in my personal and professional lives. Finding a need and filling it. Giving assistance to someone who needs it. Being the first to come up with a solution to a problem. Being helpful makes you valuable.

Every upside comes with downsides. If you’re not careful, being a good helper can limit your career success and undermine your personal well-being. Here are some of the dangers of being a good helper and how to avoid them.

People ask you to do things they can do for themselves.

You see someone trying to do something you know you can do better and faster. Or someone is attempting to take on a role for the first time. Rather than see them flounder, you offer to do it for them. They appreciate your help. They appreciate it so much they ask you to do the task for them the next time it comes up. And to help them with other tasks that seem difficult because they trust you to do them. In time, you’re doing their work as well as your own. This is called learned helplessness. You make people dependent on you and cut everyone’s productivity.

What to do instead: Use helping time as training time. If people are genuinely struggling with a new task, help them…