The information was revealed in an interview with Francesco Gino and Alison Wood Brooks, both students at Harvard Business School. They explained in depth that most of our preconceived notions about asking for advice are not only wrong, they’re detrimental to our professional careers. Because it’s so difficult to think of anyone but yourself in these high stress situations, new employees rarely think of how receiving a request for advice would feel to another coworker. The answer, of course is that it feels good! Knowing that someone values your opinion is not only flattering, it also makes you want to work with that person more and more. You might be jumping with joy at the prospect of asking your boss about how to work the company fridge. But be wary. Unlike kindergarten, there is such a thing as a stupid question. And the last thing you want to do is start your work relationship off by looking like a dummy who doesn’t know how an ice maker works. H / T World Economic Forum Photo: Flickr / Peter Reed
