To mark International Women’s Day, Callan Tansey Solicitors LLP held a virtual lunchtime event.  In her welcome address Joint Managing Partner Niamh Ní Mhurchú thanked everyone for the courage they had shown in embracing change in an extremely challenging year that saw our worlds turned upside down overnight in response to the global pandemic before introducing social Psychologist Heidi Grant’s TED Talk “How to ask for help and get a yes”.

In this video, which has been viewed almost 3 million times, Dr. Grant acknowledges that few of us feel comfortable asking for help.  However, events of the past 12 months have shown us how important it is to offer and receive help in both our personal and professional lives.

“The reality of the modern workplace and modern life is that nobody does it alone, nobody succeeds in a vacuum.  More than ever, we have to rely on other people, on their support and collaboration in order to be successful.”

Research has shown that, “90 percent of the help that coworkers give one another in the workplace is in response to explicit requests for help.”

In order to get the help, you need Dr. Grant advises:

  • Be specific about the help that you need.
  • Don’t apologise for asking for help.
  • Ask in person, or on a phone call rather than by email or text.
  • Follow up afterwards, the reward in helping is understanding the impact your help had, that it was effective.

Caroline McLaughlin, Partner, then chaired a discussion on the importance of making time to assist our colleagues and promoting teamwork within Callan Tansey before hosting a raffle and closing the event.

Further information on Callan Tansey Solicitors LLP commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion can be found here.