The Power of Invisible Support
Gandhi once noticed that his nephew was struggling to pronounce the letter “r” — instead, he would say ‘l’. Gandhi wanted to help.
So he gathered together a group of young children who were nearby and playfully encouraged them to jump up and down. The children excitedly obliged, and as they were jumping, Gandhi invited them to cheer, “Hip hip hooray!” They eagerly shouted out the phrase, each time enunciating it perfectly. But Gandhi’s nephew struggled, repeatedly saying “hip hip hoolay” instead.
Gandhi, now calling out louder, started emphasizing the “hooRay” part of the phrase, and asked the children to repeat after him. With each repetition, the nephew began to increasingly pick up on the correct pronunciation. As the children continued to jump up and down and shout out the phrase, Gandhi’s nephew finally got it right. Hip hip hooray!
Providing Invisible Support
As we navigate our daily interactions with others, there may be times when we encounter someone who is struggling with a particular challenge but hasn’t explicitly asked for support. Our first instinct may be to offer direct help or advice, but this can sometimes do more harm than good, because it may make the other person feel judged or put down. Gandhi’s action offers a different path to help close their gap and make them shine.
Rather than offer help directly, find ways to provide support outside of their awareness, without spotlighting their struggle or the fact that you’re helping them. This is exactly what Gandhi did. Ethan Kross, an acclaimed psychologist and author, notes that these actions can even be as simple as a pat on the shoulder or taking care of the grocery run for an overwhelmed partner (without expecting praise in return).
The next time you feel a desire to help someone, consider extending this invisible support. It might just make a significant difference in their lives.
Invisible Support, a Cornerstone of Psychological Safety
Invisible support can take many forms in the workplace: from a leader subtly guiding a team member towards a solution, to colleagues helping each other without explicitly pointing out the problem. These actions, while seemingly minor, can profoundly boost an individual’s psychological safety. When employees feel supported without their struggles being spotlighted, it cultivates a sense of security and trust.
In current times, when organizations are challenged to be resilient and agile amidst constant change and crises, stress levels have skyrocketed – leading to burnout and decreased productivity. By providing invisible support and fostering psychological safety, organizations can help mitigate these stressors, supporting employee mental health and maintaining high levels of engagement and performance.
If you’re interested in implementing invisible support and building more human-centered practices at work to advance trust and strengthen relationships among your people, we invite you to look at Mentora Institute’s Master Classes on Building Connection and Belonging, Accelerating Trust Building, and Inclusive Leadership.