Asking my boss for help

I struggle with asking my boss for help in some situations, especially when I worry that I will be seen as incompetent because I should have been able to handle the situation myself. Unfortunately, this worry has caused me to not inform my boss about a situation until it was too late.

When I think about it from the perspective of a manager, I realize that there is a spectrum ways I could have informed my boss:

• “A situation is developing; I got it and want you to know my plan.”
• “A situation is developing; I have a plan but would appreciate tips.”
• “A situation is developing; I need to talk someone to validate/develop my plan for addressing it.”
• “A situation is developing; I need your help to resolve it.”
• “A situation is developing; I don’t think I can resolve it.”

In the future, I’m going to try more often to use the first two versions of keeping a boss informed.