HELP - THEN CRITICIZE

Aesop, the legendary storyteller, offers the following fable about our sometimes irresistible urge to criticize:
A boy who'd gone swimming in a river was about to drown. He called for help from a man onshore. Instead of helping the boy, the man began criticizing  him for taking chances. "Oh sir," the boy yelled, "please help me now and scold me later!"
Aesop's point (a good one for leaders): "Counsel without help is useless." 

From: Leadership...with a common touch, October 16, 2001, Page 3