As you grow in your career, you’ll experience a lot of teachable moments, a lot of lessons in how things should or should not be. These can be “best practices,” or scars caused by mistakes. This unconscious buildup can cloud our thinking and reduce our creativity. When we close our minds and stop learning, we start to lose the most valuable skill for maintaining and growing a successful technical career. Technology is always changing around us, so we must continually experience that change.
Mentoring provides a great opportunity to cultivate curiosity and see the world through fresh eyes. When faced with a mentee’s questions, you can start to observe what about your organization is not so obvious to a new person. You might find areas you thought you understood but cannot explain clearly. And you’ll have the opportunity to review the assumptions you’ve collected in your time working that may be worth questioning. While many people think creativity is about seeing new things, it’s also about seeing patterns that are hidden to others. It’s hard to see patterns when the only data points you have are your own experiences. Working with new people who are learning things for the first time can shed light on these hidden patterns and help you make connections you may not otherwise have made.