cypher303

Do you need to follow a beaten path?

Or do you need to carve your own path?

How fucking old are you?

(me) “So old.”

Sometimes people can get cagey in tech. We all have our domains, and I think it's natural to feel threatened or encroached upon when someone else begins to pick up on that domain. But if you close up, and don’t share your knowledge with those on your team, then you’re not acting like a team member. Don’t get me wrong, I know that there is so much value to be had in properly failing. We fail, and then maybe we fail again, but then we fire up our engines and we blow the f’ing doors off. At least in my experience, failing was the best thing that ever happened to me. But personally, I'd like to see my teammates fail further ahead than I did.

I'm not suggesting that you hand your team members a blackbox and tell them to hop on your shoulders (unless that’s appropriate, then by all means), but warn them about common pitfalls and guide them when they struggle. Try to make it easy for them to succeed for as long as you can. For crying out loud, communicate! You might be wondering, “Who has time for this? Don’t you have a job to be doing?” Yeah, I do, but I’ve also got great teammates who can do that job now too.

It takes courage to share your hard earned knowledge with those who may someday replace you. And it’s so easy to hide behind the mystique that our field is known for. But I say be courageous, share what you know.