Seek out good explainers (for you)

When seeking help at work you’ll often be guided towards a more senior person who’s an “expert”. These are not necessarily the best person for you to learn from. Potentially the new junior person who’s just ahead of you in time at the company may be better.

This is known as the curse of expertise, where the further someone is from your context, the harder it will be to form a common understanding.

However, some people are just good explainers. They take the time to understand your context and try different approaches in explaining concepts. They may also understand that quickly giving you the answer is not the most effective way for you to learn.

So ask lots of people for help, not just the experts and take note of who really deepens your understanding versus those that give you quick answers.