Do what you don't know and give others a chance to do so

When we were kids, it was universally accepted that we were a blank slate and didn't know anything. We had to learn everything from scratch -- from our parents, friends, teachers, and our own actions through trial and error. And nobody judged a child harshly for not knowing very much about anything.

As we become adults, there is sometimes a personal expectation that we should somehow have mastery of some areas and know at least a little something of everything because we are older and have learned so much along the way. Yet, in many ways, we are still like kids with a blank slate on a plethora of topics. There is simply too much to learn in this world! 

Even with subjects that we have been working on for years, say, in our professional lives, I find that true mastery is slightly elusive as things can and do change. Once the variables change, it's rare that one has spent enough time on it to claim mastery of it. At best, one can claim relative mastery compared to the next person, but certainly not absolute mastery if they are honest with themselves.

I am particularly impressed with my mother who is 79 years old and has started to learn to play the ukelele. She has never played a string instrument before and she is indeed the oldest student of her ukelele teacher. Many people have remarked that "she's so old, why learn something now?". Yet, because she has the interest, she defies what everyone had told her she "should" do and "should be able" to do at her age. 

In fact, some years ago, when tablets came out, she was interested in getting one and learning to use them. People told her to save her money as it's completely unnecessary for her to spend money on purchasing one, no less spend the time learning to use it. Again, she decided that she wanted to understand what everyone was so excited about and to remain plugged into society and its topics of discussion. Today, she is the most tech-savvy of any of her friends in her age group, including those who are quite a bit younger than her. In fact, she helped me discover the pin and spotlight features in Zoom during the pandemic!

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." 

-- Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso said it well that one should in fact try to do what one cannot do in order to learn to do it. At times, we may think that if we don't know something, so let's not learn it and rely on others for those skills and knowledge. Many employers might think that if an employee doesn't know it, to go hire another who does. However, humans love to learn and grow. And if the environment allows for it, it is a wonderful opportunity for employers to enable their team members to learn new things, discover new interests, and grow their skill sets. It can go a long way to retaining staff and building stronger and more resilient teams.