Teach and learn like a beginner
I write for the unlearned about things in which I am unlearned myself… It often happens that two schoolboys can solve difficulties in their work for one another better than the master can. When you took the problem to a master, as we all remember, he was very likely to explain what you understood already, to add a great deal of information which you didn’t want, and say nothing at all about the thing that was puzzling you… The fellow pupil can help more than the master because he knows less. The difficulty we want him to explain is one he has recently met. The expert met it so long ago that he has forgotten… I write as one amateur to another, talking about difficulties I have met, or lights I have gained…
C.S. Lewis
Oftentimes experts can make terrible teachers and mentors. I’ve experienced very intelligent people try to teach and explain things they understand thoroughly — and fail miserably. I’ve also done the same.
The problem? Not remembering what the learning process was like in the beginning. Once you’ve learned a subject more thoroughly, you’ve often shaped your thinking around the subject and are exploring it at a different level.
Share your learning process
One way to solve this is to write through the learning process. In his book “Show Your Work!,” Austin Kleon argues that you should share your learning process and “make a commitment to learning it in front of others.”
This also helps alleviate the need to get to some “expert” status before you can start contributing your learnings. You don’t have to know everything to help someone learn. And oftentimes, sharing that process is more helpful than sharing the knowledge alone. Explaining something to others as you learn makes it clearer to you. It’s why peer learning can be so effective.
Continue to be a student
To be a good teacher and leader, you need to continue to think like a student. Be ok with learning in the open and showing your process. This often means admitting you may be wrong or accepting lessons from others.