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Discussion on: Should I allow my teammates to make mistakes, so that they can learn from them?

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Ryan Latta

Have a conversation w/ the folks first. People learn differently. Assuming people will learn from a mistake instead of shutting down or walking away is kinda dangerous.

Having said that, yes people have the potential to learn more deeply when they are involved in the issue. They have a stake in the outcome, so they are more likely to learn.

Guiding folks while sounds good, also creates a dependency on the person giving advice and a learend helplessness on the person receiving it.

It takes a lot of practice to find the balance here and everyone I've ever mentored has a different mix that suits them. So have a conversation about how they'd get the most out of your support. Set boundaries in place so the risk isn't too high if they go off the rails, and when you're done see if that was effective.