THE OPERATING CODE  |  005

MAKE THE THINKING VISIBLE

Giving somebody an answer might solve the problem they're dealing with today, but helping them understand how you arrived at that answer can prepare them to handle a similar problem tomorrow.

That's something I've come to appreciate more over the years. If I'm going to spend time helping somebody, I don't just want them to walk away knowing what to do. I want them to understand why we're doing it that way, what information mattered, and how we arrived at the decision.

I've learned that sharing your experience isn't always about telling somebody what you know. Sometimes it's about helping them understand how you think through a problem so they can begin developing that judgment for themselves.

Understanding Goes Both Ways

Before I start explaining something, I want to understand what the other person already knows and where they're having trouble. Sometimes they understand most of the problem and just need help with one piece. Other times, they're approaching it from a completely different direction than I would, and I need to understand their thinking before I can help them.

That's one of the reasons I believe listening is such an important part of teaching. You can't always help somebody understand your reasoning until you've taken the time to understand theirs.

I've also found that explaining something to another person can make you question your own thinking. They might ask a question you hadn't considered or point out something you overlooked. I've learned things from people with far less experience than me, and I don't see anything wrong with that. Experience gives you a lot to draw from, but it doesn't mean you're the only person who can recognize a better way of doing something.

Explain How You Arrived at the Decision

There are times when something needs an immediate decision. If there's a safety concern, equipment isn't working, or a crew is waiting for direction, that may not be the time for a lengthy explanation. You handle what needs to be handled, and when the situation allows, you can come back and explain the reasoning.

But when there's an opportunity, I believe it's worth taking a few extra minutes to help somebody understand how you arrived at a decision. What information were you looking at? What possibilities did you consider? What did you rule out, and why?

Those are things experience teaches you over time, and they're often the things a less experienced person hasn't learned to recognize yet. Something that seems obvious to me today may not have been obvious when I was first learning the work.

If all I do is tell somebody what to do, they may get that particular job finished. But the next time something similar happens, there's a good chance they're going to need me again. I'd rather help them understand enough about the problem that they can begin working through it themselves.

That doesn't mean they have to make every decision exactly the way I would. They may eventually develop an approach that's different from mine, and it may work just as well or even better. What matters is that they understand what they're doing and can explain why they believe it's the right decision.

Find a Way That Makes Sense to Them

Not everybody learns the same way, and I've had to remind myself of that over the years. Some people can listen to an explanation and understand it immediately. Others need to see what you're talking about, and some need to get their hands on something before it starts making sense.

I've found that sometimes it's easier to draw something out, take a picture, share my screen, or sit down beside somebody and work through it together. I've done that with construction drawings, equipment, Excel formulas, QuickBooks, and plenty of other things that have nothing to do with being on a jobsite.

I don't believe there's one method that works for everybody. If somebody isn't understanding what I'm explaining, repeating the same explanation louder or more slowly probably isn't going to help. I need to figure out where they're getting lost and try another approach.

The important thing isn't how well I explained something. It's whether the person actually understands it when we're finished.

And sometimes that means asking them to walk me through it afterward. Not to put them on the spot, but to see whether they understand the reasoning well enough to apply it without me standing beside them.

Give People Room to Think for Themselves

There's a difference between watching somebody do something and actually knowing how to do it yourself. Eventually, people need opportunities to work through problems, make decisions, and learn from the experience.

That doesn't mean turning somebody loose on work they're not qualified or prepared to handle. It means giving them responsibility appropriate to their experience, making sure they understand the limits of their authority, and being available when they need guidance.

One of the things I enjoy seeing is when somebody stops coming to me with nothing more than a problem and starts coming with an idea about how to solve it.

Instead of asking, "What do I do?" they're saying, "Here's what I've checked, here's what I found, and here's what I think we should do."

They might not have the right answer yet, but now we have something to work with. I can ask them why they chose that approach, what else they've considered, or whether there's something they might have overlooked. We can work through the decision together without me immediately taking the problem away from them.

Over time, those conversations help people become more confident in their own judgment. They begin recognizing things they might have missed before, asking better questions, and understanding when they can handle something themselves and when they need additional help.

That's the kind of progress I want to encourage, because developing capable people means more than teaching them how to complete individual tasks. It means helping them become comfortable thinking through problems and taking responsibility for their decisions.

The Principle

I don't believe the goal of teaching or mentoring should be to make everybody think exactly the way I do. The goal is to share what experience has taught me, explain the reasoning behind decisions, and help people develop the judgment to handle situations they may not have encountered before.

And I believe that works both ways. Sometimes I'm the one explaining something, and sometimes I'm the one learning. When people are comfortable sharing what they know, asking questions, and explaining their thinking, the entire team becomes more capable.

The strongest team isn't the one with the smartest person in the room. It's the one where what people know doesn't stay trapped in their heads.

My actual home office and workstation. Screen content shown is representative of the tools and workflows I use and does not display client or proprietary project information.