During the past 15 years, I’ve explored different ways to acquire the necessary knowledge and skill to move forward in my growth. Most of my efforts were spent on formal training and courses. I thought it was the way to build up the fundaments of my future. I still believe it was the right thing to do, but I didn’t know I was neglecting one of the most effective learning methods.

在过去的15年中，我探索了各种方法来获取必要的知识和技能，以促进自己的成长。 我的大部分精力都花在了正规培训和课程上。 我认为这是积累未来基础的方法。 我仍然认为这是正确的做法，但是我不知道自己在忽略一种最有效的学习方法。

I’m a history lover, and a few years ago, I was reading about the Renaissance movement — a cultural revolution that changed the course of world history between the 14th and 17th centuries. In a chapter about Raffaello Sanzio, one of the greatest protagonists of that magnificent Ere, I found out he was the pupil of Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, another legendary artist better known as Perugino. Vannucci, in turn, was the pupil of one of the pioneers of the Renaissance, Andrea del Verrocchio, mentor to other artists like Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Il Ghirlandaio, and Leonardo da Vinci.

我是一个历史爱好者，几年前，我在读文艺复兴运动，这是一场文化革命，在14至17世纪之间改变了世界历史。 在关于拉斐尔·圣齐奥 ( Raffaello Sanzio )的一章中，那是宏伟的埃里(Ere)的最伟大人物之一，我发现他是彼得罗·迪·克里斯托福罗·凡努奇(Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci)的学生，他也是另一位著名画家 佩鲁吉诺(Perugino) 。 反过来，范努奇(Vannucci)是文艺复兴时期的先驱之一的学生， 安德里亚·德尔·韦罗基基 其他艺术家的导师，如桑德罗·波提切利(Sandro Botticelli)，多梅尼科·伊·吉兰达(Domenico Il Ghirlandaio)和达芬奇(Leonardo da Vinci)。

Of course, I’m aware that the social and economical ecosystems were the fundamental factors of the Renaissance. However, that example helped me realise how human interaction boosts the learning pace. It improves their existing skills via other people’s knowledge and experience. The learning experience is built around the learner’s personality and attitude, which makes it unique and not replicable in the same configuration for the learner.

当然，我知道社会和经济生态系统是文艺复兴时期的基本因素。 但是，该示例帮助我意识到了人与人之间的互动如何提高学习速度。 它通过其他人的知识和经验来提高他们现有的技能。 学习体验是建立在学习者的个性和态度周围的，这使得学习体验是独特的，并且在学习者的相同配置中不可复制。

That “learning chain” made me decide that in order to develop and improve all the different aspects of my work, I needed to gain knowledge from multiple angles and shapes. Courses, training, and books are really important to support the learning process. However, the information flow is unidirectional and flat. It is often based on well-defined structures, which assumes we all acquire knowledge in the same way. I agree that building knowledge at scale requires structures and processes, but I believe we can’t ignore what is, in my opinion, the most powerful learning source: mentorship.

那个“学习链”使我决定，为了发展和改进我的作品的所有不同方面，我需要从多个角度和形状中获取知识。 课程，培训和书籍对于支持学习过程非常重要。 但是，信息流是单向且平坦的。 它通常基于定义明确的结构，假定我们所有人都以相同的方式获取知识。 我同意大规模积累知识需要结构和过程，但是我认为我们不能忽视最强大的学习资源：指导。

I started to integrate my learning plan with interactive sessions, like workshops, meet-ups, and the one I love the most: 1:1 mentorships.

我开始将我的学习计划与互动式课程相结合，例如研讨会，聚会和我最喜欢的课程：1：1指导。

What I find really empowering about mentorship is that it doesn’t just enable two-way communication between the learner and the source of knowledge — as you can get that from other interactive techniques — but it creates a direct and exclusive relationship. Sessions are often based on day-to-day needs and the knowledge acquired can be applied and validated immediately.

我发现真正能够为导师提供帮助的是，它不仅使学习者与知识源之间可以双向交流(您可以从其他互动技术中获得交流)，而且还可以建立直接和排他的关系。 课程通常基于日常需求，获得的知识可以立即应用和验证。

辅导如何帮助我 (How Mentorship Helped Me)

For over ten years, I was a builder. To me, engineering was about coding and project management. I knew from the beginning that I didn’t want to write 40-year-old code. However, I didn’t know how to evolve my career. It was mainly aspirational and idealistic.

十多年来，我是一名建筑商。 对我来说，工程是关于编码和项目管理的。 从一开始我就知道我不想编写40岁的代码。 但是，我不知道如何发展自己的职业。 它主要是理想主义和理想主义。

I was particularly confused about how my skills and attitude could be better used to help the growth of an engineering organisation. I saw myself as a tech person — versatile for sure, but still a techie.

我对如何更好地利用自己的技能和态度来帮助工程组织成长感到困惑。 我将自己视为技术人员，可以肯定是多才多艺，但仍然是技术人员。

Everything changed when I joined a scaling company, where I’ve been exposed to a different set of issues and people. Two former colleagues, in particular, helped me understand the differences between technical and organisational growth. While they were sharing their stories, I developed a passion for software development methodologies, software craft at scale, and behavioural change management. I could finally see that my background (a master’s degree in HCI), my analytical mindset, and my passion for human dynamics were incredibly valuable to help the company scale.

当我加入一家规模化公司时，一切都变了，在那里我遇到了一系列不同的问题和人员。 特别是两位前同事，帮助我了解了技术和组织成长之间的差异。 当他们分享他们的故事时，我对软件开发方法，大规模软件制作以及行为变更管理产生了浓厚的兴趣。 我终于可以看到，我的背景(HCI硕士学位)，分析思维方式以及对人的动力的热情对于帮助公司规模扩张具有不可估量的价值。

When I chose to study HCI, I was interested in resolving people’s dynamics while using technology. I never considered people’s dynamics in crafting technology. They are two different sets of problems. However, there are commonalities. Knowing how people interact while using technology, and how the crafting process works, provided me with the fundaments to deal with an engineering team at scale.

当我选择研究HCI时，我对解决使用技术时人们的动力很感兴趣。 我从没考虑过人们在Craft.io技术方面的动态。 它们是两组不同的问题。 但是，有一些共性。 了解人们在使用技术时如何进行交互以及Craft.io流程如何工作，这为我提供了与大规模工程团队打交道的基础。

The path was already there. Mentorship enabled me to take it and supported me during the transformation process. Topics like resolution of conflict are totally contextual and there are so many variables that without factual experience, any possible approach is basically a guess. Having someone who shared their experience and point of view with me was a blessing. Most of the solutions I’ve adopted were a mixture of scenarios I had never experienced in person.

路径已经在那里。 指导使我能够接受它并在转型过程中为我提供了支持。 解决冲突之类的主题完全是与上下文相关的，并且变量太多，没有事实经验，任何可能的方法基本上都是猜测。 与我分享经验和观点的人是一件幸事。 我采用的大多数解决方案都是我从未亲身经历的场景的混合体。

If it wasn’t for all my mentors, I would have probably pursued a pure tech career. I don’t know if I would have been successful. I doubt it. At any rate, I’ve never regretted my choice.

如果不是我所有的导师，我可能会从事纯技术职业。 我不知道我是否会成功。 我对此表示怀疑。 无论如何，我从未后悔过自己的选择。

好的指导看起来像什么 (What Good Mentorship Looks Like)

If I had to list the main characteristics I appreciated from my mentors, I would group them into two macro aspects: heterogeneity and reciprocity.

如果必须列出我的导师感激的主要特征，我会将它们分为两个宏观方面：异质性和互惠性。

异质性 (Heterogeneity)

First, we need to understand that all mentors are different. They come with different experiences and can provide you with alternative views of the same problem. In this regard, I really like the way Ellen Ensher approaches the problem of finding a mentor.

首先，我们需要了解所有导师都是不同的。 他们具有不同的经验，可以为您提供相同问题的替代视图。 在这方面，我真的很喜欢艾伦·恩瑟(Ellen Ensher)处理导师问题的方式。

“One mentor is not enough. You need a network of different types of mentors because we grow and learn professionally in so many different ways.”

“一个导师是不够的。 您需要一个由不同类型的导师组成的网络，因为我们以多种不同的方式进行专业发展和学习。”

I think this is the essence of mentorship. If we make it mutually exclusive, then we are enforcing counterproductive limiting boundaries.

我认为这是指导的本质。 如果我们使它相互排斥，那么我们将强制实施适得其反的限制边界。

互惠互利 (Reciprocity)

The second aspect we need to consider is that the power of mentorship comes from its intrinsic reciprocal nature. As Simon Sinek points out, you learn from your mentor as much as your mentor learns from you. This is extremely important because it’s necessary if you want to create a healthy and balanced relationship.

我们需要考虑的第二个方面是，指导的力量来自其内在的对等性质。 正如Simon Sinek 指出的那样 ，您从导师那里学到的东西与您从导师那里学到的东西一样多。 这是非常重要的，因为如果您要建立健康和平衡的关系，则很有必要。

In addition to the two main pillars, there are three related characteristics I’m usually looking for:

除了两个主要Struts之外，我通常还要寻找三个相关特征：

• Competence: They have to be an expert in the field you are interested in. They need to have enough experience to help you optimise your efforts. As we said, we can all learn something from everybody, regardless of their experience. However, you need them to have well-developed competencies if you want to be able to absorb them.

  权限： 他们必须是您感兴趣的领域的专家。他们需要有足够的经验来帮助您优化工作。 正如我们所说，我们都可以向所有人学习一些东西，无论他们的经验如何。 但是，如果您想吸收它们，就需要它们具有发达的能力。

• Empathy: Mentors need to be aware of how important their role is in people’s development. They should listen actively, treat people with respect, and be tactful in the way they deliver feedback. Empathy is essential and non-negotiable.

  同情： 导师需要意识到他们的角色在人们的发展中的重要性。 他们应该积极倾听，尊重他人，并在传达反馈意见时保持机智。 同情是必不可少的，也是不可谈判的。

• Challenge: A good mentor is not only a nice and competent person. They need to have the ability to challenge you. If you want to grow, you have to step out of your comfort zone. The mentor has to help you understand who you are and how you can challenge your status quo.挑战：一个好的导师不仅是一个不错且能干的人。 他们需要有能力向您挑战。 如果要成长，就必须走出舒适区。 导师必须帮助您了解自己是谁以及如何挑战现状。

好导师也是好朋友 (A Good Mentor Is Also a Good Friend)

In today’s society, it is not that easy to find people with those characteristics. It may take a good while to find the right person and it could grow frustrating over time. They are the real unicorns, but the payoff is worth the effort.

在当今社会，找到具有这些特征的人并非易事。 找到合适的人可能会花费很多时间，并且随着时间的流逝，它会变得越来越令人沮丧。 他们是真正的独角兽，但回报值得付出努力。

You first need to establish a personal relationship with potential mentors. They are going to help you improve and make difficult decisions that may have consequences on your working and personal life. I strongly believe you need a certain level of friendship in place to be able to get the most out of them and give them the best of yourself.

您首先需要与潜在的导师建立个人关系。 他们将帮助您改善和做出困难的决定，这些决定可能会影响您的工作和个人生活。 我坚信，您需要一定程度的友谊，才能充分利用他们，并为他们提供最好的自己。

Thanks for reading!

谢谢阅读！