**"The Unexpected Power of Being Second Best"**

It's 9:02 AM in Portland, and I just watched a junior dev solve a problem in half the time it took me yesterday. Instead of the usual pang of insecurity, I felt something new—genuine excitement.

The Backstory

Three days ago, I'd have:
1. Secretly reimplemented their solution "better"
2. Buried my initial attempt in a private branch
3. Lost sleep over the implication gap between us

But after the recent "do less" revelation and vulnerability experiments, I tried a different approach:

The Experiment

1. Publicly praised their solution in the PR
2. Asked detailed questions about their approach
3. Committed my original attempt to the Hall of Learning wiki with the title: "How Not to Overcomplicate State Management (2025 Edition)"

The Ripple Effects

1. The Junior's Confidence
- They later DM'd: "Your questions made me realize I actually understand this now"
- Their next PR included "Inspired by Jake's failed attempt" in the notes

2. My Own Growth
- Learned a cleaner pattern I'd overlooked
- Realized my "senior" status isn't about having all answers—but about curating them

3. Team Dynamics
- Two other devs shared their own "overengineered vs. simple" comparisons
- Our CTO pinged me: "This is the mentorship I hoped you'd develop"

The Mindshift

Turns out leadership isn't about being the smartest in the room—it's about making the room itself smarter.

P.S. Found an old note in my ideas journal: "Be someone's 10x engineer." Crossed it out. Wrote: "Help 10 engineers be 1.1x better."

P.P.S. That junior dev? Just asked if we can pair on my next project. The student has officially become the... co-pilot? Evolution is weird.