When you first enter a professional environment, you need guidance.
- Someone needs to explain the process.
- You need to understand how the team works.
- You need context.
- You need feedback.
- You need someone to help you understand what good looks like.
That is part of becoming capable.
But guidance should not create permanent dependence.
Over time, you should need less instruction for familiar situations.
- You should become better at finding answers.
- You should become more comfortable making decisions.
- You should recognise risks earlier.
- You should know when to ask for help and when to investigate yourself.
That is progress.
The lighthouse is useful because it gives you a reference point.
But a lighthouse is not a training wheel.
- It does not steer your ship.
- It does not make every decision.
- It simply helps you understand where you are and where danger may be.
The same should be true of professional guidance.
Good mentors, teammates, managers and programmes should help you become more capable.
Eventually, you should be able to navigate situations they have never seen.
That is the real test of learning.
Not whether you can repeat what someone taught you.
Whether you can use what you learned when nobody has the answer ready.