The Importance of Building Your Circle of Trust as an Engineer

Become a Better Engineer

“The answers will be given to those who are bold enough to ask.” ― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

As engineers, much of our work involves ideating; the process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas or solutions — whether it’s designing a system, developing code, or formulating innovative solutions.

In his book “Where Good Ideas Come From,” Steven Johnson explains that great ideas rarely spring forth fully formed from a single mind. They need time, nurturing, and refinement from multiple perspectives to truly flourish.

Where Good Ideas Come From. Steven Johnson

Johnson examines how groundbreaking innovations and concepts emerge from what he calls the “liquid network” — an environment that allows ideas to flow freely between people with diverse expertise and viewpoints. He argues that great ideas don’t just spontaneously happen, but rather evolve over time as they are gradually shaped by different minds scrutinizing them, poking holes, and building upon the original concept.

This is where having a “circle of trust” becomes invaluable.

The Invaluable Perspective of an Outside Voice

A circle of trust is a small group of trusted individuals you can turn to for advice, feedback, and honest critiques throughout this nurturing process. These are people who want to see you succeed, but aren’t afraid to constructively challenge your thinking to help strengthen your ideas.

When you’re fully immersed and focused on a project, it’s easy to develop tunnel vision or miss potential blind spots in your approach. Your circle of trust provides an outside perspective to help identify areas that need more thought or iteration. They ask the tough questions and provide the candid feedback you need to truly elevate your work. An outside voice can push you to back up assumptions, poke holes in flawed logic, and consider alternative angles you may have missed. This is invaluable for…