I really appreciated this post. I just turned staff. Putting up my antennae to probe what problems are out there is a skill that I am trying to hone. However I find that I am often blocked in some way that is hard to articulate. Maybe it's because I am on a fully remote team and the silos prevent me from getting enough information. Also a lot of times my antennae pick up the same problems - the problems that are mammoth and above my pay grade and intractable - and I just throw up my hands and go back to what I was doing.

The skill really does seem like an art though. I'm hoping with time I can get over these obstacles.