Cohort Augmentation

Sipping a gin martini tonight ahead of working through a maintenance window at the telco (drinking and driving terminals), I've had the following self-reflection:

One of the most consistent things I’ve done in life is pursue some interest or cultivate some skill, then sell the concept to someone I like who feels suited to it. After getting them up to speed, I stop making effort to progress personally, moving on to something else.

Very often this successfully plants the seed for a thriving interest in whatever the thing is, in that person. If it's something with utility value, I'll often rely on their relative expertise in the future.

The enjoyment I get from this feels perverse, manipulative, and I typically shun the opportunity to lead in any way because I fear being outed by someone with the social intelligence to find this apparent were I to truly lean into this and less-subtly delegate specialist tendencies to people who are perhaps slightly more aimless than myself.

Not sure what to think about it. Meantime, it just is.

tetris

Its how Dumbledore built his army: befriend and empower an outcast giant to keep practicing magic and seek others of his kind, which in turn made the giants later allies; encourage and instill the virtues of love above all else in a disillusioned terrorist, which yielded an important double agent; bestow powerful heirlooms on an orphan and his friends, and they'll literally recruit others to your cause.

Its unknown whether the consequences of his actions were planned in advance.

Real question is, was Dumbledore a good man? His blackened hand speaks of momentary weaknesses for power, but his heart seemingly guides most of his decisions.

mellita

On the face of it, this doesn't seem unethical; if anything, it sounds as though you simply become so acquainted with an area of interest that you just inspire it with a minimum of life, like an active sourdough yeast. In most of my peripheral interests I never do seem to bake any proper loaves, so I would be very lucky to have a friend like you!