The one career lesson I wish I knew in my 20s

People say:

📌 Find a great manager to learn from

📌 Join a company that will accelerate your career

But when you’re 20–30 years old, how do you actually do that?

•	You have no experience to judge a good vs.bad manager

•	You question yourself constantly

•	You don’t know what kind of leadership will help you grow

I didn’t either.

Here’s what surprised me the most:

One of my first managers told me: “I don’t like to manage.”

I thought he was crazy.

But that team inspired me.

We shared book recommendations, debated ideas, and built something meaningful.

For the first time, I felt like I had found people who thought like me.

Then I left.

I went back to school, joined two other companies, and kept learning.

But it wasn’t the same.

These managers were smart, but we never shared as much.

It was just a boss-to-employee relationship.

Still, I learned a lot, just in a different way.

At the end of the day, I had two key managers in my career: