I think about this another way. If you're fast enough, you can afford to do the gardening you need to keep your codebase in a good way without having to schedule it all in. If you're fast enough, when doing data analysis, you earn the space to ask the next question, and the next, and to do a deeper analysis.
But... as a lead, I've struggled to train speed before. Some people I've worked with have had it, junior or senior, and some have not.
Has anyone had good experience helping others become faster at their work?
No. I think humans are all unique. Just like a pro basketball coach, you are looking for the right talent for your particular team and your particular context.
I have had extremely smart, talented, thorough engineers who are slower than whale shit in an ice flow. For a startup, those engineers are a death sentence. It doesn't matter how good they are, if they aren't fast, they hold everyone back.
Are you building the roman empire, or are you building a small group of bandits that move swiftly through the night? Each case has it's corresponding strategy.
But... as a lead, I've struggled to train speed before. Some people I've worked with have had it, junior or senior, and some have not.
Has anyone had good experience helping others become faster at their work?