Range Is The New Black - Part V (The Grand Finale)
Why Developing Range Is the Most Important Thing You Can Do for Managing and Developing Your Career
This is the last piece of the 5-part series on Range Is The New Black. Previously published posts are linked at the bottom. Ok, Onward.
This closing chapter is also perhaps the most liberating one of all.
If you’ve followed the arc of this series so far, you will see that the interpretation of the final chapter of Range as it applies to career development doesn’t just reinforce the previous ideas. It reframes the very goal of a career. Not as a linear climb from novice to expert, but as an evolving, curious journey led by a mindset that evolution is essential for growth.
An evolutionary mindset perhaps never more important than it is now, as human brilliance is squarely staring at machine brilliance and what it is becoming capable of doing.
Chapter 12: Deliberate Amateurs
David introduces us to the concept of the deliberate amateur. Someone who, even after achieving deep expertise, deliberately chooses to approach problems as if they’re new again. Not because they don’t know better, but because they do.
They know that fresh thinking comes not from mastery alone, but from resisting the rigidity that mastery can create.
To illustrate this, David brings us the story of Frances Hesselbein, who took over the Girl Scouts of the USA in the 1970s. She had no formal management training. No MBA. No pedigree in organizational transformation.
Yet she modernized the Girl Scouts into one of the most respected leadership development organizations in the country.
Her secret? She didn’t try to be the smartest person in the room. She asked good questions. She ignored “best practices.” She trusted her outsider status to rethink what leadership could look like.
In fact, her amateurism wasn’t a weakness. It was her superpower.
What This Means for Data & Tech Professionals in 2026
In a world where AI can learn the rules of any domain quickly, the last thing you want to become is a rule-bound expert who forgets how to ask “why.”
Here’s the paradox: the deeper you go into your technical craft, the more likely you are to become rigid in your mental models. And the more dangerous that rigidity is likely to become in an environment shaped by exponential change.
That’s why some of the best leaders in tech deliberately cultivate an amateur mindset, even when they’re operating at the top of their game.
They are, for the purpose of illustration:
The Head of Engineering who regularly joins onboarding sessions for junior engineers to hear how beginners think.
The Senior Staff Data Scientist who picks up visual design to better communicate model insights.
The Principal Architect who shadows product managers, not to advise but to listen and relearn user needs.
These professionals aren’t becoming less expert. They’re choosing range over rigidity. They’re choosing curiosity over correctness.
The Power of Not Knowing (On Purpose)
In the AI era, where much of the “doing” is being automated, the real leverage comes from thinking differently i.e., combining, questioning, reframing, reimagining.
That doesn’t happen when you’re always the expert in the room. It happens when you choose to occasionally become the beginner again.
David shows how deliberate amateurs across fields from Nobel-winning scientists to elite artists stay relevant by refusing to box themselves into a single identity. They wander. They tinker. They play.
And that’s not a detour. That’s the fodder for innovation.
Practical Strategy: Become a Career Amateur (Deliberately)
Carve out “amateur hours”
Block time each week for exploration outside your core domain. Study fields adjacent to your own. Pick up an unrelated skill, not for career gain, but for mental flexibility.
Join teams where you’re not the expert
Deliberately embed yourself in projects where others know more. Watch how you learn. Observe your own biases. That’s where you’ll grow.
Ask “why” like a beginner
In meetings, practice asking “why are we doing it this way?” Not to challenge, but to uncover assumptions. Often, you’ll surface outdated thinking others missed.
Write and teach across disciplines
Explaining a technical concept to non-technical peers forces you to see it with new eyes. It’s a powerful way to stay mentally limber.
Normalize saying “I don’t know”
Especially in leadership roles, this is powerful. It gives your team permission to explore, learn, and challenge assumptions, which is exactly what you want in an AI-enabled environment.
Bottom Line: Expertise Is a Starting Point. Not a Destination.
The deliberate amateur doesn’t reject mastery. They build on it, but refuse to let it become a cage. They use their range across roles, industries, and ways of thinking to stay creative, connected, and adaptable.
And in the modern tech world, that’s what leadership looks like.
The ability to learn publicly. To think laterally. To ask “what if?” long after others have stopped.
Conclusion: Why Range Is the New Black
We opened this series with a bold claim: that in a world reshaped by AI, automation, and complexity, range, not narrow specialization is becoming the most important advantage a professional can build.
And now, having walked through the book Range, it’s clear: range isn’t just a philosophy. It’s a playbook.
Across every chapter, one truth keeps repeating: the most resilient, creative, and influential professionals are those who refuse to be defined by a single skillset or a static path.
They sample broadly.
They adapt relentlessly.
They question the rules.
They think like outsiders.
They update like foxes.
They drop tools when needed.
They lead like deliberate amateurs.
Whether you’re a senior engineer wondering how to stay relevant, a data professional hoping to step into strategic influence, or a team leader stepping into leading an area of large-scale transformation programs, range is no longer optional. It’s the new foundation of career durability and exponential growth.
So don’t chase the narrowest lane. Build your bridge wide. Cultivate your curiosity. Own your unexpected combinations. The future belongs to those who can flex.
Range is the new black. And, this series is your career development playbook.
Thanks for being part of this journey. If you found this series valuable, share it with someone who will appreciate this perspective and needs to hear the most. The next chapter of your own range might be closer than you think.
To your success,
Vijay
PS. If you missed the previous posts, start from here.