There are lots of ways to add value, but one especially clever approach is something called the "canvas strategy." I believe it was first coined by Ryan Holiday in this blog post. But I heard about it via Jonathan Courtney in this podcast episode.
The idea is this: "Find canvases for other people to paint on."
This is especially valuable if these are people we want to impress or learn more from.
Whatever things these people are excited and passionate about, we can help to make those things happen — and make them better.
This approach means helping other people with their work, instead of just focusing on our own. When we help others, we learn new things and we get better at what we do. Also, people will appreciate our help and be more likely to help us in the future.
Let's run with the "canvas" metaphor even further, and imagine we're in an advanced painting class — surrounded by talented people. We could start painting right away, trying to show off our own skills and make the best art we can, even if we aren't yet at the level of the rest of the group.
But what if we did something different?
We can practice painting at home, on our own, right? But in this group of talented folks, there's a different opportunity. To build relationships, provide value, and learn things we wouldn't otherwise.
What if, instead of trying to show off, we went around and helped other people with their art? We could mix colors for them, clean their brushes, help gather inspiration, be a sounding board, or any number of things.
We'd build friendships and find mentors, because they would appreciate our help. We'd learn a lot a ton from observing others in action close-up, seeing their approach, and trying new things. And, in the end, we'd become better painters ourselves and we'd become more appreciated colleagues — because we helped make everyone's work better.
This approach works no matter what level we're at, by the way. There are always people that are further along, more talented, or more successful than where we're currently at — even if we're already talented and successful.