Well, let me clarify. It's not something that employers should expect from employees. But it is a trait I notice in a lot of highly competent folk who are high

Well, let me clarify. It's not something that employers should expect from employees. But it is a trait I notice in a lot of highly competent folk who are high achievers. They'll see something coming on the roadmap that they feel like they want to prep/educate themselves on, and then they will noodle on it for an hour or two when they get a chance. By the time it comes time to implement it 'for real', they have already gotten most of the learning curve out of the way.