Along the way, you learn to reason about systems along two axes:

Vertically: the tech stack, generally from persistence forward to a UI.

Horizontally: the capabilities and experiences built from said tech stack.

Time is the third dimension, and it's the hardest to reason about. Spending time reading the blame is one way. Talking to people is another. Usually somewhere in the intersection of those written and oral histories is a clear picture of how we got here.

The superpower is in being able to tell a story, based on trajectory and velocity, of where we might go, and where we should go.

My experience is that most ICs and even many leaders will struggle to see the time dimension clearly.