There is no better way to learn than through trial and, yes, error. Squabbles about who has the system tied up should be settled among the developers, never by a system administrator. All of the third-party tools your company owns should be on their benches and fully enabled. If one of your programmers is banging a drum for the acquisition of a new tool, give it some credence, and ask around independently about its merits. With the Shop Standards manual, beware of any sections that outline problem-solving techniques directly.
Standards are fine.
Standards are necessary, but should never be at the expense of progress. Let me repeat that phrase in another way, for emphasis. Standards should serve the function of defining what the end product should be. They can, and often should, include performance considerations. But a standard should never describe the methodology of the making of the end result.