Cultivating Potential vs. Feeding the System
Posted by Geoff in CEOs & Leaders
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the future of education, both within the system and in the home. I’m not so much concerned with what’s being taught as I am with what’s being discouraged, overlooked, neglected and perhaps not valued.
Same goes for the workplace, where so many businesses refuse to change as the market, customers and employees change, and recognize the gifts in the people around them every day, dismissing them because they don’t fit a title, a project, a current need, or a system.
Imagine, for a minute, if these conversations/letters actually happened. They happen every day, either formally, between parent/child, leadership/employees, or simply in our heads as the story we tell ourselves to stay comfortable and not go out on the limb…where the real fruit usually is.
“Mrs. Hogan, your son will once again be in detention after school for wrestling classmates on the playground. This is a school, we are trying to prepare him for his future. His friends are even calling him ‘Hulk’! Continuing such behavior will result in expulsion. Consider this his last opportunity to change.”
“Mr. & Mrs. Lennon, please inform your son that his 5th tardy this week means he can no longer qualify for our after-school band program. While his excuses of playing music with his 3 friends in corner pubs is admirable, they in no way take the place of a formal music education and he simply will have to choose…closing down Liverpool bars or a quality music education with us. We believe the choice is obvious. Please let us know of your decision as responsible parents concerned about his future.”
“Mr. Mcfarland, this is the 4th time we’ve caught you, during the workday in your cubicle, drawing cartoons and cutting jokes. Seth, you’re here to learn from this internship at our company, so you can one day get a job to support yourself. These distractions must stop immediately.”
When true potential is unveiled, it’s usually very subtle, it usually occurs during the flow of “same old same old”, and usually gets overlooked or set aside as a distraction from the task at hand.
Wondering…how many times someone in leadership became so adamant and focused on adhering to rules and a system, that true passion, undiscovered genius and gifts were overlooked, unrecognized, and died on the doorstep of development.
CEO’s: Outside of their ‘job’, what do your employees do nights & weekends, & on lunch break? You might find their real gift, and it just might turn your company around if you make room for it.
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