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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the future of education, both within the system and in the home. Not so much with what’s being taught—my three children have fantastic, caring teachers, and doing an incredible job with limited resources—but more so with the “system” in general: what’s being encouraged and made a priority vs. what, due to time, resources and discipline, gets discouraged, overlooked, neglected and perhaps not ultimately valued as a priority, a non-negotiable ROI of time spent in an educational setting.

This issue is one that I notice happens so frequently in the fast-paced workplace every day, where so many businesses and ministries 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. So we shouldn’t be surprised that we’re putting the same expectations on educators and perhaps missing the real opportunity we’re supposed to be looking for, the game changers, the impact, the life-shapers, the difference makers.

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.

“Mr. & Mrs. Lennon, please inform your son that his fifth tardy this week means he can no longer qualify for our after-school band program. While his excuses of playing music with his three 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. Macfarlane, this is the fourth 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.”

“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.”

When true greatness and unparalleled potential is first unveiled, it’s usually very subtle, like showing up as a baby in a manger. 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.

I’m just wondering: how many times has someone in leadership became so adamant and focused on adhering to rules of a system, that true passion, undiscovered genius and gifts were overlooked, unrecognized, and died on the doorstep?

CEO’s: Outside of their “job,” what do your employees do nights and weekends, or on lunch break? You might find their real gift, and it just might turn your company around if you make room for it.