The Herbarium of Hidden Talents

"The Herbarium of Hidden Talents"

Being yourself is not a rebellious act!

I realized this while hearing about a 9-year-old girl who brought a herbarium to class. At first glance, all the leaves looked the same. When her teacher disappointedly suggested she had been lazy, the girl explained, "These leaves are from different trees. Each tree was planted to honor a winner of our annual Poetry Evening. This is a herbarium of 53 poets' stories."

This wasn't just different - it was brilliant in a way that couldn't be contained by traditional educational checkboxes system.

It reminded me how often we miss the extraordinary by looking for the ordinary. You see, in every workplace, there's that person who thinks in colors instead of spreadsheets. The one who needs to walk while brainstorming. The analyst who connects data points through movie references. That lovely guy on the autism spectrum who's three times better at buttoning shirts [ true story actually ].

We used to call these things 'quirks' that needed fixing. Now? We know better.

Real innovation doesn't come from fitting in. It comes from those moments when people feel safe enough to bring their whole selves to work - their unusual perspectives, their different ways of processing, their authentic voice.

This isn't just nice theory. It's the future of work. And it's already happening in the most successful organizations around us.

So it is not about "fixing" your workplace. We're here to help uncover the magic that's already there. Because when people feel safe to bring their whole selves to work – their doubts, their dreams, their dad jokes – something extraordinary happens. They don't just survive. They thrive. And so does your business.

So, let's turn your workplace into the best place. No, seriously.

P.S. Yes, we still have our business degrees. We just keep them in the same drawer as our favorite fuzzy socks and our collection of puns.