Dandelion. A common weed that pops up everywhere. Cursed by gardeners, this flower is said to have wonderful medicinal properties.
I remember an old HBR video where the speaker said that what makes a dandelion a weed is not its characteristic, but its context.
He used this analogy when talking about Specialisterne, a Danish company where many employees have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum.
The company harnesses the special talents of people with autism for routine jobs that many others would find boring.
I recall the ‘‘always talking in class’ remarks on my report card, that made my parents despair when I was in primary school. My teachers saw the potential though and the same talking on stage in school events won me awards. The problem was not the talking, but the context it happened in.
Context matters in organisations also. When I coached team leaders using MBTI, they started to leverage team strengths better. One sales executive enjoyed looking at company data and tracking performance, rather than make sales calls. The same team leader who was thinking of putting him on notice actually facilitated his move to research, where he is doing extremely well.
What needs to change for you or your team members for potential to shine?
