How can we empower more Linky Brains?
I had this friend at school, she was full of life, opinionated (and still is) and filled with ideas, but our school didn’t quite agree.
I guess she was a problem child; she wasn’t great at concentrating, was the true sense of the word an instigator, and she definitely wasn’t so good at the politically valued core subjects.
I’d say she was a Linky Brain.
A Linky Brain (as defined by the movement) enables people to make giant leaps forward by connecting unrelated dots and creating entirely new ways we live our lives.
What annoyed me then, and still does now was that the ‘important’ core subjects such as English, Science and Maths were heavily pushed
But should they have been pushed at the detriment of pursuing more creative subjects that could have helped unleash the resource of her Linky Brain?
I find this same thinking is also found in the work place. Rather than being flexible, creating a safe place and offering a different platform for Linky Brain employees to excel, those with Linky Brains are often expected to push their alternative and ‘star shaped’ thinking into a ‘square shaped’ box.
Not fully utilizing their brilliant minds.
We see this time and time again, people with big ideas, curiosity, and wired slightly differently slip through the cracks. If you’re fortunate enough to have a Linky brained mentor or well connected family members then it’s likely that these Linky brained people will do alright— just look at the likes of Alex Dundson (ring leader of the Linky Brain mafia) or an obvious highly publicized Linky human — Richard Branson.
But there are plenty of Linkys who don’t have this support and aren’t operating at their full potential.
This is where I think we’re missing a trick.
We’re always banging on about innovation, the next best thing and doing more to eradicate poverty and the injustice in the world, but we’d get there much faster and I believe will even solve some of the world’s biggest problems when the Linky brained thinkers are supported, empowered and can, most importantly find their voice. When there’s less pressure to pretend to be like everybody else, and when more of us are using our strengths, then we’ll be on to something!
As much as this is a rant as I go down memory lane remembering my friend, it’s also a reminder, a call to action to all those Linky Brained people out there:
- You’re not alone —there are many Linky brained people out there
- Help us — if this post or any of the other Linky brain posts resonate with you, then join us. Reach out, find support in this network and perhaps support others!
Remember it’s up to us to change things — one small step for Linkys, will be one great leap for mankind (big words, I know!).