You walk into a room filled with 15 bright-eyed 7-year-olds, each one a bundle of potential. You’re tasked with picking the smartest. But how do you define “smart” in a world where intelligence wears many hats?

Do you hand them a standardized test, one-size-fits-all, and measure their scores? But what if these children speak different languages, come from different worlds? Does a number on a paper truly capture their brilliance?

Or maybe, you decide to give them an activity—a challenge, a puzzle, a game—and watch closely. Who thrives under pressure, who thinks outside the box, who collaborates, who leads? But then, what if the goal is not to find the smartest, but the leader? Do you look for the tallest, the loudest, the most confident?

Perhaps the real question is not about finding the smartest or the leader, but about recognizing the different kinds of intelligence and leadership. Who’s the quiet thinker, the empathetic listener, the creative problem-solver?

Maybe the question isn’t about choosing at all, but about how we define success and value in a group of young minds, each with its own unique spark. What if the goal was to nurture all of them, to help each one shine in their own way?

In the end, the questions we ask might matter more than the answers we seek.