I have been a fan of Patrick Lencioni’s books for many years. I found the information in them extremely applicable. It started for me when I first picked up “Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” There was so much content there that I could use immediately with the team I was leading. I used that content and even expanded it into presentations for other organizations and leadership presentations, always giving credit for the source of the content. Over the years I continued to read his books and grew from the insights, particularly in The Advantage, and The Ideal Team Player. Along the way, I started listening to podcasts on leadership. One of those was and is Andy Stanley’s Leadership podcast. In one episode he interviewed Patrick Lencioni about the Working Genius. After listening to that episode I had to check it out.
After hearing about the Working Genius I was intrigued. I am a huge proponent of self-awareness and finding out something new about myself has always piqued my interest. This new model especially interested me because it wasn’t just about me, but also how my particular “working genius” contributes to a team’s success. The Working Genius model proposes six different types of what they label gifts but I understand them to mean more like an operational perspective when approaching anything. According to the report which is provided when you complete the Working Genius Assessment Report,
“Two of those six types come naturally to you, meaning that you are good at them and that they give you energy and joy. We call these your areas of Working Genius. Two of them are neither natural nor energizing for you, and most likely, you aren’t particularly good at doing them. We call these your areas of Working Frustration. Finally, two types fall in between; you can do them fairly well, maybe even very well, but you don’t derive great joy or energy from them. These are your areas of Working Competency.”
The six types are:
- The Genius of Wonder: the gift of pondering the possibility of greater potential and opportunity in a given situation.
- The Genius of Invention: the gift of creating original and novel ideas and solutions.
- The Genius of Discernment: the gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations.
- The Genius of Galvanizing: the gift of rallying, inspiring and organizing others to take action.
- The Genius of Enablement: the gift of providing encouragement and assistance for an idea or project.
- The Genius of Tenacity: the gift of pushing projects or tasks to completion to achieve results.
For context, I will share my results with you and then comment on how I perceive these play out in my life. My Working Genius: Invention and Tenacity, My Working Competencies: Discernment and Wonder, My Working Frustrations: Galvanizing and Enablement.
After learning the results of the assessment I could totally resonate with what I learned. I am at my best when problem-solving. Trying to find creative solutions, innovation, is exciting and energizing for me. This has led me to be effective in creating and designing solutions for my work which have streamlined the work and produced higher levels of efficiency. The tenacity has worked out in my life in seeing thring through to the finish as opposed to leaving things half-finished. It has also made me a more loyal and dependable team member, friend, and spouse. I also see my weaknesses, frustrations, in a better light, for now, I see where it is that I need to draw on the strengths/gifts/abilities of others to achieve better results.
Since taking the assessment I have been listening to the Working Genius podcast which has further helped me understand how these dynamics are played out in those I work with. I think this would be a valuable tool in building teams and helping teams to function more effectively. Like Jim Collin’s “getting everyone in the right seat on the bus,” metaphor, the Working Genius provides a pragmatic approach to doing just that.