We’ve touched on the concept of the Working Genius in previous blogs (See: Trust. The Antidote to the Great Resignation and The 3 Questions to Build Your Dream Team), but we haven’t discussed the model in full detail and, frankly, it deserves its own spotlight. The Six Types of Working Genius is a very powerful assessment that, in my opinion, is superior to any personality test as it focuses on how on the natural talents within a team can enable us to get things done in the most productive way.
Patrick Lencioni, who also wrote the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, created this model which he calls “The 6 Types of Working Genius”. He proposes that, of the 6 geniuses, which I define below, everyone has two areas of Working Genius (those that come naturally to you and they give you energy and joy), two areas of Working Competencies (you can do these well, but you don’t derive great joy or energy from them), and two areas of Working Frustrations (areas that are neither natural nor energizing for you and you’re probably not as proficient at).
The 6 geniuses are as follows—and as you read through them, think about which two you would bucket in each of the 3 categories (Genius, Competencies, Frustrations):
The Genius of Wonder:
The natural gift of pondering the possibility of greater potential and opportunity in a given situation.
The Genius of Invention:
The natural gift of creating original and novel ideas and solutions.
The Genius of Discernment:
The natural gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations.
The Genius of Galvanizing:
The natural gift of rallying, inspiring and organizing others to take action.
The Genius of Enablement:
The natural gift of providing encouragement and assistance for an idea or project.
The Genius of Tenacity:
The natural gift of pushing projects or tasks to completion to achieve results.
The Working Genius model further emphasizes the sheer importance of diversity within our teams. If we all have the same geniuses and/or frustrations, our businesses will get stuck! The assessment helps us identify any gaps that exist within our teams and how we can get unstuck/ address them moving forward.
Lencioni introduced the Working Genius model and assessment over a year ago, but the book will launch on September 27, 2022. To celebrate the launch, Lencioni is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, September 27th at 12 PM PT/ 2 PM CT where he will discuss the model further and provide tips for improving productivity within your teams. If you are interested in signing up, here is the link for complimentary registration: Click Here to Register.
I highly recommend you take advantage of this opportunity and hope that you find this concept useful for yourself and your team!