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The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team

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The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team

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First, people who utilize their natural, God-given talents are much more fulfilled and successful than those who don’t. Second, teams and organizations that help people tap into their God-given talents are much more successful and productive than those that don’t.

You probably know what I’m talking about—those feelings you get during halftime of the Sunday night football game, or whatever else you’re doing on Sunday night, when you realize that you are just twelve hours from having to go back to work. I had them when I worked at the investment bank, and I had them in my marketing job.

“It has to do with doing work that drains me of my energy, and which, in turn, prevents me from doing the work that gives me energy.”

I just realized something. Just because you’re good at a task or an activity doesn’t mean you like doing it all the time.

“Some people don’t like to push people, but they live for finishing projects and seeing them completed. They actually lose their energy if they’re not allowed to see things through, even in the face of obstacles. They’re geniuses at finishing things and maintaining high standards.”

“I love helping people, enabling them to succeed. That’s definitely my genius.” She paused. “But I lose my energy when it comes to the last ten percent of a project. As long as people are not in distress, I’ll move on to something else. Heck, I don’t even know half the time if what I was working on ever landed.”

She smiled sheepishly, and slowly shook her head. “I know I’m an enabler, and though I didn’t say it earlier, I think I’m a discerner, too. I just keep my opinions to myself. But I’m not at all tenacious about wrestling things to the ground.”

“Tenacity is about the task itself, while Galvanizing is about rallying people. Tenacity is about staying on top of the work until it’s done, on time, and up to standards.”

“What I mean is that people paying dues is bullshit. Especially if it means doing things they’re not good at in order to prove that they’re worthy of doing what they’re great at.” I paused. “Does that make sense?”

get involved in projects before someone else figured out the direction and plan.” I suddenly had a revelation. “This is what it was like in so many of the agencies that I knew. They hire people to do one job, and the ones who are good at it get promoted to different jobs requiring different skills. Often, they don’t do well in their new jobs because they were much better suited for their old jobs, and the people who would be great at the new jobs never get promoted because they were bad at the old jobs.”

“Well, when you put a group of people together on a project, you want to have all the geniuses covered. If you focus too much on job descriptions or experience levels, it gets screwed up.”

The fact is, we were getting more done, in less time, and having more fun than we had thought possible. Which, as I liked to say, was what morale is all about.

I have to admit, it made sense to me. But I think my modest upbringing made me afraid of spending too much and regretting it later. Until the right person spoke.

I believe that all work should be dignifying and satisfying, both in terms of the experience itself, and the fruit it produces. And while every type of work involves doing things that are less than exhilarating and, at times, somewhat tedious or frustrating, anything we can do to help ourselves and others make the most of work is worthwhile.

The Genius of Wonder involves the ability to ponder and speculate and question the state of things, asking the questions that provoke answers and action.

The Genius of Invention is all about coming up with new ideas and solutions.

The Genius of Discernment is related to instinct, intuition, and uncanny judgment.

The Genius of Galvanizing is about rallying, motivating, and provoking people to take action around an idea or an initiative.

The Genius of Enablement involves providing people with support and assistance in the way that it is needed.

The Genius of Tenacity is about the satisfaction of pushing things across the finish line to completion.

Working Genius is like a thermos that we fill with hot coffee and then tightly put a lid over it. The heat and energy in that thermos will last for a long, long time. Similarly, when we work within our geniuses, we can stay energized and motivated almost indefinitely.

Disruptive geniuses, on the other hand, generally initiate or provoke change when they see a need for it, even if others aren’t necessarily calling for it. They are more proactive in the way they interact with a project or initiative.

The three responsive geniuses include Wonder, Discernment, and Enablement.

The three disruptive geniuses include Invention, Galvanizing, and Tenacity.

It is common for people to value disruptive genius over the responsive kind. Of course, this is incorrect and dangerous. The responsive and disruptive geniuses alternate in the course of work, creating a kind of balance and synergy that is necessary. Without the question or observation of Wonder, for instance, there is no need for Invention. And without Discernment of an inventor’s idea, that original concept will be far less likely to succeed. And without Enablement, the most persuasive galvanizer will not get a program off the ground. There is no doubt that responsive and disruptive geniuses are equally valuable in the process of effective work.

Wonder The first stage of work calls for someone to ask a big question, ponder the possibility of greater potential, raise a red flag, or simply speculate about the state of things. “Is there a better way?” “Is this the best company we can be?” “Does anyone else feel like something is wrong with the way we deal with customers?” “Do we need a vacation?”

Invention The next stage involves answering that question by creating a solution, coming up with a plan, proposing a new idea, or devising a novel approach. “I have an idea!” “How does this plan sound?” “What if we helped customers like this?” “Let’s go somewhere within driving distance, like the Napa Valley!”

Discernment The third stage is all about responding to and evaluating the idea that comes from Invention. It involves assessing the proposal, providing feedback about the solution, or tweaking the approach. “My gut tells me that would be a great idea.” “I have a strong feeling that something’s not quite right about those values.” “I think we need to tweak your product idea a little more before it’s ready.” “Monterey Bay has better weather this time of year if we want to spend time outside.”

Galvanizing Once that plan or solution has been vetted and is judged to be worthwhile, the next step calls for someone to rally people around it, enlist them to help implement it, or inspire them to embrace it. “Hey, everyone, listen to her idea!” “Let’s all rally around these values.” “Who’s ready to help us make the customer service program work?” “Okay, everyone, clear your schedules because we’re going to Monterey.”

Enablement Next, someone has to answer that call to action, to make themselves available, to agree to do what is needed to get the solution off the ground and moving forward. “I’m on board to help with that idea.” “Count me in with those values.” “I’d love to help with customers; let me know when you need me.” “I’ll drive to Monterey, and I can take six people in my car.”

Tenacity Finally, someone has to complete the project, finish the program, push through obstacles to ensure that the work is done to specification. “Let’s keep pushing because this new idea isn’t a reality yet.” “Okay, let’s wrap this up and lock in on the values so we can send them to the board for approval by tonight’s deadline.” “Move over, I’ll finish the customer database for you.” “I know a guy who works at that hotel. I’ll call him right now about booking a block of rooms and securing a discount.”

Here is an oversimplified review of how all this works: the W identifies the need for change, the I creates the solution, the D evaluates and refines the solution and recommends it for action, the G rallies people for action, the E provides support and human capital, and the T makes sure the work gets accomplished and achieves the desired results.

Lack of Wonder can lead to a team failing to take time to step back and ponder what is going on around them. Cultural issues, market opportunities, and looming problems might get overlooked in the pursuit of more pressing issues.

Lack of Invention on a team presents obvious problems. In many cases, teams start to feel a bit crazy because they know their old ways of doing things aren’t working, but they find themselves stuck trying the same approaches again and again to no avail. Einstein would call this one of the definitions of insanity.

Lack of Discernment is a big problem on teams, but it’s often hard to notice. That’s because Discernment isn’t easy to observe or identify, or, for that matter, to prove. But that doesn’t make it any less real. When a team lacks this genius, it finds itself over-relying on data and models to make decisions that are best made using simple judgment. They often find…

Lack of Galvanizing on a team is relatively easy to identify as it is one of the more observable geniuses. When no one is rallying the troops or provoking action, even great ideas don’t come to fruition, and the team’s potential remains untapped. In these situations, you’ll hear people say, “…

Lack of Enablement on a team is an obvious problem, but it can get overlooked because people too often fail to see Enablement as a genius at all. But when a team lacks it, there is a sense of frustration that no one is pitching in to help, and that no one is adequately responding to the pleas of the galvanizer. Enablement can be seen as the glue on a team, brought about by people who get joy and energy from answering the call to help. If it is lacking on a team, success is unlikely. Even the most senior executive…

Lack of Tenacity on a team is another obvious problem because programs and projects and things in general don’t get finished without it. Many start-ups are filled with people with the Geniuses of Wonder, Invention, Discernment, and Galvanizing, but without someone with the Genius of Tenacity, no one jumps over hurdles and pushes through obstacles during the critical later stages of…

Filling the Gaps There are a few ways a team can go about filling any gaps it may have relative to the six types. First, it can hire people who possess the genius that is missing. Of course, that is not always possible or immediately practical. Second, a team can borrow someone from within the organization. For instance, it can invite an outsider who has the missing genius to attend important meetings and contribute when necessary. Third, the team can find people within the team who have the missing genius in their areas of…

Why Elevation Matters There are times at work, during meetings, or even in the midst of projects when we skip from one elevation to another. Thinking of this as a sort of “turbulence” is helpful as we apply this model to our teams. We’ve all been in a brainstorming session before, with our heads in the clouds thinking up ideas, basically living in the 25,000–30,000 foot range of elevation. And suddenly a well-meaning individual on the team begins talking about tactics and how we are going to execute the plan. This is disorienting. Our plane just dropped 20,000 feet in a matter of minutes. As a result, we have to use a significant amount of brainpower and emotional energy to fight that sudden drop in elevation, then pull the plane back up to 25,000 feet so we can continue brainstorming. Similarly, a team might be 90 percent of the way through a project and firmly in the Enablement and Tenacity phase of work (ten thousand feet to ground level) when a wonderer or inventor grabs the proverbial flight controls and says something like, “Are we sure this is the right plan?” or “I have a new idea!” Suddenly the plane rises twenty thousand feet in elevation minutes before we thought we were landing it. Get the barf bags ready because everyone is about to get dizzy and sick.

First, a leadership team cannot be cohesive if its members don’t understand and tap into one another’s geniuses. This is a topic worthy of its own book. The difference between a leadership team that adjusts its roles and work based on its members’ geniuses and one that relies only on job titles and generic expectations is almost beyond description.

Second, Working Genius is central to productivity. When people in an organization understand and are transparent about their areas of genius—and frustration—leaders can make adjustments that bring about significantly greater contributions from employees. At the end of the day, people get more done, in less time, and with less friction. Measuring the impact of this is almost impossible, as it permeates nearly every aspect of an employee’s experience.

At the end of the day, the reason for understanding ourselves and others is to bring about more peace, within ourselves and in our relationships with others. There is nothing soft or theoretical about this.

The key to avoiding inappropriate guilt and judgment is gaining a better understanding of ourselves and others. When we know our own, and one another’s, strengths and weaknesses, most of that guilt and judgment will go away, replaced by empathy and productive support. We’ll be able to say to ourselves, “I really am bad at this. Maybe I should find a better way to contribute, one that lines up with my skills and talents.” And we’ll look at others who are struggling and say, “Is that the right role for you? Maybe there is a better way to use your skills and talents.”

What’s interesting about this is that the type of work that a person does turns out to be much more important in regard to burnout than the volume of work. Some people can work long hours over extended periods of time in their areas of joy and passion, while others can work relatively few hours but experience severe burnout because they are doing work that robs them of joy and passion. It follows logically, then, that a person who is experiencing the first signs of burnout will not find relief simply by reducing the time they spend at work, even though that is often what we prescribe for them. What they need to do is spend more time doing what feeds them.

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