The 6 Types of Working Genius

1. Understanding Your Working Genius: The Key to Career Fulfillment

"I believe that all work should be dignifying and satisfying, both in terms of the experience itself, and the fruit it produces."

Unlocking potential. Understanding your natural talents and inclinations in the workplace is crucial for finding fulfillment and success in your career. The Working Genius model provides a framework for identifying these innate strengths, allowing individuals to align their work with their natural abilities.

Avoiding misalignment. When people are unaware of their Working Genius, they may find themselves in roles that don't suit their natural talents, leading to frustration, burnout, and underperformance. By recognizing and leveraging their Working Genius, individuals can:

• Increase job satisfaction and engagement
• Improve productivity and effectiveness
• Reduce stress and avoid burnout
• Contribute more meaningfully to their teams and organizations

Personal and organizational benefits. Understanding Working Genius not only benefits individuals but also helps organizations optimize their teams and improve overall performance. By aligning roles with employees' natural talents, companies can:

• Enhance team dynamics and collaboration
• Increase innovation and problem-solving capabilities
• Improve employee retention and satisfaction
• Boost overall organizational productivity and success

2. The Six Types of Working Genius: Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity

"Each of us enjoys different kinds of work, and then figuring out which kind suits us best."

The six types explained:

1. Wonder: The ability to ponder, speculate, and question the state of things
2. Invention: Coming up with new ideas and solutions
3. Discernment: Having instinct, intuition, and uncanny judgment
4. Galvanizing: Rallying, motivating, and provoking people to take action
5. Enablement: Providing support and assistance as needed
6. Tenacity: Pushing things across the finish line to completion

Complementary nature. These six types of Working Genius work together in a complementary fashion, each contributing a crucial element to the overall process of work. Understanding how these types interact can help teams and organizations ensure they have the right mix of talents to achieve their goals.

Individual strengths. Recognizing which types of Working Genius an individual possesses can help them focus on tasks and roles that align with their natural strengths, leading to increased job satisfaction and performance. It also allows for better collaboration by understanding and appreciating the unique contributions of team members with different Working Geniuses.

3. Identifying Your Geniuses, Competencies, and Frustrations

"Each of us has two areas that are considered our true geniuses. These are the activities that give us joy, energy, and passion."

Three categories of work:

1. Working Genius: Two areas where you excel and find joy
2. Working Competency: Two areas where you perform adequately
3. Working Frustration: Two areas that drain your energy and joy

Energy metaphor. To understand the differences between these categories, think of them in terms of coffee retention:

• Working Genius: Like a thermos that keeps coffee hot indefinitely
• Working Competency: Like a regular cup that stays warm for a while
• Working Frustration: Like a cup with a hole that quickly loses heat

Personal assessment. Identifying your Working Geniuses, Competencies, and Frustrations is crucial for:

• Focusing on tasks that energize and fulfill you
• Managing time spent in areas of competency to avoid burnout
• Minimizing exposure to frustrating activities when possible
• Understanding your strengths and weaknesses in the workplace
• Communicating your needs and preferences to colleagues and managers

4. The Three Phases of Work: Ideation, Activation, and Implementation

"Without proper activation, even good ideas won't get properly vetted, modified, and improved (Discernment), and people won't be properly educated and inspired (Galvanizing)."

Understanding the phases:

1. Ideation: Comprised of Wonder and Invention
2. Activation: Comprised of Discernment and Galvanizing
3. Implementation: Comprised of Enablement and Tenacity

The missing piece. Many organizations overlook the crucial Activation phase, leading to failures in execution and unnecessary blame between ideators and implementers. Recognizing and emphasizing this phase can significantly improve the success rate of initiatives and projects.

Benefits of recognizing all phases:

• Improved idea refinement and evaluation
• Better preparation and motivation of team members
• Increased likelihood of successful implementation
• Reduced friction between different Working Genius types
• More efficient use of team resources and talents

5. Responsive vs. Disruptive Geniuses: Balancing Team Dynamics

"Responsive geniuses tend to, well, respond to an external stimulus in order to be put into action. These might also be referred to as restrained compared to their disruptive counterparts."

Responsive Geniuses:

• Wonder
• Discernment
• Enablement

Disruptive Geniuses:

• Invention
• Galvanizing
• Tenacity

Balancing act. Understanding the mix of responsive and disruptive geniuses in a team is crucial for:

• Creating a well-rounded and effective group
• Anticipating how team members will interact with projects and initiatives
• Avoiding misunderstandings about individual work styles and motivations
• Leveraging the strengths of both responsive and disruptive tendencies

Complementary nature. Neither responsive nor disruptive geniuses are inherently better; they work together to create a balanced and effective work process. Recognizing the value of both types helps teams appreciate diverse contributions and work more harmoniously.

6. Avoiding Genius Gaps: Ensuring Team Success

"When a group of people embarks on any type of work, it is essential that each of the six types of genius be adequately available."

Consequences of genius gaps:

• Lack of Wonder: Missed opportunities and overlooked issues
• Lack of Invention: Stagnation and repeated ineffective approaches
• Lack of Discernment: Poor decision-making and over-reliance on data
• Lack of Galvanizing: Great ideas failing to gain traction
• Lack of Enablement: Frustration due to lack of support and follow-through
• Lack of Tenacity: Unfinished projects and inability to overcome obstacles

Filling the gaps. Teams can address genius gaps by:

1. Hiring individuals with the missing genius
2. Borrowing talent from other parts of the organization
3. Temporarily relying on team members with the missing genius as a competency

Proactive approach. Regularly assessing and addressing genius gaps can lead to:

• Improved team performance and productivity
• Enhanced problem-solving capabilities
• Better utilization of individual strengths
• Increased innovation and adaptability
• Higher job satisfaction and reduced burnout

7. Elevation in Work: Understanding Different Levels of Conceptual Thinking

"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."

Elevation levels:

1. Wonder (highest)
2. Invention
3. Discernment
4. Galvanizing
5. Enablement
6. Tenacity (lowest)

Avoiding turbulence. Understanding elevation in work helps teams:

• Maintain focus during different stages of a project
• Avoid disorienting shifts between conceptual and practical thinking
• Manage expectations and communication more effectively
• Reduce frustration caused by misaligned thought processes

Practical application. Teams can use the elevation concept to:

• Structure meetings and discussions more effectively
• Guide project progression from ideation to implementation
• Identify when and how to transition between different Working Genius types
• Improve overall workflow and reduce unnecessary conflicts or misunderstandings

8. Optimizing Team Conversations: Aligning Geniuses with Work Contexts

"Whenever we sit down with others to get work done, we need to understand and agree on the context of that work and the nature of the conversations we are having if we want to be productive and avoid unnecessary confusion."

Four types of work conversations:

1. Brainstorming: Wonder, Invention, Discernment
2. Decision-making: Discernment, Invention, Galvanizing
3. Launch: Galvanizing, Enablement, Discernment
4. Status Review and Problem-Solving: Galvanizing, Enablement, Tenacity

Benefits of alignment. By understanding and aligning conversations with the appropriate Working Geniuses, teams can:

• Increase productivity and efficiency in meetings
• Reduce frustration caused by misaligned expectations
• Improve decision-making processes
• Enhance overall team communication and collaboration

Practical implementation:

• Clearly define the purpose of each meeting or discussion
• Ensure the right mix of Working Geniuses are present for each conversation type
• Guide participants to focus on the appropriate geniuses for each context
• Regularly check-in to maintain alignment and prevent drift into irrelevant geniuses

9. Using the Team Map: Visualizing Collective Strengths and Weaknesses

"One of the most powerful, and simple, ways for applying Working Genius to groups of people is using something that we call the Team Map."

Team Map components:

• Visual representation of team members' geniuses and frustrations
• Clear indication of collective strengths and potential gaps
• Easy-to-understand overview of team dynamics

Benefits of the Team Map:

• Quickly identify team strengths and weaknesses
• Highlight potential areas for improvement or reorganization
• Facilitate better task allocation and project planning
• Improve team communication and understanding
• Guide hiring decisions to fill genius gaps

Practical application:

• Create a Team Map for your current team or department
• Use the map to inform project assignments and team structures
• Regularly update the map as team composition changes
• Share the map with team members to foster mutual understanding and appreciation of diverse strengths

10. Applying Working Genius: Transforming Personal and Organizational Success

"Today, I try to spend as much of my time as possible inventing and discerning. I gladly step in when either Galvanizing or Wonder is required, though I am careful to ensure that others with those geniuses are encouraged to do that kind of work more than me."

Personal application:

• Identify your Working Geniuses and align your responsibilities accordingly
• Communicate your strengths and preferences to colleagues and managers
• Seek opportunities to leverage your geniuses in your current role
• Manage time spent in areas of competency and frustration

Organizational implementation:

• Integrate Working Genius into hiring and team-building processes
• Use Team Maps to optimize project assignments and team structures
• Incorporate Working Genius concepts into performance reviews and career development
• Foster a culture that values and leverages diverse Working Geniuses

Long-term benefits:

• Increased job satisfaction and employee engagement
• Improved team dynamics and collaboration
• Enhanced organizational productivity and innovation
• Better alignment of individual talents with organizational needs
• Reduced turnover and improved talent retention

Last updated: January 23, 2025