Working Genius
What Is Working Genius?
Every piece of work, from a client project to a firm-wide initiative, moves through the same six steps: someone asks what could be better, someone comes up with an idea, someone gut-checks whether it's any good, someone rallies people behind it, someone jumps in to help make it happen, and someone carries it across the finish line. The Six Types of Working Genius, created by Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group, names those six gifts and shows you which ones give you energy and which ones wear you down.
Here's the part people love: it's about 20% personality test and 80% productivity tool. Your results aren't a measure of skill or a label to live inside. They're a ranking of the work that brings you joy, energy, and fulfillment, and the real value shows up when a team uses them to change how work gets done.
The 6 Geniuses:
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Wonder is the gift of pondering what could be better. People with this genius notice when something's off, ask the big "why" and "what if" questions, and are comfortable sitting in uncertainty long enough for a real idea to surface. Without Wonder, teams solve problems they never took the time to understand.
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Invention is the gift of creating original ideas and solutions. People with this genius love a blank page, get energized by a problem nobody has cracked yet, and can turn a vague question into something concrete. Without Invention, teams keep recycling the same answers and wonder why nothing changes.
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Discernment is the gift of intuitive, instinctive judgment. People with this genius can sense whether an idea will work, spot what's missing, and suggest the adjustment that makes it better, often before they can fully explain why. Without Discernment, teams move forward on ideas that should have been refined or dropped.
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Galvanizing is the gift of rallying people around an idea and getting them moving. People with this genius bring energy, enthusiasm, and a healthy push to get started. Without Galvanizing, good ideas sit in a document and never make it off the launchpad.
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Enablement is the gift of responding to a need and providing support. People with this genius are the first to say "how can I help?" and find real joy in jumping in on someone else's terms. Without Enablement, projects lose momentum because nobody is there to pitch in when the work gets real.
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Tenacity is the gift of pushing work to completion. People with this genius love checking boxes, holding the standard, and seeing the impact of a finished job. Without Tenacity, teams start strong and trail off before anything actually gets done.
Working Genius helps you:
Understand why you've thrived in some roles and struggled in others
Let go of the guilt about work that drains you
Stop making unfair assumptions about what motivates your colleagues
Run clearer, more productive team meetings
Adjust roles and responsibilities to tap into each other's strengths
Get more done in less time, with less burnout
What It Helps Teams Do
Name the real reason work stalls. Most teams don't have a talent problem; they have a gap in the stage of work nobody is naturally drawn to.
Reduce burnout and turnover. When people spend more time in their geniuses and less in their frustrations, they stop quietly running on empty.
Stop judging each other. The colleague who keeps poking holes in your idea isn't being difficult; they're doing their genius. Working Genius gives teams the language to see that.
Run better meetings. Knowing what kind of thinking a conversation requires keeps brainstorms from becoming decisions too early and decisions from dragging on forever.
Align people with the right work. Put people where their energy matches what the work requires, and know when to borrow a genius the team is missing.
Build a shared language that sticks. Teams keep using it long after the workshop because it's simple, practical, and a little bit fun.
Working With Me
As a Working Genius Certified Facilitator, I was trained by The Table Group to help individuals, teams, and organizations put this model to work. (I'm a Wonder and Discernment genius, so fair warning: I'll ask a lot of questions before I give you any answers.)
Individual Coaching Session
Includes your Working Genius assessment and a one-on-one debrief of your results. We'll talk through your geniuses, competencies, and frustrations, how they show up in your current role, and one or two practical shifts that will give you more energy at work.
Button: Book an Individual Session
Team Coaching Session
Includes the Working Genius assessment for every team member and a facilitated workshop for your leadership team or department. We'll build your team map, uncover where work gets stuck, and leave with specific commitments for how you'll run meetings, staff projects, and support each other
Is your team stuck at the wrong altitude?
Some people live up in the clouds with big ideas; others are on the ground getting things done. When a team doesn't realize it's working at different altitudes, good work stalls and good people get frustrated. My free Altitudes guide shows you how to spot the gap and bridge it.