Working Genius & Coaching [Intro]
I've been following Patrick Lencioni for years so when he came out with the Working Genius assessment in 2020 and said it was his "magnum opus", I paid attention. (If you don't know of him he literally wrote the book - actually a series of books - on business leadership and teamwork. His books have changed my life and the lives of many!
His newest work, Working Genius, is an assessment tool that helps people identify their God-given design. As people learn what makes them tick they can find their best placement on any team. A wise leader has people placed where they fit best and do what they love.
Working Genius actually breaks down the process of any project into 6 categories. Lencioni says, "Every job is a 6 letter job." And then the premise of Working Genius is that each person has two letters that are their "genius", defined as something they love to do and do easily and without effort. Then there are two letters that are competences, you can do them, but they aren't your favorite. The final two letters are your frustrations, you would really rather not do them at all and only do them if/when you must.
There are two ways Working Genius and coaching work together well.
The first is how a coach can help someone find their niche working primarily in their geniuses and the other is to use the Working Genius process while coaching. This post will be the first in a series about each letter and how it should be included in a quality coaching session progression.
I hope you are curious and hoping to see all the letters by now. Here's how Lencioni and the Table Group define them.
Working Genius = Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity.
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.
If you want a quick (4 min) overview click this link, scroll down to this screen, and click the WATCH THE OVERVIEW box to see Lencioni himself explain the concept.
Scripturally we have many references to how we are all designed differently on purpose to fit together to be Christ's body. (Ephesians 4:11-12, Psalm 139:13-14 just to name a couple)
In subsequent blogs, we will look at how to use the 6 letters as a process in coaching, as well as how knowing our own geniuses can be valuable personally and in coaching.
Coaching is about building bridges to what could be - let's build bridges together!
Want to know what my Working Genius letters are? (Keep reading the blogs and I'll let you know!)
Let me know yours if you know them! There's an assessment on the link ($20ish), or you can read the book and figure them out for yourself.