Working Genius & Coaching [Enablement]
"Can I do that for you?" or "I can make that happen!" These are phrases someone with an E as a Working Genius type frequently say and words I LOVE to hear!
The fifth type of Working Genius is Enablement. The Table Group folks like to mention that this is the good kind of enabling, not the bad kind. The word "enable" may have a bad reputation, but the concept is beautiful!
Enabling takes that project we have dreamed about, thought through, discerned to be ready to go, and rallied around on to the invaluable step of actually doing something! Enabling is the ultimate action step. It launches the concept into reality!
If your Working Genius letters don't include an E, you may struggle with "boots on the ground" forward movement or repeated tasks. This may mean you make lists but don't get to them, or you have competing priorities, and the actual doing part gets pushed down.
Enablement is a frustration for me. (I have a strong T genius, but that is different, more about that next time.) When faced with tasks that need to be repeated at specific times I find myself trying to cut corners, trying to find a way to get the work done quicker or more effiently.
A true Enabler enjoys doing repeated tasks with excellence. They thrive on being trustworthy and dependable. They enjoy the rhythms of knowing what to do when, and depending on their second genius type, they may be late adopters who prefer the tradition and logic of keeping things as they are rather than changing things up.
As a coach having Enabling as a genius could be tricky or even dangerous. It would be important not to do things for the person being coached but rather to learn to use their enabling to ask empowering questions.
As a coachee with an E genius, it will be important to learn to discern what you take on, for others, or even for yourself. Jumping in too quickly can be costly. As Micaal Bungay-Stanier says in The Coaching Habit, ask yourself, "If I say 'yes' to that, what am I saying 'no' to?
Good Questions for this stage in the process personally or professionally might include:
- Have we gone through all the steps of the other letters before we go here? (Wonder, Invention, Discernment, and Galvanizing?)
- Who is supposed to be saying "yes" to this next step?
- How will we ensure quality?
- What is the protocol?
As a person who has Enablement as a frustration, I want to take a moment and say Thank You to the wonderful people around me who are geniuses here! My husband Eric is a strong E, my assistant Melanie is just the best! I honor your faithfulness and see Jesus in how you work hard and how you serve others! Carry on! Your work makes a difference and the world is better for having you in it!
Who do you know that has Enablement for a genius?