How Do You Identify Your Working Genius?
Every business depends on people. People create ideas, solve problems, make decisions, build relationships, execute plans, and keep things moving when challenges arise. However, not everyone contributes to work in the same way. Understanding these differences is crucial for business owners.
One framework that explores this idea is The 6 Types of Working Genius, developed by Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group. This business strategy review identifies six distinct ways people can naturally contribute to work: Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity.
I use this concept here as one lens for thinking about people and work—not as a proprietary methodology or assessment like the Working Genius assessment from The Table Group.
The larger question is:
Do you understand the strengths, contributions, and challenges of the people who drive your business operations and growth?
Why Understanding How People Work Matters
A business owner can have an excellent strategy and still struggle with execution because it is ultimately carried out by people. Consider a business trying to launch a new service: someone needs to recognize the opportunity, someone must develop the idea, someone needs to assess its practicality, someone has to galvanize commitment, and another person ensures focused implementation until completion. Different people excel in various parts of that process and recognizing these contributions helps business owners build effective teams, assign proper responsibilities, and identify where projects may be stagnating.
The following descriptions are SProjectsM plain-language interpretation of the general concepts, rather than reproductions of the Working Genius assessment or its proprietary materials.
The six types described by The Table Group are Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity. The Table Group presents them as an interdependent flow through the work process.
Wonder is about noticing possibilities.
A person with a strong tendency toward this type of contribution may naturally ask:
Could this be better?
Why do we do it this way?
What are we missing?
What opportunity exists here?
These questions can be extremely valuable.
Businesses can become so focused on current operations that they stop questioning whether the current approach is still the best approach.
Someone who naturally looks beyond the current situation can help identify opportunities for change.
Once a need or opportunity has been identified, someone needs to think about possible solutions.
This is where invention becomes important.
The person contributing in this way may enjoy asking:
What could we do about this?
What are some possible solutions?
What if we approached this differently?
They may naturally generate ideas and alternatives.
For an entrepreneur, this can be an important strength.
Entrepreneurs often need to imagine possibilities before there is a clear path forward.
But ideas alone do not guarantee success.
That brings us to another important contribution.
Not every good idea is a good business decision.
Someone needs to evaluate possibilities.
Discernment is about bringing judgment, perspective, and practical evaluation into the process.
The important question becomes:
Does this actually make sense?
A strong idea still needs to be examined.
Does it solve a real customer problem?
Is it practical?
Do we have the resources?
Does it fit our strategy?
What are the risks?
What could go wrong?
This contribution can help prevent businesses from pursuing every interesting idea simply because it sounds exciting.
A business can have a great idea and a sound evaluation but still fail to move forward.
Someone has to create momentum.
Galvanizing is associated with bringing energy and people together around an idea or direction. The Table Group describes this stage as generating enthusiasm and action around an idea or solution.
In practical terms, this can mean helping people move from:
"We should do this."
to:
"Let's get started."
Without movement, even the best strategy remains an idea.
Once a business begins moving, people need support.
Someone needs to help remove obstacles.
Someone needs to collaborate.
Someone needs to provide assistance.
Someone needs to make sure the people doing the work have what they need.
Enablement represents this supportive contribution within the Working Genius model.
This can be particularly important in businesses where successful execution depends on collaboration between people or departments.
A strategy does not execute itself.
People need support along the way.
The final contribution is execution and completion.
Ideas can be exciting.
Plans can be inspiring.
But eventually the work has to get done.
Tenacity is associated with staying focused on completion and achieving results.
This contribution can be especially valuable when a business has a history of starting projects but struggling to finish them.
A business needs people who can turn intentions into completed outcomes.
One of the most useful ideas to take from this framework is that a business does not necessarily need everyone to be good at everything.
A successful project can require different contributions.
Imagine a business considering a new service.
One person notices the opportunity.
Another develops the concept.
Another challenges the idea and identifies potential problems.
Another gets the team excited.
Another supports implementation.
Another makes sure the project reaches completion.
The strength is not necessarily found in one person doing all six things.
It may be found in the combination of different contributions.
The Table Group describes the six types as an interdependent model that flows through different stages of work.
That idea can be useful for business owners because it encourages a different question.
Instead of asking:
"Who is the best person?"
consider asking:
"What does this piece of work require, and who is naturally positioned to contribute?"
One of the practical challenges in business is that people are often placed into responsibilities because of job titles rather than because of how they naturally contribute.
A person may be promoted into management because they are excellent at their technical work.
A creative employee may be expected to manage detailed implementation.
A highly organized person may be asked to constantly generate new ideas.
A strong relationship-builder may be placed in a role that requires long periods of independent execution.
The person may be capable of doing the work.
But capability and natural strength are not necessarily the same thing.
This can affect:
Understanding these differences does not mean people should only do tasks they enjoy.
Businesses still require people to develop competencies and perform necessary responsibilities.
But understanding natural strengths can provide another perspective when assigning responsibilities and building teams.
This is where the concept becomes particularly relevant to SProjectsM.
Business strategy is not simply about deciding where the company should go.
It is also about determining whether the business has the people, resources, systems, capabilities, and priorities required to get there.
A strategy may look excellent on paper.
But ask:
Who will execute it?
What capabilities are required?
Where could the team struggle?
Who naturally contributes to each stage?
Where are the gaps?
What support is required?
These questions move strategy from theory into practical business planning.
It is important not to treat any single framework as the answer to every business problem.
The Working Genius concept can provide an interesting way to think about people and work.
But a business is more complicated than a person's working preferences.
A complete business perspective also needs to consider:
That is why SProjectsM approaches business strategy from a broader perspective.
The question is not:
"Which framework should we follow?"
The question is:
"What does this particular business need to understand and address?"
Consider the following questions within your own business.
The purpose is not to put people into boxes.
The purpose is to ask better questions.
A business owner may discover that the real problem is not a lack of ideas.
It may be a lack of evaluation.
Or a lack of momentum.
Or insufficient support.
Or difficulty completing initiatives.
Or simply having the wrong people involved at the wrong stage of a project.
That perspective can change how a business owner thinks about teams, responsibilities, projects, and strategy.
And sometimes a different question is enough to reveal a problem that has been difficult to see.
The 6 Types of Working Genius was written by Patrick M. Lencioni and published by Matt Holt Books in 2022. The framework is developed and offered by The Table Group, which also provides the Working Genius assessment and related resources.
SProjectsM has no affiliation, partnership, endorsement, or professional relationship with Patrick Lencioni or The Table Group.
This article is an independent discussion of a published business framework and is intended to provide general business insight.
For the official framework, assessment, and resources, readers should refer to the appropriate resources provided by The Table Group.
At SProjectsM, understanding people is only one part of understanding a business.
The larger question is:
How do all the pieces of your business work together?
Your people matter.
Your customers matter.
Your strategy matters.
Your sales and marketing matter.
Your operations matter.
Your financial performance matters.
And perhaps most importantly, your priorities matter.
A business owner needs to understand how these pieces interact before deciding what to change.
That is the purpose of taking a broader strategic view.
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