As a new leader, Nick was focused on his team’s engagement and building trust. But he found a lot of his time and energy was going towards one problem employee. The negativity was affecting him and he was struggling to figure out how to balance time with all employees.
“In a coaching session, Michelle asked me, do you think he trusts you? Maybe he’s genuinely unhappy about something else. She encouraged me to be open and honest and just straight-up ask him.”
After a few roleplays with Michelle, Nick gained confidence. When he talked to the team member in an open and intentional meeting, he realized a lot of their requests were pretty easy to address and then the relationship improved.
“It was really an ‘aha’ moment for me because I’m new, and need to remember trust is built over time. It was also a trust issue between me and myself,” Nick said.
Nick was one of the participants in Michelle’s three-month leadership development training program.
When you speak with Michelle about the programs she builds, her passion comes through. Skill development requires a dynamic approach that encompasses three main stages:
It's the integration that creates transformation and impact for the participants.
Pam, another participant in the program, has been leading employees for a few years. She has a self-development mindset and is always looking to improve her leadership skills.
A lightbulb moment for Pam was learning her DiSC Personality Test and starting to see work interpersonal situations differently. She describes herself as very direct and started to see how that could come across negatively to another personality type.
Everything DiSC® is a personal development learning experience that measures preferences and tendencies. It gives you a report with your personality traits and how they apply to your leadership and management style. Paige found her report was spot on.
“Now that I better understand my style and how I manage, I’m able to put myself in other people’s shoes, especially my team and with other managers at my organization.”
When you’re busy in your everyday work, Pam said it seems hard to find time to take a step back and consider others’ perspectives before contributing your own ideas. But one of her takeaways is that she can make the time and it only takes a few minutes.
“When you’re running from one meeting to the next, you can get so caught up in the work. What I learned is you actually can take a few moments to listen first. Now even in a meeting when someone’s presenting something maybe I don’t agree with, I remind myself their approach is just different. It doesn’t mean it’s wrong or bad, it’s just different. I’m constantly seeing myself take a step back now,” said Pam.
The ingredients for a cohesive team are common goals, trust, and effective communication. Learning about what this looks like in the program, Pam started to see the gaps at her own company. Teams worked in silos and didn’t always communicate with each other well. This meant people didn’t feel that connected with teams outside of their own.
After one of her first coaching sessions with Michelle, Pam organized a meeting with her organization’s leadership team.
“I explained how the foundation of a cohesive team was trust with each other and we had opportunities to build that better. As managers, we weren’t always aligned. It was really empowering and one way I quickly applied what I was learning in coaching to my workplace.”
Pam helped create an organization-wide action plan to help build trust, that starts with a few team-building activities and she recommended all leaders take the DISC Personality test.
Nick also started to see the gaps in his team around trust. In the day and night shift teams he worked with, he noticed there was a distrust between them and people were worried about getting blamed if something went wrong.
“One of the main things I took away from coaching was being real with people. Not sugarcoating things to try to please them. Sometimes people think trust is about being nice and not being a jerk. But really, it’s that the person can be blatantly honest with you,” said Nick.
He started bringing issues up at weekly team meetings and encouraged people to be open with eachother. Noah continued reminding the team of their shared goals and the importance of helping each other on the opposite shift. They started to see more peer-to-peer recognition and more help with training new people to be the best they can be.
“Try to help develop people rather than letting them sink. Put your hand in to help. Now we’re really living that and I’ve seen an incredible shift in my team,” said Nick.
Michelle is a coach and founder of Human-Centric Leadership, a boutique management consulting firm.
She found there were two main gaps in leadership development programs:
Michelle builds leadership development programs that involve three stages. Monthly group learning, weekly personal 1:1 coaching, and online coursework. Participants get feedback and support as they learn how to apply their new knowledge.
It’s a two-hour commitment every week and is set up to give participants opportunities to practice the leadership skills they’re learning daily.
The program focuses on learning your own leadership style so you can bring out the best in yourself and others. It takes you through to lead people in a way that cultivates trust and accountability and how to communicate effectively.
It provides access to mentorship, coaching, and talking through the struggles you’re having in a context that means something to you.
Michelle’s coaching centers around personal transformation to improve the leader's effectiveness and performance. However, because her coaching focuses on the who not the what, clients see positive impacts in their entire life.
Nick found stress at work was extending into his evenings and off hours. Your energy and stress don’t turn off at the end of your workday, it affects everything in your life too.
“Michelle takes the stress out of it. When you’re walking through a roleplay conversation with her and we talk through some issues, it takes the pressure off and helps expose the stressors. You hear that there are two sides to every story - Michelle gives you five. She helped open my eyes to see the bigger picture,” said Nick.
Pam found she still refers back to her coaching sessions often.
“Michelle puts you at ease and builds trust immediately. It blew my mind in a lot of ways. She almost knew me better than me. Michelle could pull these things out in discussions I wouldn’t have thought about. Her ability to relate on a human level helps catapult you to be a better leader,” said Pam.
“I've taken a lot away about how I perceive myself and the world. I’ve applied it to my friend group, my family, and my work team. This coaching is personal and applicable in every part of your life. Months after the program, the wheels are still turning for me.”
If you’re interested in developing your leadership skills, building trust with your team, and want support to take the stress out of those difficult conversations at work, let’s chat about coaching.
Book a consultation.
Written by; Erica Howes
The 6 Types of Working Genius - Developed by the Author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni and the TableGroup. The Working Genius will help you discover the work that brings you passion and joy and the work that makes you miserable.
We can make our work life more fulfilling simply by seeing each other, interacting and utilizing each other effectively - All through dividing assignments, tasks and projects that align with our Genius'.
You can gain insight into this simple but game-changing tool by letting me take you through the five whys.
Who -
This tool is for individuals and intact teams who want to lean into their Genius' creating an environment that supports strengths and collaboration.
As an individual, if you want to understand more about who you are, what comes naturally, and to stop feeling guilt for the tasks you're "supposed" to do but fail to bring out your best. We don't need to be good at everything - we just need to know who to recruit to fill our working gaps.
Within your team, if you want to recognize the gifts of one another and tailor work when possible, then the Working Genius is for you. This tool can bring a team together to synergize, shifting away from individuals who just work together.
What -
The Working Genius assessment is a 20% personality and 80% productivity tool. Although I will focus on this tool through a work application, families, social groups, and marriages can benefit from the Working Genius.
Every project, task, assignment, family vacation, event, you name it, is always a six-letter - Working Genius job. The six letters that correlate to a Genius are W.I.D.G.E.T., which stands for Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement and Tenacity.
Every job we do requires these six Genius.' All six are equally important. You are capable of all six, but only two bring you true joy and fulfillment, two bring you frustration, and two are within your working competency. More on that soon - first, here are the six Genius' explained.
Wonder: The person who asks why? Is it enough? or is there something more? The person who ponders what is happening and whether a person or project is reaching its full potential. So often criticized for a perceived lack of buy-in due to the non-Wonder's misunderstanding of the intent behind the questions. Make no mistake - Wonder is a Genius when asking critical questions that spark the Invention Genius to solve the right problem.
Invention: When Wonder asks, "Ever wonder why we never hit the target in this area?" Invention says, "I can solve this problem. I can find a solution". Invention has empathy for the question. Solutions are accessible for the Invention Genius to pull out, especially when Wonder sparks a need for change.
Discernment: Not all inventions are good - here is where the Genius of Discernment comes in. Through intuition and instincts, the Discernment Genius knows how to gather information and come to reasonable solutions and advice. Discernment is not expertise - This Genius can naturally evaluate situations thoroughly and efficiently, even if they are not a topic expert.
Galvanizing: When the job gets to G, this Genius can say, if this project is worth doing, I will rally, organize and inspire people to take action. Now, how incredible is this Genius? This person makes even the mundane tasks look shiny - combined with getting everyone on the same page, the G creates the momentum needed to get the team in gear.
Enablement: Normally, the first follower of the Galvanizer, the Enablement Genius, can help with their incredible support to move the project along. This Genius is often selfless, incredibly supportive and underappreciated. As a D/I/G, I am sensitive to finding an E as a partner because I know I'm dead in the water without them. However, this Genius knows how to help and when to help - they are so dynamic and the gateway to Tenacity.
Tenacity: The finisher responding to the need to see a project, task or assignment finished and to achieve the desired results. This Genius gets absolute satisfaction from checking the box, completing the project and saying - this idea is now in the world because Tenacity crossed the finish line. This Genius lands the darn plane, hallelujah.
After going through all six Genius,' it's indisputable that all are equally important and required to complete something effectively. So the only questions remaining are, which Genius are you? And which Genius' are around you?
Where -
You can learn more here Home | The Six Types of Working Genius
You can work with a certified facilitator like me if you want team training and implementation. Many options are available depending on your needs, such as virtual or in-person, as well as for individual groups or intact teams.
Why -
The working Genius brings more fulfillment, productivity, quality and belonging to the workplace. Through the Working Genius, you can improve team dynamics and collaboration by helping individuals find their working passion and where everyone fits within W.I.D.G.E.T.
The working Genius provides teams with a common language and a better way to manage their dynamics, projects and meetings in a way that actually brings joy and fulfillment to all.
As individuals, we all want to be seen, heard and understood. With this tool, we can recognize, respect and utilize each other to meet our personal needs. Arguably a tool that helps combat some situations that cause burnout, quiet quitting and imposter syndrome.
How-
When a team embraces the Working Genius, they respect and see each other for the Genius they bring to the table and utilize each other's Genius to divvy up the workload.
Then there is Genius Energy.
Working Genius: When working in your Genius, your energy may feel everlasting. Work doesn't feel like work - in fact, it energizes you!
Working Competency: your energy is not everlasting here, so be mindful of how much time you spend in your Competency. The Working Competency is the danger burnout zone. Tricky because you're good at your Competency, maybe even great, but it's not the work that brings you joy, so when overused, you'll feel overused.
Working Frustrations: All joy and energy is gone when working in these areas. You may even feel guilt or shame regarding your Working Frustration.
For example, Enablement is my Working Frustration. There was a time when I carried guilt and shame around my lack of patience when I found myself in a situation that required this Genius. How can I be a good leader if I don't have a natural gift to provide encouragement and assist others? But we don't need to be good at everything - when I let myself accept this, I could finally manage it effectively. As a result, I found the Enablement Genius within my team and recruited their help. Now I see it as a relay race - we all play our part and are happy knowing where we connect.
Once I stepped out of the way of my Working Frustration, I provided an opportunity for a Working Genius to step in, creating a win-win scenario.
#workinggenius #patricklencioni #collaborate #teamdynamics #productivityimprovement #teamcohesion
Step into your leadership presence to help your team overcome failures and setbacks. Read this story of a 13 year old boy who did just that.
At a U14 house league hockey game, my son's team faced the last place team and suffered an embarrassing defeat. As you can imagine, the drive home was a roller coaster of emotions. My 13-year-old son flipped in and out of embarrassment, frustration, blame and anger.
When he arrived at the house, he came to see me in my office. Calm now, he recounted the game's twists and turns but then started to go down the rabbit hole of negativity the deeper he got into the story. So I jumped in, "Hey, tonight was a stinger. I would be hurt, too, if I was you. You can't control people, not the refs or your team. But you can inspire them, and you can motivate them to play better together" He said nothing and walked away after he kissed me goodnight. As the sole female in a house of boys, the lack of response is typical, so I thought nothing of it as I returned to work.
The following day he had another hockey game against the first-place team. My thoughts? "Oh boy, this may be a slaughter after yesterday." Ready to help, I woke up the morning of the game locked and loaded with an epic Denzel Washington-like motivational speech. I watched my son for any sign that he wanted to be inspired. But nope, the morning was uneventful. No signs and barely any conversation, hmmm.
Once we arrived at the arena, I couldn't hold back anymore, so I trimmed my speech by 99.9% and said, "Be you out there and focus on what you can control." He responded with a "Yeah, mom; I got it."
"Geez, I didn't realize" eye roll. Of course, a completely internal reaction; on the outside, I smiled.
During warmup, my son looked proud as ever. He is the Captain, and what that really means in house league, I don't know, but he wears it like he is going to the Olympics, and there is something I admire about that mindset. Then, finally, the ref's whistle rang out in the air, signaling the end of warmups, time to start the game. Then, something unusual happened. My son corralled his team in a circle by their own net, they stood around for a minute or so, and then the energy started to build before erupting in a cheer!
Contrary to my beliefs, this game did not turn into the slaughter I anticipated. Instead, it was tight, so tight. Clearly our team came out to play. We went up by one goal and held on to win the game. So what the heck just happened? After the game, one of the coaches approached my husband and asked if he had seen the team huddle. "Of course," my husband answered, "but I wasn't sure what to make of it" the Coach nodded and responded, "Jaxson asked if he could hold the huddle with the team today instead of the coaches, so we said sure."
Then the reality of what we witnessed hits. Did our son, the bratty, sweet boy we know, who 12 hours ago wanted to blame the world for his hurt and embarrassment, step up as a Captain? Did this 13-year-old boy take his role to heart? Did he really step onto that ice with the presence of a leader to rally his team to a victory against the first-place team? Yes, he did.
He didn't ask permission; he didn't play small in self-doubt. He wears the C, and that's all he needed. Damn.
We waited until we were alone in the truck before I asked him about the huddle "Jaxson, can I ask what you said to the team before the game?" "Yeah, that last night doesn't matter, we lost because we didn't play like a team. These guys know we got our butts kicked last night, and they think they can do the same now. No way, let's go run their sh*t" as he replayed the story, his voice faded almost to a whisper when he let the swear come out, which I found humorous but pretended like I didn't hear.
My curiosity in high gear, I asked, "Jaxson, when did you know you were going to do this," Cool as a cucumber, he responded, "last night before I went to bed, I knew what I had to do." Awestruck, I almost asked him to come to work and evaluate my leadership skills. But, the part I found fascinating was his conviction and confidence. He wasn't arrogant or cocky; instead, he was poised and had an air of leadership presence that was inspiring.
It's a reminder that when things go south, you can be critical and list the facts, who should've done what, and when. Or, with humility and presence, you can lead through tough times by modelling the behavior of "we win together, we fail together, we can and will raise together."
Which type of leader will you choose to be?
#leadershippresence #inspiringleadership #teambonding #teamwork #togetherwearestronger
