There’s a line on page 52 of The 6 Types of Working Genius that stopped me in my tracks:
“You can go from frustrated to inspired in seconds and I’d like to know what causes that.”
That line pulled me in because it’s exactly how I’ve felt at work. One moment, I can be stuck in frustration, and the next, I’m fully energized and creative again. I wanted to understand why that happens.
As a long-time Patrick Lencioni fan, I bought the book expecting another great story about leadership and teamwork. What I didn’t expect was to feel like the book was written about me and to find a model that finally explained how the parts of work impact me.
The aha moment for me came when I realized:
Just because you’re capable of doing something doesn’t mean you should do it or that you’re the best one to do it.
That insight was freeing. Because as a senior leader, I was used to doing what was “required” even if it drained me. I believed that being responsible meant “suck it up buttercup”. But the truth is, not everything that we’re good at fuels us. Some things simply drain our batteries, no matter how competent we are.
Unlike personality assessments, which tell you who you are, the Working Genius reveals which parts of work give you energy and fulfillment. It’s a productivity tool, not a personality profile.
It breaks down work into six stages: Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity (WIDGET, for short).
Each of us naturally thrives in two of these areas, our Working Geniuses. Feels competent in two, our Working Competencies and struggles in the last two, our Working Frustrations.
The magic happens when you understand your natural genius and begin leveraging the complementary strengths within your team.
One of my clients stands out vividly in my mind. She had the Genius of Discernment, that intuitive ability to sense whether an idea or plan will work. She’s incredibly talented at spotting gaps, inconsistencies, or potential pitfalls in strategies before others can see them.
But to her team, that gift often came across as controlling or overly critical. She’d ask questions that others weren’t ready for. People started to think she believed only her ideas were good ones.
When we explored her Working Genius results together and I described how she is misunderstood, she had this moment of visible relief. She said, “Wow, that’s exactly it, I feel like you get it.”
That’s the challenge with a mismanaged Genius. Because she wasn’t trying to be difficult, she cared deeply about the success of her team and the business. Her challenge wasn’t that she had discernment; it was that she didn’t yet know how to use it effectively.
We worked on strategies to channel her discernment in more productive ways, guiding her to slow down, ask permission to “think out loud,” and help others walk through their own decision-making process instead of jumping straight to her conclusion.
Like any muscle, it took practice. But over time, she developed new tools and habits that allowed her to keep her genius intact without unintentionally shutting down her team’s creativity and engagement.
Here’s something people don’t talk about enough: when our geniuses, competencies or frustrations aren’t understood, they often trigger guilt and shame.
We feel guilt when our natural energy doesn’t align with our responsibilities. We feel shame when others interpret our gifts as flaws. And we judge others for not seeing or doing things the way we would.
The Working Genius gives language to those experiences and permission to let them go.
It helps leaders see that their frustrations don’t make them weak or broken; they make them human. The key is learning how to manage those frustrations effectively and surround yourself with others whose geniuses complement yours.
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.
For me, Tenacity is a Working Frustration.
For years, I carried guilt around the feedback, “You start more projects than you finish.” I’d hear it and think, How can I be a good leader if I don’t have a natural drive to see things through?
I held some shame about the idea that completing a to-do list didn’t jazz me at all. I was responsible for results! How on earth could I hate a to-do list?
But once I understood the six parts of work and that Tenacity isn’t my Genius, it’s my Frustration, it suddenly seemed ok.
I stopped judging myself for not being wired to finish every project, and instead started asking, Who on my team is naturally gifted at seeing things through?
Turns out, I had people whose Tenacity was their Genius. They loved bringing ideas to completion. I held onto so much because I thought it was my responsibility and to realize that someone else was energized by doing the work that drained me was extremely eye-opening. It became almost selfish to not delegate the work to them. By giving them ownership and support, we started finishing more projects and faster than I ever could have achieved alone.
Now, I see the parts of work as a relay race. Each person runs their leg with energy and focus, then passes the baton to the next. When everyone operates in their zone of genius, the whole team moves faster and more cohesively. No one burns out trying to do it all.
When I facilitate Working Genius workshops, I encourage participants to think outside of their job description, the real question is:
“What gives you energy?”
From there, we move into visual exercises, sticky notes, battery levels, and group comparisons, that make the invisible visible. Teams quickly see which stages of work fuel them, and which drain them.
The most powerful moment always comes when they compare notes and realize, Oh, what drains me actually energizes you.
That’s when real collaboration starts.
I also help participants verify their Working Genius assessment results. Sometimes people get caught up in the “I’m good at this” or “This is my job” mindset. I remind them, this isn’t about skill; it’s about energy. You can be good at something that still leaves you depleted at the end of the day.
The goal is not to avoid your frustrations entirely, that’s impossible, but to design work so that you and your team spend more time operating in your geniuses.
The biggest surprise I’ve seen in leaders who use the Working Genius isn’t just improved productivity. It’s relief.
Relief from guilt.
Relief from judgment.
Relief from feeling like you have to be everything to everyone.
It opens up honest conversations about who we are, what we love, and how we can best support each other. And when that happens, teams bond in deeper ways and great work happens.
Because when the heart of the great work is people and at the heart of people is connection.
Imagine what could happen if your team spent most of their day doing work that energized them.
How much better would your results be?
How much stronger would your relationships become?
We don’t need to force everyone to be good at everything.
We just need to understand where our natural strengths lie and build teams that allow those strengths to shine.
If this idea sparks curiosity for you , if you’re wondering what it might look like to apply the Working Genius with your team or inside your organization, I’d love to explore that with you.
Let’s talk about how your team can do more of the work they love and love more of the work they do.
Michelle Nicole Martin
Leadership Coach & Consultant
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