In a recent session hosted by the NTC, Bill Wright, Senior Director of the Learning Center of Excellence at HCA Healthcare, introduced participants to Patrick Lencioni’s model of The Six Types of Working Genius. Drawing on his extensive experience at HCA Healthcare and his background at General Motors, Bill shared insights into this practical productivity model and how it has transformed his own team.

More Than a Personality Test

Bill emphasized that this model is distinct from traditional personality tests. While personality tests offer valuable self-understanding, they can sometimes lead to limiting labels. The Working Genius model, however, is focused on productivity and understanding natural gifts as they apply to work. It aims to help teams become more productive by aligning tasks with what gives individuals energy and joy.

The Genesis of the Model

The model was developed by Patrick Lencioni and his team during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lencioni received consistent feedback from various people that he seemed “short,” “grumpy,” and less joyful than usual. This feedback prompted him and his team to explore the root cause, which led to the development of the Working Genius framework.

Three Phases of Work

The foundation of the model lies in the acknowledgment that every work effort has three phases:

1. Ideation: Identifying a need and brainstorming ways to meet it. It’s crucial that ideas are relevant to a specific need.
2. Activation: Assessing the viability, validity, and feasibility of ideas within a specific environment. This phase involves critical discernment and deciding which ideas to pursue.
3. Implementation: Equipping resources and getting the work done to bring the idea to fruition.

Bill noted that while organizations often value those who come up with big ideas (Ideation) and those who get things done (Implementation), the Activation phase is the most often overlooked. Ignoring this critical middle step can lead to implementing less-than-ideal solutions.

Genius Defined: A Natural Gift

In the context of this model, “Genius” is defined as a natural gift. It’s not something you teach; you either have it or you don’t. Bill likened this concept to the shift in thinking popularized by Strengthfinders, focusing on leveraging what people are naturally good at rather than solely focusing on areas for improvement. When individuals work in their areas of natural gifting, it provides them with tremendous energy and joy, leading to a greater sense of accomplishment.

The Six Types of Working Genius (W.I.D.G.E.T)

The model identifies six distinct types of genius, forming the acronym W.I.D.G.E.T:

• Wonder: The natural gift of pondering the possibility of greater potential and opportunity in a given situation, focusing on a need, want, or desire.
• Invention: The natural gift of creating original, novel ideas and solutioning them into something more tangible.
• Discernment: The natural gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations to assess their practicality and usefulness. This is the often-missed part of Activation.
• Galvanizing: The natural gift of rallying, inspiring, and organizing resources to take action once an idea has been discerned as viable. This is the other part of Activation.
• Enablement: The natural gift of providing encouragement and assistance by clearing obstacles and creating ease for the team to accomplish their mission. This is part of Implementation.
• Tenacity: The natural gift of pushing projects or tasks to completion, being results-oriented and getting things across the finish line. This is the other part of Implementation.

All six types are required for productivity and are interdependent; no one genius is more important than another.

Responsive vs. Disruptive Genius

The geniuses can also be categorized by how people interact with their environment:

• Responsive Geniuses: Tend to respond to an external stimulus or existing situation. In the model, these are typically Wonder, Discernment, and Enablement.
• Disruptive Geniuses: Typically provoke or initiate change when they see a need, challenging the norm and constantly poking at ideas or processes. These are typically Invention, Galvanizing, and Tenacity. 

Understanding this distinction helps avoid judging people based on their work style. Bill noted that companies often most commonly value Disruptive genius (Invention, Galvanizing, Tenacity), sometimes overlooking the crucial contributions of Responsive genius (Wonder, Discernment, Enablement).

Mapping Geniuses to the Phases of Work

The six geniuses align directly with the three phases of work:

• Ideation: Wonder and Invention. Bill used an aviation metaphor, placing Wonder at 30,000 ft (pondering possibilities) and Invention at 25,000 ft (creating tangible ideas).
• Activation: Discernment and Galvanizing. Discernment is at 20,000 ft (assessing practicality), and Galvanizing is at 15,000 ft (gathering human capital and buy-in).
• Implementation: Enablement and Tenacity. Enablement is described as readying the passengers for touchdown, clearing obstacles. Tenacity is touchdown and rollout, getting the work done and finishing.

Burnout and Team Dynamics

Bill stressed a key insight from the book: burnout is often not due to the volume of work, but the type and volume of work. If someone is consistently working in their areas of frustration (work they are not good at and drains their energy) or even just competency (work they can do but doesn’t feed or drain them), they will burn out, regardless of how much work they have. Competency work, while doable for a limited time, becomes exhausting over prolonged periods.

The model highlights that everyone has two areas of true genius (giving energy and passion), two areas of frustration (robbing joy and energy), and two areas of competency (neither feeding nor draining, but unsustainable long-term).

Applying the Model

Bill highly recommends teams explore this model. Taking the individual assessment is a valuable first step. It’s relatively inexpensive (around $20-25) and available through The Table Group, Patrick Lencioni’s consulting firm.

The model is most powerful when used as a team exercise. By understanding each other’s geniuses, competencies, and frustrations, teams can:

• Align work more intentionally with individual natural gifts.
• Rebalance workloads to ensure all phases of work (Ideation, Activation, Implementation) are appropriately covered.
• Inform future hiring decisions to fill gaps in team genius.
• Improve collaboration by knowing who to tap for specific types of work.
• Reduce burnout by minimizing work in frustration or prolonged competency areas.

When building a team, Bill suggested asking scenario-based questions during interviews to discern candidates’ natural tendencies rather than directly asking them about their genius.

A Final Thought

As Bill concluded, understanding and leveraging the Six Types of Working Genius is an “actionable model” for boosting team productivity and ensuring that individuals are engaged and energized by their work. It’s about recognizing natural gifts and intelligently applying them to the collective effort.