The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni
“The 6 Types of Working Genius” by Patrick Lencioni offers a simple but powerful framework for discovering how people work best. By understanding your natural talents—or “working geniuses”—you can find more fulfillment in your career, improve team dynamics, and increase productivity. This book brings clarity to workplace roles, frustration, and collaboration by showing that everyone has unique gifts essential to successful work.
Who May Benefit from the Book
- Professionals seeking more joy and effectiveness in their jobs
- Managers building well-balanced and productive teams
- Coaches, consultants, and HR professionals focused on talent optimization
- Entrepreneurs and business owners aiming to structure better teams
- Anyone feeling stuck or burned out at work
Top 3 Key Insights
- Each person has two “Working Geniuses” that energize and fulfill them
- Misalignment between job roles and natural genius leads to burnout and poor performance
- Teams thrive when all six geniuses are present and respected
4 More Lessons and Takeaways
- The six working geniuses fall into three phases of work: Ideation, Activation, and Implementation. Each is essential.
- Most people also have two “competencies” they can handle and two “frustrations” that drain energy. Knowing these helps you structure your time and tasks better.
- Gaps in genius types within a team often cause failures. Using a “Team Map” helps spot and fill those gaps.
- Conversations at work—whether brainstorming or launching projects—succeed more when the right geniuses are present and understood.
The Book in 1 Sentence
Understanding and aligning your natural working geniuses with your role brings joy, productivity, and better teamwork.
The Book Summary in 1 Minute
Patrick Lencioni’s “The 6 Types of Working Genius” introduces a model that helps people discover how they naturally contribute to work. Everyone has two geniuses that energize them, two competencies they tolerate, and two frustrations that wear them down. The six types—Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity—correspond to phases of work: Ideation, Activation, and Implementation. Teams succeed when all types are present and balanced. This book explains how to align your work with your genius and how organizations can build healthier, more effective teams.
The Book Summary in 7 Minutes
The core idea of “The 6 Types of Working Genius” is simple but powerful: Not all work is equal—for you. Some tasks bring energy, others drain it. By identifying your “Working Genius,” you can spend more time doing what you love and less time feeling stuck.
The Six Geniuses:
- Genius of Wonder:
- Core Function: Reflecting on the current state of things and identifying opportunities for improvement.
- Strength: People with this genius naturally ask insightful questions that challenge the status quo.
- Genius of Invention:
- Core Function: Creating innovative ideas and solutions from scratch.
- Strength: Individuals with this genius thrive on creativity and enjoy developing new concepts.
- Genius of Discernment:
- Core Function: Using intuition and judgment to evaluate ideas and decisions.
- Strength: Those with this genius can assess situations quickly and provide sound advice, even with limited information.
- Genius of Galvanizing:
- Core Function: Inspiring and rallying others to take action.
- Strength: People with this genius can effectively mobilize teams and drive initiatives forward.
- Genius of Enablement:
- Core Function: Providing support and assistance to others.
- Strength: Individuals with this genius are excellent team players who readily offer help and encouragement.
- Genius of Tenacity:
- Core Function: Pushing tasks to completion and ensuring high-quality outcomes.
- Strength: Those with this genius are finishers who take pride in crossing tasks off their to-do lists.
Understanding Your Working Geniuses
According to Lencioni, everyone has two areas of genius, two areas of competence, and two areas of frustration. Recognizing these can help you align your work with your strengths, leading to higher productivity and job satisfaction. The model also differentiates between “responsive” geniuses (Wonder, Discernment, and Enablement) and “disruptive” geniuses (Invention, Galvanizing, and Tenacity), emphasizing the need for a balance between the two.
Three Phases of Work
| Phase | Geniuses Involved | Role in the Process |
|---|---|---|
| Ideation | Wonder, Invention | Generating ideas and identifying possibilities |
| Activation | Discernment, Galvanizing | Vetting ideas and motivating people |
| Implementation | Enablement, Tenacity | Supporting execution and finishing tasks |
Skipping a phase often causes project failure. Teams that overlook the Activation phase—Discernment and Galvanizing—may have great ideas that never gain traction.
Genius, Competency, and Frustration
Lencioni divides your work into three categories:
- Working Genius (2 types): You enjoy and excel in these areas
- Working Competency (2 types): You do okay but don’t love the work
- Working Frustration (2 types): You dislike and get drained by these tasks
He compares this to coffee:
- Genius = A thermos that keeps coffee hot
- Competency = A cup that cools over time
- Frustration = A cup with a hole—your energy leaks
Knowing your own mix helps you take on better-suited tasks and avoid burnout.
Responsive vs. Disruptive Geniuses
Geniuses also fall into two styles:
| Type | Geniuses | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Responsive | Wonder, Discernment, Enablement | Waits for cues and reacts thoughtfully |
| Disruptive | Invention, Galvanizing, Tenacity | Pushes forward forcefully with new energy |
Both are needed. Disruptive geniuses start fires. Responsive ones guide the flame.
Understanding these dynamics helps teams appreciate different work styles instead of clashing over them.
Avoiding Genius Gaps in Teams
Each project needs all six geniuses to succeed. Missing even one can create failure:
| Missing Genius | Common Problem |
|---|---|
| Wonder | Missed opportunities |
| Invention | No new ideas |
| Discernment | Poor decisions, lack of feedback |
| Galvanizing | No momentum |
| Enablement | No support |
| Tenacity | Things don’t get finished |
Solutions include hiring, borrowing talent, or training team members who have those as competencies.
Elevation: Conceptual Thinking in Layers
Lencioni introduces “elevation” as a way to understand the depth of thinking:
| Elevation Level | Genius |
|---|---|
| Highest | Wonder |
| Invention | |
| Discernment | |
| Galvanizing | |
| Enablement | |
| Lowest | Tenacity |
Jumping between these too quickly causes turbulence. Meetings run better when everyone is aware of the current level and transitions intentionally.
Types of Team Conversations
Teams use different geniuses depending on the conversation type:
| Conversation Type | Primary Geniuses |
|---|---|
| Brainstorming | Wonder, Invention, Discernment |
| Decision-Making | Discernment, Invention, Galvanizing |
| Launching a Project | Galvanizing, Enablement, Discernment |
| Status Review / Problem-Solving | Galvanizing, Enablement, Tenacity |
Each meeting should be designed with the right geniuses in mind. Otherwise, ideas stall or execution fails.
The Team Map
Lencioni’s “Team Map” is a simple tool to visualize who brings what genius to the team. It shows:
- Overloaded areas
- Missing geniuses
- Team strengths and blind spots
Teams can adjust project roles, meeting formats, or hiring plans using the map.
Real-Life Application
Lencioni shares how understanding his own geniuses—Invention and Discernment—changed how he leads. He delegates Galvanizing and Enablement. This shift gave him more energy and made his team more productive.
For individuals:
- Align your job to your genius
- Avoid spending too much time in frustrations
- Use your genius even in personal life
For organizations:
- Hire for genius, not just skills
- Use genius-based teams for critical projects
- Avoid one-size-fits-all management
So, you can dive deeper into:
- The distinctions between geniuses, competences, and frustrations, and how to address each within a team.
- The three phases of work (Ideation, Activation, and Implementation) and the role each genius plays in these phases.
- The importance of balancing responsive and disruptive geniuses to maintain a productive and harmonious work environment.
The Impact of the 6 Working Geniuses on Team Dynamics
Lencioni’s model doesn’t just apply to individual success—it also has significant implications for team performance. By mapping out the working geniuses of each team member, you can identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. This understanding can lead to better collaboration, more effective task delegation, and ultimately, a healthier and more productive organization.
Quotes
- “We all have areas where we thrive, areas where we struggle, and areas that fall somewhere in between.”
- “If we go through life without an understanding of our natural gifts, the best we can hope for is to be lucky enough to find ourselves doing what we love.”
- “Just because you’re good at a task or an activity doesn’t mean you like doing it all the time.”
“Success requires us to understand the areas where we shine as well as those where we don’t.” - “When human beings are fully alive at work…they are much more likely to contribute to an organization’s health, and help it avoid the perils of dysfunction.”
Additional Resources
For more insights on team-building and personal strengths, check out our summaries of The Ideal Team Player, Surrounded by Idiots, and Go Put Your Strengths to Work. Each of these resources offers a different perspective on how to harness your natural abilities for success in both personal and professional settings.
About the Author
Patrick Lencioni is a renowned author and consultant, specializing in business and team management. He is the president of The Table Group, a management consulting firm focused on organizational health and executive team development. His extensive experience in the corporate world, including roles at Bain & Company, Oracle Corporation, and Sybase, has informed his approach to building effective teams and organizations.
Conclusion
The journey of Bull Brooks in The 6 Types of Working Genius reflects Lencioni’s own experiences and offers valuable insights into how aligning work with natural strengths can lead to greater fulfillment and success. For a more detailed exploration of the ideas discussed in this summary, consider checking out the full book summary bundle, which includes a 10-page text summary, an infographic, and a 20-minute audio summary.