Working Genius

What is Your Working Genius?

Work is a broad term that applies to almost every part of our lives, even beyond what we formally refer to as jobs. The majority of our waking hours involve some kind of work.

We have discovered there are six types of work. These six are required whether you’re working on launching a product, organizing a nonprofit, or planning a vacation. The Working Genius model explains the six types of work and the order of those stages. Each of us have the God-given ability to get joy and energy from two of those types of work. And because we love that kind of work, we usually gravitate toward it and are pretty good at it.

The Genius of Wonder (W)

The natural gift of pondering the possibility of greater potential and opportunity in a given situation. People with this genius are constantly curious and on the lookout for what could be improved.

The Genius Of Invention (l)

The natural gift of creating original and novel ideas and solutions. People who have it love to generate new ideas and solutions to problems and are comfortable coming up with something out of nothing.

The Genius Of Discernment (D)

The natural gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations. People with this type of genius have a natural ability when it comes to evaluating or assessing a given idea or situation and providing guidance.

The Genius Of Galvanizing (G)

The natural gift of rallying, inspiring and organizing others to take action. People who have it enjoy bringing energy and movement to an idea or decision.

The Genius Of Enablement (E)

The natural gift of providing encouragement and assistance for an idea or project. People with this type of genius are quick to respond to the needs of others by offering their cooperation and help with a project, program or effort.

The Genius Of Tenacity (T)

The natural gift of pushing projects or tasks to completion to achieve results. People who have this genius push for required standards of excellence and live to see the impact of their work.

We’re meant to use these gifts, what we call our geniuses, to contribute to the world around us. We should use our geniuses with our teams, communities, and families. When we don’t use them, or can’t use them, it’s frustrating and sometimes downright tragic. To use our geniuses well, we have to know what they are.

There are other kinds of work that naturally exhaust or drain us. They drain our energy and our ability to contribute to work. We call these our Working Frustrations. For many of us, our Working Frustrations are the source of a lot of guilt and judgment because we feel bad about not being competent or eager to help in particular areas of work. Though we can’t always avoid those areas, we are meant to minimize the time we have to spend on those tasks. But again, if we don’t know what those deficiencies are, we can’t minimize them.

Each of us has two areas that are considered our Working Geniuses and two areas that are considered our Working Frustrations. There are also two areas in the middle that we neither find completely miserable nor completely joyful, these are our Working Competencies.

These six types of genius are required for any work endeavor. We’ve heard stories from thousands of workers from CEOs to teachers and airline pilots to elephant zoo-keepers. The Working Genius Assessment helps anyone identify their gifts and limitations so they can maximize satisfaction and contribution in their work and life. The model helps us understand how we contribute, and why teamwork is so important, since no one person can embody all six geniuses. Teams that use this tool find immediate impact on their productivity, morale, and burnout.

The Assessment Questionnaire

The Six Types of Working Genius assessment is the fastest and simplest way to discover your natural gifts and thrive at work.

This 10-minute assessment and custom report provide detailed insights about your areas of Working Genius, Working Competency and Working Frustration along with an easy-to-use application section that will help you leverage this information in your work, on your team and in your life.

Discover your genius and live into your gifts today!