What would happen if you fielded a baseball team with 9 Pitchers? The way to build a baseball team is to have tryouts for the specific needs of each position. Patrick Lencioni’s book, The 6 Working Genius, offers useful insights into building a team that will effectively pitch, bat, and field their way to world series champions.
The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni is a book that offers a new way of thinking about work and teams. Lencioni makes the case that each person has a unique set of natural talents, or “working geniuses,” that are best suited for certain types of work. When people are able to leverage their working geniuses, they are more likely to be engaged, productive, and successful.
The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, Lencioni introduces the six types of working geniuses:
- Wonder: The ability to see potential and opportunity in a given situation.
- Invention: The ability to create original and novel ideas and solutions.
- Discernment: The ability to intuitively and instinctively evaluate ideas and situations.
- Galvanizing: The ability to rally, inspire, and organize others to take action.
- Enablement: The ability to provide support and assistance in the implementation of ideas and solutions.
- Tenacity: The ability to commit to ensuring that an idea or solution gets completed and that results are achieved.
In the second part of the book, Lencioni provides a self-assessment tool that helps readers identify their own working geniuses. He also offers advice on how to leverage one’s working geniuses to achieve success in the workplace.
In the third part of the book, Lencioni discusses how the six types of working geniuses can be used to build effective teams. He argues that teams that are composed of people with complementary working geniuses are more likely to be successful.
The 6 Types of Working Genius is a well-written and engaging book that offers a valuable new perspective on work and teams. Lencioni’s model is simple to understand, but it is also profound in its implications. The book is full of practical advice that can help readers improve their work performance and find more satisfaction in their careers.
As a coach, I recommend that all of my clients read the book, take the assessment, and implement lessons from the book to organize their teams. I’m an executive coach; I help business leaders execute at higher levels. Want to know what that is like? Try a no-obligation executive, 1-hour online executive coaching session. See if coaching and this coach can work for you. Schedule a session now by pressing that button down there.
