Do you have a nagging concern about your team’s effectiveness?
Maybe meetings feel flat, with little engagement or shared purpose. Maybe your team generates plenty of ideas, but struggles to decide what to do next. Or perhaps new initiatives get launched, only to lose momentum because no one can sustain them.
Something just isn’t clicking… and you can’t quite figure out why.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
And here’s the surprising truth: Most team challenges aren’t caused by a lack of talent, commitment, or effort. They’re caused by misalignment.
In many teams, people are consistently asked to do work that drains them instead of work that energizes them. Over time, that leads to disengagement, frustration, and underperformance, even among highly capable individuals.
That’s exactly the problem Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group set out to solve with the Six Types of Working Genius.
A Different Kind of Assessment
Unlike traditional assessments that focus on personality or temperament, Working Genius is practical and work focused.
It answers a simple but powerful question: What type of work gives you energy—and what type drains it?
When people operate in their areas of Working Genius, they feel energized, fulfilled, and productive. When they spend too much time in areas of frustration, they burn out and disengage.
After taking a short online assessment, each team member receives a report identifying:
- Working Geniuses – their natural talents (what brings joy and energy)
- Working Competencies – areas they can do well but don’t love
- Working Frustrations – work that drains energy
The Six Types of Working Genius
Each type represents a key stage in getting work done:
- Wonder – asks big questions and challenges the status quo
- Invention – generates creative ideas and solutions
- Discernment – evaluates ideas using instinct and judgment
- Galvanizing – rallies people and drives action
- Enablement – supports others and helps move work forward
- Tenacity – ensures completion and follow-through
Every team needs all six, but each person has only two and no one has more than that.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
Imagine your Outreach Director has Working Geniuses in Wonder and Invention, but a frustration in Tenacity. She thrives when exploring big-picture challenges and brainstorming new ideas, but struggles with detailed reporting and follow-through.
Instead of trying to “fix” her, what if you adjusted her role to maximize her strengths and partnered her with someone who excels in Tenacity?
Now consider your Chief of Operations, whose geniuses are Discernment and Tenacity, with frustrations in Wonder and Invention. Suddenly, it makes perfect sense why brainstorming sessions drain him. But give him responsibility for evaluating ideas and ensuring execution and he thrives.
Or your Chief Development Officer, who leads with Galvanizing and Enablement, naturally energizing others, building buy-in, and helping people succeed.
When each person is aligned with their Working Genius, the entire team becomes more effective.
From Frustration to Momentum
The Working Genius model doesn’t ask people to change who they are. It challenges leaders to change how they lead.
When leaders take time to understand their team—and intentionally align people’s work with their natural strengths—everything shifts:
- Energy increases
- Clarity improves
- Frustration decreases
- Momentum builds
Teams also gain a shared language to talk about work, replacing confusion and tension with understanding and collaboration.
This is how transformation happens: from the inside out.
Ready to Explore It for Your Team?
If you’re curious about how Working Genius could help your team, let’s connect.
DBD Group offers Working Genius trainings and retreats for nonprofit teams and boards, helping you interpret results, improve alignment, and unlock greater effectiveness.
The Working Genius® and The Working Genius Assessment™ are trademarks of The Table Group, Inc.
