A common pushback I get from someone who doesn't want to complete a Working Genius assessment is that they ‘don’t want to be put in a box’. The concern is the Working Genius’ they have will limit their opportunities and create expectations around their behaviour that they don’t want.
It does seem rather simplistic on the surface. Six things anyone can be Genius at – fifteen possible pairings of those…and then for what you’re not naturally good at (your Genius) there are two things you are either competent at or frustrated by.
How can six such simply defined labels – Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanising, Enablement, Tenacity - possibly cover the nuances you bring to your work? And what if your Genius isn’t seen as being important to the team – are you now at a disadvantage? Or if your Genius is a common commodity – how do you stand out?
While these are all good questions, that simply isn’t how Working Genius plays out. Yes – I know – it sounds like marketing spin – but (and it is a really big BUT) having you and your whole team (if not company) understand what you are naturally good at in terms of how you work - opens more doors than it can possibly close.
First there is generally wide acceptance you need all six Genius to be present for any piece of work to be delivered to its potential. It is a balanced portfolio…all six wheels need to be turning for things to be moving forward.
It is more common than you would ever think for a team to have a Genius missing - or only one person with that Genius. Conversely there can often be an overload of one Genius and a real scarcity of others – which can also make the Genius you bring the table have even greater value.
Once the team realises the gaps or imbalance - the appreciation for missing (or scarce) Genius is considerably heightened. It can suddenly explain why wheels spin, or ideas never turn into anything useful or why so much time goes into the ‘urgent important’ instead of the ‘non-urgent (but actually, even more important) work you should be doing. You see lightbulbs going on around the room.
If you are the person with that sought-after Genius, you suddenly become highly valuable. And if no one in the team has that Genius - and you have it as a competency - you are going to be called upon more and more to help fill that gap.
Even if you are one of many in a team with the same Genius – then your second Genius instantly comes into play and makes you stand out. The ordering of your Genius becomes of heightened importance…followed by your competencies.
Instead of creating this closed box for you to sit in – suddenly you are talking about the value of how you work. Working Genius puts a spotlight on the different capabilities you bring to the team and gives a shared language to instantly recognize that value, as opposed to it being hidden from view.
If you are one of those who are looking at this with some scepticism then why not give it a go? Take the assessment and start looking at how you work through the lens of Working Genius – you might be really surprised at what you (and your team) can see once the lid from the box has been lifted.