Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi
Edition #42, June 2023
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I have a confession to make. For the longest time, I didn’t read Patrick Lencioni’s books. Call it academic arrogance, closed-mindedness or whatever you want. I dismissed his ideas and books because they’re not evidence-based. And then someone introduced me to the Five Dysfunctions of the Team and I was hooked! The ideas made so much sense and I have read almost all his books since. What Lencioni lacks in research rigor, he more than makes up for in practical insights and intelligence. His new book “The Six Types of Working Genius” is no different.
The main idea from this book is that each person has two types of working genius, out of a total of six: wonder, invention, discernment, galvanizing, enablement and tenacity. The geniuses are the tasks that they are good at and that they get much fulfillment and energy from doing. Each person also has two main competencies: tasks that they are good at, but don’t necessarily derive energy from. And finally, each person has two main frustrations: tasks that they hate and that absolutely drain the energy out of them. High-performing teams are those that assign work tasks according to each person’s genius, not according to their seniority or department.
I really liked the connection between the working geniuses and the current debate about burnout: when we work within our genius most of the time, we can work long hours and still feel joy & fulfillment. Certainly, we need to rest and recover, but mentally we remain resilient. However, when we work within our frustrations most of the time, we burnout right away, even if the work load is not excessive. Another insight that fits with my experience with leaders today is that very few leaders spend any time in wonder or invention- most don’t have any time for proactive thinking because all they do is galvanize, enable & manage with tenacity.
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Dr. Amer Kaissi is a Top Leadership Keynote Speaker. He speaks about leadership, teams and culture.
