Unlocking Your Potential: The 6 Types of Working Genius

Work is an integral part of human life, offering opportunities to find satisfaction, meaning, and contribute to the greater good of society. While some people seem to thrive in their work, others experience frustration. Various factors, such as leadership, relationships with colleagues, working conditions, and financial benefits, can influence a person’s work experience.

Patrick Lencioni, an American business management consultant and author, introduces another significant factor: working genius. According to Lencioni’s model, six types of working genius play a vital role in determining success and fulfillment at work: wonder, invention, discernment, galvanizing, enablement, and tenacity.  

The Six Geniuses Explained

1.     Wonder
This is the ability to ponder and question the current state of things, sparking curiosity and the desire for improvement. People with this genius often ask transformative questions and seek to unlock untapped potential in situations or individuals.

2.     Invention
The genius of invention revolves around creating new ideas and solutions. People with this talent are natural originators who bring creativity and innovation to the table.

3.     Discernment
Discernment involves instincts, intuition, and strong judgment. Those with this genius have an innate ability to assess ideas or situations and provide valuable feedback.

4.     Galvanizing
This genius focuses on energizing and motivating others to take action. People with this talent excel at rallying individuals or teams to move initiatives forward.

5.     Enablement
Enablement is about offering support and assistance to others. Those with this genius are excellent helpers who thrive in roles where they can assist and empower others.

6.     Tenacity
Tenacity relates to seeing projects through to completion. Individuals with this genius derive satisfaction from ensuring tasks are finished effectively and according to plan.

Applying the Working Genius Model

Lencioni explains that while everyone possesses all six geniuses to varying degrees, each person typically has:

• Two areas of genius – natural strengths that energize and fulfill them.
• Two areas of competence – skills they can manage but may not find particularly energizing.
• Two areas of frustration – tasks that drain their energy and joy.

By aligning their work with their areas of genius, individuals can enhance productivity, find deeper meaning, and experience greater joy. Recognizing and leveraging the unique talents of others fosters collaboration and excellence. Embracing one’s God-given talents and humbly relying on the strengths of others is essential for achieving fulfillment and effectiveness in both work and life.

 

Notes

Lencioni, P. (2022). The 6 types of working genius. Matt Holt Books. 

Living the Resurrection Today

Jesus, though he was God, took on human form and shared in our human struggles. He experienced abandonment, darkness, and death—realities that touch each of us. Yet, He did not avoid them; He passed through them. This was His Passover.

We, too, are called to pass through our own moments of abandonment, darkness, and death. It is not unusual to feel rejected or unappreciated—even by those closest to us. Despair has become a daily experience for many. We face failures, disappointments, and destructive patterns we struggle to break. These painful moments are like small deaths.

Yet if Jesus passed through them, so can we.

We pass through abandonment by choosing to love, even when our love is not returned. Loving selflessly, without expectation, brings freedom. It allows us to find joy in the very act of loving.

We pass through despair not by denying its existence, but by meeting it with humility. Acknowledging that we are lost can open our hearts to dependence—on God and on others. Humility and dependence become the path through the darkness.

And we pass through death—both the small deaths we face daily and the final one—by holding on to hope. When something ends, it makes room for something new. A failed plan may lead to a possibility we had never imagined. A broken relationship may make way for something more life-giving. These moments remind us that new life can emerge even from loss.

Jesus died and was resurrected. His resurrection is not only a past event to be remembered or a future hope to be awaited—it is a present invitation. Each day, we are called to live the resurrection by embracing love in the face of rejection, humility in times of confusion, dependence when we feel weak, and hope in the shadow of loss.

Living the resurrection today means choosing to walk through our own abandonments, darkness, and daily deaths with the faith that new life awaits on the other side. Resurrection is not reserved only for the end of life. It is something we are invited to embody, here and now.

 

What Did Mary Do Standing Under the Cross?

Mary’s life can be captured in a single phrase: “she pondered” (Luke 2:19). The Greek word translated as ponder means to think something through deeply—to reflect intensely and consider all its angles. That’s the common understanding in Greek and in English. This would have described Mary well if the Gospels had been written in the philosophical tone of someone like Aristotle.

But while the Gospels were written in Greek, they carried a deeply Hebrew way of thinking. According to Ron Rolheiser, the Hebrew sense of ponder means “to hold, carry, and transform tension so as not to give it back in kind—knowing that whatever energies we do not transform, we will transmit.”

This understanding of pondering is deeply connected to the moment Mary stands under the cross (John 19:25). What was she doing there? Her presence is often seen as an image of piety or sympathy. On the surface, she appears passive—she doesn’t speak, protest the crucifixion, or plead for Jesus’ innocence. She is silent.

But her silence is not weakness. Mary is standing, not collapsed or kneeling—postures that might suggest helplessness or resignation. She is grounded, strong.

Rolheiser captures this beautifully:

“Today, I can’t stop the crucifixion; nobody can. Sometimes darkness will have its hour. But I can stop some of the hatred, bitterness, jealousy, and heartlessness that caused it—by refusing to give it back in kind, by transforming negativity rather than retransmitting it, by swallowing hard, in silence, and eating the bitterness rather than giving it back in kind.”

Mary did not give back in kind. She held the pain, swallowed the bitterness, and transformed it—into grace, forgiveness, peace, and strength.

In my book Brokenness to Wholeness, I reflected:

“Human suffering need not be an obstacle to the joy and peace we so desire, but can become, instead, the means to it.”

This becomes possible when, like Mary, we recognize God’s presence even in our pain. When we resist the urge to return pain for pain—rejection for rejection, humiliation for humiliation—and instead hold the suffering long enough for it to be transformed into something life-giving.

Mary, standing under the cross, invites us to do the same:
To stand with courage in our pain.
To refuse to give back in kind.

And to transform suffering into healing, bitterness into grace, and brokenness into wholeness.

 

Notes

Rolheiser, R. (2014). Sacre fire: A vision for a deeper human and Christian maturity (pp. 147-149). Image.

Baptist, J. (2021). Brokenness to Wholeness. Media House.

Wrestling with God

In Report to Greco, renowned writer Nikos Kazantzakis recounts a profound conversation with Father Makarios, an old monk. 

Kazantzakis asked, “Do you still wrestle with the devil, Father Makarios?” 

After a moment of reflection, the monk replied, “Not any longer, my child. I have grown old, and he has grown old with me. He no longer has the strength… I wrestle with God.” 

Surprised, the young writer asked, “With God! And you hope to win?” 

The monk answered, “I hope to lose, my child. My bones still resist, but I hope to lose.”

This exchange sheds light on the evolving nature of human and spiritual challenges. In youth, struggles often center around temptations like pride, ambition, wealth, and sensuality—in essence, wrestling with the devil. However, as people age, these battles shift inward. Life’s later stages prompt reflection on deeper questions—about meaning, relationships, and one’s relationship with God. The struggle moves from external temptations to an internal wrestling with the resistance to surrender control and allow God to lead.

In later life, the real challenge becomes the willingness to let go and trust fully in God’s path. It is not about fighting external forces but overcoming the inner urge to cling to self-protective instincts and rationality. This struggle is about deciding whether to resist or relinquish control—and in doing so, to experience true spiritual growth and transformation.

Approaching this inner wrestling with humility, openness, and deep reflection leads to greater spiritual maturity, allowing individuals to forge a deeper connection with the divine, others, and the universe.

 

Notes

Kazantzakis, N. (1965). Reports to Greco (P. A. Bien, Trans.). Touchstone Book.

 

Human Domestication: The Silent Chains of Approval and Fear

Human domestication begins early in life, shaping how we see ourselves and interact with the world. The younger generation is molded by the older—especially by parents, schools, society, and religion. While these influences are often well-intentioned, they can create an invisible system of control. Just as animals are domesticated through a cycle of punishment and reward, often humans too are conditioned in the same way. From an early age, children learn to seek approval through praise like “good boy” or “good girl” and to fear disapproval or punishment. Over time, this conditioning extends into adulthood, influencing our choices, behaviors, and sense of worth.

Wisdom writer Don Miguel Ruiz, in The Four Agreements, describes this process:
"Reward feels good, and we keep doing what others want us to do in order to get the reward. With the fear of being punished and the fear of not getting the reward, we start pretending to be what we are not, just to please others, just to be good enough for someone else…. We pretend to be what we are not because we are afraid of being rejected. The fear of being rejected becomes the fear of not being good enough. Eventually, we become someone that we are not."

The domestication of humans through reward and punishment fosters fear, people-pleasing, and inauthenticity. To break free from these silent chains, we must unlearn the habit of seeking external validation and instead make choices rooted in values, meaning, and authenticity. Though challenging, escaping this cycle is possible through intentional, value-driven living.

 

Notes

Ruiz, D. M. (1997). The four agreements: A practical guide to personal freedom (pp. 6-8). Amber-Allen Publishing.

Turning Loss into a Symbol of Hope

There is suffering in the world, and it can affect us and our loved ones, especially through incurable diseases, relationship breakups, accidents, and natural disasters. Naturally, we seek to understand who or what causes this suffering.

Dorothee Soelle, a German social theologian, asked an important question: “Does our suffering serve God or the devil? Does it lead to becoming more alive or morally paralyzed?” She urged us to focus not on where tragedy originates but on where it leads. Soelle suggested that death can testify either to God or the devil, to hope or despair.

Our perception of suffering and death shapes where it leads us. Soelle highlighted that it is not the circumstances of death that make someone a witness for or against God, but how we react to their passing. Rabbi Harold Kushner adds, “If the death and suffering of someone we love make us bitter, jealous, against all religion, and incapable of happiness, we turn them into one of the 'devil’s martyrs.'” However, if their suffering and death push us to expand our strength, love, and cheerfulness, we make them witnesses for life and hope.

The death of our loved ones hurts deeply, and their absence can never be filled. Though we may not have been able to save them or ease their pain, we can still do something crucial after their death: ensure they become witnesses for God and life. By resisting despair and maintaining faith, we prevent their legacy from becoming tied to darkness and despair. Though challenging, it is the right path to allow their suffering and death to be symbols of hope, cheerfulness, and life.

Notes

Kushner H. S. (1981). When bad things happen to good people (pp. 150-152). Anchor Books.

Soelle, D. in Kushner H. S. (1981). When bad things happen to good people (pp. 150-152). Anchor Books.

Turning Pain Into Purpose: The Inspiring Journey of Martin Gray

In November 1940, 380,000 Jews were forcibly confined within the Warsaw Ghetto, where over 80,000 perished from starvation and overcrowding (Vashem, 2024). According to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, more than six million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust, carried out by Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1945, primarily through mass shootings and extermination camps.

Martin Gray, at 14, was trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. He survived both the ghetto's horrors and the Holocaust. At 35, Gray rebuilt his life, achieved success, and started a family. However, tragedy struck again when a forest fire in southern France claimed the lives of his wife and children. While many urged Gray to seek an inquiry into the cause of the fire, he resisted, explaining that finding a villain wouldn’t heal his wounds. Instead, he chose to dedicate his resources to protecting nature from future fires.

Gray believed that blaming others for one’s misfortunes only deepens misery and loneliness: “Accusing other people of being responsible for your misery only makes a lonely person lonelier. Life,” he concluded, “has to be lived for something, not just against something” (Kushner, 1981). His life shows us the importance of living with purpose and focusing on constructive action.

Fixating on questions like "Why did this happen?" or "Who is to blame?" can keep people trapped in the past. While these questions may seem important, they can create a cycle of misery and prevent personal growth.

Gray survived unimaginable horrors yet still found joy and fulfillment. Embracing a purpose greater than ourselves allows us to rise above suffering. Purpose is key to achieving contentment and flourishing, enabling joy even in the face of adversity.

 

Notes

Kushner H. S. (1981). When bad things happen to good people (p. 149). Anchor Books.

The national World War II Museum, New Orleans ((2024, September 18). The Holocaust.

Yad Vashem (2024, September 18). Warsaw Ghetto.