# 486: BOOK OF THE WEEK — “The 6 Types of Working Genius”
Story behind the Book Choice
This book was recommended to me by a former client. After having resisted most management and leadership literature for quite a while, I felt an initial impulse to say: “No, I am not going to look at it.” But the title just got to me. “Gifts” and “talents” are even biblical terms. There is a story in the New Testament about talents (meaning silver in this case) and how to use them wisely in order to multiply them and become even wealthier. Even though the story is about money, you can transfer the idea to the concept of “talents” that we apply in our modern language, meaning gifts.
I bought the book immediately and almost sucked it up in one piece. That already tells you a lot about the impact it had on me. The model that the author created is helpful for individuals and teams, just as the title suggests. But for me personally, at this stage of my life and career, it really helped me see new windows open up — mental windows. That is probably because I could very well identify with the main character of the fable that the author uses in order to tell the story behind the model. The main character, Bull, is dealing with exactly the same “problems” as I used to. After a few and quite successfull years in one position, he has to change again because he cannot stand his job to an unbearable degree.
The fable is not just an intro or a collection of anecdotes. It is a well-composed story that integrates all essential parts of the reasons behind the model’s development and its different application areas. It basically makes up the entire book. You might ask why it takes a long story for a fairly short and concise model to be explained. I do not answer this question. I simply recommend reading it in order to learn how great things emerge from seemingly insurmountable problems.
The problem of Bull in this story, namely the fact that he cannot understand his own frustrations at work, is encouraging because it teaches us that just accepting misery is not the path — at least not, if you want to live a fulfilled life. Sometimes I have the feeling that some people have given up on this entirely. They just accept whatever makes them feel ill and depressed because society has taught them that this is the way life should be — you should suffer and whenever you do not suffer, it is certainly an indicator that you worked hard for your good fortune and you “deserve” it.
If we are real believers in God or whatever you call your spiritual source, we learn that this image is flawed. We learn that we are on this planet to enjoy life — every minute of it is a gift and it is our choice to turn it into a pleasure ride. I am not saying that everyone is “forced” to chase happiness. I am just trying to explain why this book is a pleasure to read and a hands-on guide for leaders and employees in practically all work contexts. Every kid knows that doing stuff that is not fun will not bring about great results. But in our adult work lives, we often ignore this fact. Lencioni’s mission is to take you back to your inner home, your intuition and your honesty towards yourself and the world in order to live your potential and help others live theirs too.
- God-given gifts
For German readers it might sound a bit strange to read that a business writer mentions the word God at the very outset and consistently throughout the book. Lencioni is Catholic, as I found out, and he also founded an organization that builds on the 6 Genius Fields of Work for the innovation of church. For me, this spiritual component in the author’s motivation made a difference for the reading experience. It would not generally change the value of the model itself but I see Lencioni’s deep faith in this book. If you assume that we all have two outstanding talents that can be used in endless contexts and in a unique individual way, this means that you cannot change this. You cannot just say: “Oh, I do not like this talent, I am going to switch.”
No, talents are given to you.
The only thing you can do is: accept and embrace them.
And use them — so they do not wither.
For people fighting with the habit of comparing oneself to others — we all do this mostly unconsciously — reading something like this is hard to swallow at first. But if you have the attitude of a believer, it will be easier for you to understand what Lencioni is writing and it will be thrilling to learn that this is exactly how you are meant to be. The basis of believing in God (independent of your individual religion) is to accept things as they are — to accept yourself as you are, the way you were created and meant to live your life. That is the central task of every seeker because it sounds a lot easier than it actually is. What it means is: You also have to accept and even love your flaws because you have this deep faith that they have to be that way; that even the flaws will guide you on the journey.
The question is: Which journey and where does it take you?
Bull in the story moves from working as an employee to founding and running a marketing agency to being a highly successful business consultant due to the model he created. The simplicity of it and the spiritual roots, as I would call them, were the roots of this success. And that cannot be achieved because you are highly ambitious and you want to sell a model by any means. No, success like this can only emerge organically, it flows, because people do benefit from what you do and you are freed from ego. You work because you enjoy it. And you serve the people by sharing your talents. This is not something that happens over night. It takes years and years of moving on a rocky road that is not meant to be free of frustrations. If you trust that all this is meant to be — it will be…
2. Something you enjoy
This is from the early pages of the story when Bull talks about his childhood chores and his first jobs. He works in a restaurant and this is where he meets the co-worker Joy. And the insight he shares here is so revealing; it might have planted the seed that finally enabled him to develop the 6 Genius Model. In fact, he never settled and he always kept moving when he felt he was stuck. The “negative” example of Joy remains the engine but I want to emphasize that “negative” does not mean frustrated. I know many Joys from my own career steps and these people were hardly ever frustrated or aggressive. They did not pity themselves. They accepted their lives, even though they knew they were not unfolding their potential. Still, they wanted to use their own example to become prophets for others; to warn them of the danger of keeping your talents to yourself and thus ending in misery.
Bull does not do that.
He fights for his happiness.
And he never forgets Joy…
3. Understanding yourself
This was the moment when I got completely absorbed by the book. It was the moment when I saw myself in the story, even though all the steps of Bill’s career development before also mirrored my life. But here, this moment when someone has the guts to ask a striking question: “Why are you like this?” — this is something that only people can ask who care. They know and love you and still they wonder. And you wonder too. That can only happen because you follow your inner voice; you do not comply to society’s standards. Bill behaves that way because he behaves naturally; even though it causes problems. And instead of trying to change himself or suppressing his emotions, he decides to explore. This is the starting point of everything.
This passage of course reminded me of quotes that talk about finding oneself and thus finding God (see below). I have shared similar quotes on this blog before. And for Lencioni, I want to share that the book was a revelation to me — even apart from the model itself. It encouraged me to trust that the unusual career and life path I have taken will lead to something great. It did not take a book like this to convince me of this. I know it deep in my heart because I believe in the fact that we are meant to be the way we are. But not all of us decide to live this true self. You have to be freed from fear if you do. And the model of the 6 genius fields is a model that helps you overcome the fear that you do something wrong all the time. Yes, you will always make mistakes but only if you work outside your genius fields will these mistakes have serious consequences.
The conclusion to draw from this book is to live who you are.
Unconditionally and without making too many compromises when it comes to seeking happiness.
Trust that this happiness will find you if you trust in your inner voice.
“I searched for God
And found only myself.
I searched for myself
And found only God.”
- Rumi
Reflection Questions
1) If you think of any kind of work process and the three major parts of it (initiation, activation, implementation) — in which phase(s) of the process do you see your talents?
2) Did you ever have a “negative” role model in your work life, i.e., someone who showed you and actively encouraged you not to end up like him/her? What do you remember about this person?
3) Do you have a specific behavioral pattern that has started to bother you in your work life? Has anybody else every pointed it out? Who could be a colleague to help you discuss it in order to understand it better?