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I am addicted to learning. I read articles, books, and posts and listen to podcasts daily. Knowledge is fuel for my brain.

When I read Patrick Lencioni’s book The 6 Types of Working Genius, I felt like he was talking to me from each page. I have to admit, I am a big fan of Patrick Lencioni, dating back to The Five Temptations of a CEO.

After I finished The 6 Types of Working Genius, I started socializing the concepts with the leaders on my team. I gave them the book and they all took the Working Genius assessment. We talked about what the results revealed about us as individuals and our teams.

It was the perfect time. We were in the process of reorganizing (as is typical in technology companies) and we put our learnings into practice as we formulated our teams and approaches.

If you’re not familiar with Working Genius, The Six Types of Working Genius assessment is the fastest and simplest way to discover the natural gifts for you and your team. With these understandings, it can help you all thrive at work.

After extensive study, Patrick Lencioni’s organization, The Table Group, determined that each of us is brought joy by our Geniuses and is drained by our Frustrations. There are six types of geniuses that are ranked, not rated.

The Geniuses are:

• Wonder – The natural gift of pondering the possibility of greater potential and opportunity in a given situation. People with a Wonder Genius are the big picture thinkers.
• Invention – The natural gift of creating original and novel ideas and solutions. These team members are the ones who rattle off idea after idea, not necessarily all good, but great in a brainstorm!
• Discernment – The natural gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations. These folks always help us get real. “What idea are we pursuing and does it make sense?”
• Galvanizing – The natural gift of rallying, inspiring, and organizing others to take action. These team members are the cheerleaders, the “follow me” people.
• Enablement – The natural gift of providing encouragement and assistance for an idea or project. Nothing gets done without the resources, planning and encouraging these team members provide.
• Tenacity – The natural gift of pushing projects or tasks to completion to achieve results. These team members are the GSD (Get Stuff Done) people. They bring you over the finish line and remind you to keep focused, time after time.

The types ranked highest, based on the assessment, are considered your Geniuses. These bring you joy and fulfillment. My Geniuses are Galvanizing and Invention. Anyone who has worked with me knows I love to get people excited about our work together and that I always have tons of ideas and a passion for invention.

The two ranked lowest are your Frustrations. This doesn’t mean you stink at these, it’s just that they drain your tank and are the things you may procrastinate to get to. Focusing on these areas as the basis for your job can also lead to low engagement and burnout. My Frustrations are Wonder and Tenacity.

The middle two are your Competencies. These neither fill you up nor drain you. They also can indicate a strength that can be tapped into. My Competencies are Discernment and Enablement.

Even with the brief explanation above, I can hear your gears turning on which you think your Geniuses are or nodding your head as you know which are your Frustrations! I can tell you, it was no surprise to me that Tenacity was not top of my list. Knowing how many nights I was at my desk finishing things up I had procrastinated starting was a tell-tale sign.

The insights of the assessment and the readout was invaluable to telling me more about myself and my people.

Teams that adopt Working Genius experience increased morale and productivity while also decreasing frustration and turnover. The outcomes of adopting Working Genius can be seen across your organization.

• Maximizes Your Team’s Geniuses
• Addresses Frustrations and Inefficiencies
• Improves Meetings, Hiring, and Staffing

As we considered the composition of the teams within our organization, we started to look at not only who had traditionally been on a team together, but also what Geniuses they represented. Where possible, we put together teams with Genius coverage in all six types. We also looked at what we were asking people to do in the team and began thinking about whose Tenacity Genius was going to help us see programs through to the end.

Now that I am coaching individuals and teams, I’m excited to bring my experience with Working Genius, and my certification as a Working Genius Facilitator, to my coaching practice.

What I love most about Working Genius is that it gives us a practical language for something many of us have experienced but may not have been able to articulate: why some parts of our work energize us while other parts leave us exhausted.

It also reminds us that we don’t have to be great at everything. In fact, the most effective teams aren’t made up of people who all think and work the same way. They are made up of people whose natural gifts complement one another.

For me, that’s the real power of Working Genius. It isn’t about putting people in boxes or labeling what they can or cannot do. It’s about understanding where we naturally thrive, recognizing where we may need others, and intentionally creating environments where people can do more of the work that brings them energy and fulfillment.

As I continue my journey in executive coaching, I’m excited to add Working Genius to my toolkit. Sometimes the first step toward becoming a better leader, building a stronger team, or simply finding more satisfaction in our work is understanding what makes us come alive and what drains us.

Once we know that, we can start working with our Genius instead of against it.

Frank Whitworth was from another era.

He kept detailed financial data on huge green sheets in bound ledgers that went back to the 1950s. He wore a white shirt, blue suit and tie, and polished leather shoes you could see your reflection in. He carried a beat-up leather briefcase that held his lunch.

He was a classy gentleman who we all loved and respected.

Eileen Vogler was a classic, too. She got her hair done at the beauty parlor on Saturday mornings. Her nails, clothing, and coordinated accessories were always perfect. She had a saying for everything, each one eliciting a chuckle. “I’d feel for you, but I can hardly reach you” was her response to anyone with a small complaint.

Frank and Eileen were from the early days of the J. Paul Getty Trust, when “Mr. Getty” was directing activities from his estate in England. They were the trusted guardians of investment accounting and cash management and had played those roles longer than anyone could remember.

I learned so much from both of them, but not what you might expect.

Frank’s Lessons

Frank taught me more about meticulous record keeping and the pursuit of balanced ledgers than anything I had learned in my accounting classes. He was fastidious in his work.

He was a true gentleman.

He never said a bad word about anyone and was quick to find a positive quality in the people he worked with. He knew everyone’s name and greeted each person warmly as he walked through the office to his desk.

Frank noticed things.

One of our coworkers never brought lunch. Her mornings were hectic getting her kids out the door, and she didn’t want to spend her hard-earned wages at the expensive cafe in our building.

Frank asked his wife to pack an extra sandwich and some fruit. Each morning, he quietly and anonymously placed them on her desk before she arrived.

No fanfare. No recognition sought. Just kindness.

Frank worked hard, too. He was always prompt to arrive and left at the same time each day. His time at home with his wife was precious to him and he was eager to get home to her every day.

They had been together for more than 50 years. He quipped that his bride would have dinner ready and Jeopardy wouldn’t wait.

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Eileen’s Lessons

Eileen shared a different set of lessons.

She was especially mindful of waste. One evening, I came across her removing paperclips from piles of paper in the “To Be Shredded” box and returning them to the paperclip containers.

Before I could say anything, she explained that “Mr. Getty” didn’t like waste, so she had become accustomed to being mindful of throwing useful things away.

She told us stories of the early Getty Museum days, when it occupied a few rooms in the back of the Getty Villa in Malibu and was more of a tax write-off for J. Paul Getty’s art and furniture collecting hobby. There was even a small zoo!

She told us about taking the Red Car to work in Los Angeles and how convenient life in the city was without a car. Those days were long gone.

She was a bustler. Always bustling around the office, putting things in their place, keeping order, ensuring our coffee pot was full and fresh, and the copy machine stocked with paper.

She cared about tidiness and inspired it in all of us.

As computers became increasingly essential to our roles, we watched Eileen dig in and learn the systems. She was over 70, and her newfound skills delighted her. She pulled me over to her desk to show me a new report she had written or an inquiry she had discovered.

She wasn’t afraid of advancing technology. She grabbed on to it!

Lessons That Last

As I closed my chapter at The J. Paul Getty Trust to follow my love of software and join PeopleSoft, I reflected on all the lessons I had learned from these seasoned coworkers.

From Frank:

• Be kind.
• Pay attention.
• Work hard.
• Accuracy matters.

From Eileen:

• Spend it like it’s your own.
• Tell your story.
• Be tidy at work.
• Learn and grow.

I valued every lesson these humble, caring people shared. I didn’t realize at the time just how much they would shape the professional and person I became.

Frank passed away several years into my Getty career.

One day, he didn’t show up for work, so we called his home. His wife told us that he went to bed the night before and never woke up. He passed away right where he wanted to be, by her side.

She shared that he was worried about an out-of-balance account when he came home the evening before and was eager to return to work to figure it out.

He loved numbers. He loved his family. And he made all of us feel his warmth every day.

As he walked out the door each night, he gave us a wave and his signature farewell:

“Goodnight, all you good people. See you tomorrow.”

The final lesson from Frank?

Always cherish what can come tomorrow.

I was heading into a world of software and technology, but the most important lessons I carried forward had nothing to do with technology.

“You need to know. You have nothing to teach me!”

Nancy stood in the office with her hands on her hips looking at me angrily.  I was her newly named supervisor.  She had been doing her job for 30 years and was very annoyed that she was passed over for the Accounting Supervisor role.

My excitement about my role at the Getty Trust was tempered with a bit of anxiety already.  This was my first job as an official supervisor. Being a Girl Scout leader and assistant manager at an ice cream shop didn’t prepare me for this.  I didn’t get through my first week before Nancy came to set me straight.

Fortunately, my instincts kicked in. “I was not planning to teach you.  I was planning to work alongside you and learn from your know-how on Payroll.”

Her hands came off her hips as her anger started to dissipate. My heart raced as I waited for her next move.

“Ok, just so we’re on the same page. I wanted to make sure you knew that I am a great Payroll Manager and I’m good on my own” she admonished me as she walked out and shut the glass door firmly.

In a glass office, there is no room for showing how rattled I was after such an encounter. I sat there until my hands stopped shaking and went back to my own desk. I knew my work was cut out for me as a new manager.

When I got home, I called my mentor. My grandfather.

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He was a comptroller for a regional aluminum window manufacturer in New Jersey.  Never without a cigar in his mouth, my grandfather was a sage businessman and mentored me as I began working “real jobs.”

He shared wisdom I kept with me throughout my career.  Here’s some of Marty’s wise countenance on managing people:

Don’t respond to anger with anger: He was proud that I didn’t snap back at Nancy. Rarely does meeting an angry employee with your own anger work.  It’s important to read the room. I knew Nancy was mad that I got the role and she didn’t.  Finding a path to get the air out of the anger balloon was critical for Nancy and I to move forward.

Follow up with curiosity: I could have tried to hash out the issue during such a confrontation, but another path was to follow up with curiosity.  Over the next weeks, I demonstrated interest and curiosity about Nancy’s role. Not in a creepy “I’m learning how to get rid of you” way, but as a genuine desire to understand and help.  She began to trust me and even asked me some questions.

Everyone has a story: One time Grandpa was interviewing a truck driver. Part of the interview was to go out for a test drive. The guy had an excellent driving record and references.

As they went driving through the urban area, they chatted about the driver’s family, where he grew up and he shared that he and his wife were caring for his elderly mother during off hours.  While they chatted, they passed under a trestle bridge, and the top of the truck struck the bridge.

While rattled, no one was hurt and the damage was repairable.

Grandpa hired the guy.  His logic was that anyone supporting his expanded family would never hit another bridge.  Grandpa wasn’t wrong, the truck driver celebrated over 10 years of accident-free driving with the aluminum company.

I didn’t know Nancy’s story yet, but Grandpa’s rule was that I needed to find out.

Nancy and I worked together for the next several years. As we migrated through two new payroll systems, she appreciated my collaboration with her.  New systems were hard for her, and one day she quietly pulled me aside for a hug and said “I guess you are my teacher now.” A long way from where we started.

Over the years I have kept all my grandfather’s guidance in mind as I worked with my teams.  His kindness and humanity made him a treasured leader of his employees. I don’t smoke cigars but hope I can strive to be just like Marty in most things.

A patient teacher, good listener, funny and quirky, and most of all, caring.  Grandpa truly helped get me off on the right foot.

This is Chapter One of a career that takes me from ledgers to software.  More to come.

End Note: Despite her passing away years ago, I changed Nancy’s name for this post.