Building a Culture of Joy and Productivity: The Key is Working Genius
There’s a moment every leader hits—quiet, subtle, but unmistakable. You’re still delivering results. Still making decisions. Still holding it together. But beneath it all, something’s off.
You’re not burned out. Not yet.
You’re just… not lit up.
The days still move. The meetings still run. But the spark that once fueled your leadership feels a little dimmer. You start asking yourself: Is this just what leadership feels like? Or is something deeper at play?
For me, the answer came through a deceptively simple framework that reframed how I understand work, contribution, and the energy it takes to lead. It’s called the 6 Types of Working Genius.
The Moment It Clicked
I’ve spent much of my career leading across moving parts—where teams, tools, and timelines all need to line up. That’s systems leadership: seeing the big picture while organizing the chaos—and I know what it costs.
For years, I wore that pressure like armor. I knew how to push through. To get it done. To rally others and close loops. And to be fair, it worked. From the outside, everything looked like it should.
But internally, I started to notice something. I’d come out of some work feeling clear, energized, even joyful. Other tasks, no matter how well executed, left me mentally foggy or low-key frustrated. I couldn’t put my finger on it. All I knew was; some work filled me, and some work flattened me.
That’s when I discovered Working Genius.
A Framework for How You Feel at Work
The 6 Types of Working Genius, developed by Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group, breaks down the natural way people contribute to getting work done. It’s not a personality test. It’s a map for energy.
The six types are:
Wonder – You ask big questions. You see the possibility. You sense gaps that others haven’t named yet.
Invention – You generate new ideas and create solutions.
Discernment – You use instinct and judgment to evaluate what’s good and what needs more work.
Galvanizing – You rally people, inspire action, and move things forward.
Enablement – You support others and respond to their needs.
Tenacity – You drive work to the finish line, ensuring it’s complete and effective.
Each of us has two Geniuses (life-giving work), two Competencies (neutral but doable), and two Frustrations (draining work that wears us down).
The brilliance of this model isn’t just in what it explains—it’s in how it feels. When you’re working in your Genius, energy flows. Joy follows. And the work that used to feel heavy suddenly feels like momentum.
My Own Working Genius
When I took the assessment, I discovered that my two Geniuses are Wonder and Discernment, and that revelation felt like coming home.
I’ve always led with reflection. I’m someone who slows things down to ask, “Is this the right question? Is there a better way?” I notice what’s missing. I listen for what’s unsaid. That’s Wonder.
Then Discernment takes over. I rely heavily on instinct and pattern recognition. I can sense when something’s not quite ready and when something is worth betting on.
Those ways of thinking have always been there. But for most of my career, I didn’t have the language or the permission to prioritize them. I built a reputation on my Competencies: Invention and Galvanizing. I could generate ideas. I could get people moving. But those weren’t my natural home. These were learned behaviors. Useful, yes. But draining over time.
My Frustrations? Enablement and Tenacity. I’m more than capable of supporting others and closing loops—but when those become my default modes, my energy tanks.
This clarity was transformational. It didn’t just explain my workflow. It explained my leadership energy—and why certain seasons had felt unsustainably heavy, even when I was “succeeding.”
Energy Is the Leadership Edge
Here’s what most leaders don’t realize soon enough: performance without alignment is a slow leak. You can keep going. You can keep delivering. But if the work consistently pulls you away from your Genius, it eventually costs more than it gives.
And here’s the flip side: when you work in your Genius, the difference is immediate. You get more done with less strain. You feel clearer, calmer, more grounded. Your joy goes up. Your internal resistance goes down. And the team around you can feel the shift. This isn’t just about personal well-being. It’s about culture. When leaders are aligned with their Genius, it opens space for others to do the same. It creates clarity, efficiency, and trust. It humanizes the pace of performance.
What Misalignment Looks Like
When I step into organizations for the first time, I often see the same hidden pattern:
Teams full of talented people doing work that doesn’t energize them.
Managers caught in roles that lean heavily on their Frustrations.
Leaders unknowingly reinforcing a culture of over-functioning and under-joy.
It’s not a competence issue. It’s an energy design issue.
And the costs show up subtly:
Less creativity.
More friction.
Decision fatigue.
Low-key resentment.
Disengagement dressed up as “professionalism.”
The shift begins when we stop asking, “Who’s available?” and start asking, “Who is energized by this kind of work?”
Realignment in Practice
When I started realigning my own work around my Genius, three big shifts happened:
I simplified how I led. I stopped over-functioning in my Frustrations. I let others shine where I was forcing it.
I made space for reflection. I built in time for Wonder and Discernment both on my own and with my team. We asked better questions. We made cleaner calls.
I rebalanced our team dynamics. We looked at who naturally carried what. We started building around energy, not just expertise.
And that led to a team culture that felt more human, more joyful and just as, if not more productive.
Call to Consideration
Let me offer a gentle nudge here, especially to executive leaders and team builders:
What if the greatest untapped potential in your team isn't in more training or tighter systems, but better alignment between your people and their energy?
What if the solution to burnout isn’t time off, but a new way of structuring contribution?
What if joy is not a luxury in leadership, but an indicator that something is working as it should?
It’s easy to overlook energy when you’re focused on results. But the best leaders, the ones who last, the ones who build cultures people want to be part of—they pay attention to where energy is rising and where it’s leaking.
They don’t try to do everything. They stay close to their Genius. And they create environments where others can do the same.
A Quiet Invitation
If this resonates, if you’ve felt the drag, the dulling, the sense that your team is capable of more but running just a bit misaligned; consider this a quiet invitation.
This isn’t something you have to figure out alone. In fact, it works better when you don’t.
The Working Genius model offers a shared language. A practical framework. And a way to build teams that perform and flourish.
You don’t just need another tool. You need alignment. You need energy. You need joy.
And you might be surprised how close it really is.
About the Author
As a Success Artisan at Liberated Leaders, Adam Sides helps organizations transform growth challenges into opportunities for lasting success. With 25 years of leadership experience across military and civilian domains, he brings a practical, people-first approach to operational growth, team development, and strategic transitions. Certified in exit planning and leadership frameworks, Adam is known for inspiring change, challenging the status quo, and turning chaos into clarity. He thrives in building resilient teams that create real, enduring impact. Learn more about Adam on our website.
See Liberated Leaders’ Ready-Made Blueprint - Workforce Productivity & Joy Program.
Note: This article was 85% human generated and 15% machine (AI) generated.
Citations:
Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group. 6 Types of Working Genius