More Than Just Another Airport Book

In our kitchen is a large white board divided into sections:
👉 Family to-dos
🏠 House to-dos
🚗 Carpool schedules

The house to-do list is longest.

I didn't realize exactly why until I read The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni.

After recognizing his rising resentment and frustration and work, Lencioni and his team came up with a simple, yet transformative model for looking at how we work through any project.

Together, the model divides any project from starting a business, to planning a vacation, into 6 parts.

✅ Wondering -- asking the big questions that initiate change
✅ Inventing -- coming up with the various ways to "solve" the issue
✅ Discerning -- evaluating which of the ideas is best given the context
✅ Galvanizing -- rallying people into action and keeping the flame alive
✅ Enablement -- assisting others in the implementation of the solution
✅ Tenacity -- committing to ensuring the solution is achieved

What does this all have to do with our long house to-do list, you ask?

Well, according to Lencioni, we are "genius" at 2 of these 6 aspects of a project, competent at another 2, and frustrated with a final 2.

After reading the book and taking the online assessment, it was clear which two are my geniuses : INVENTING and ENABLEMENT.

My frustrations: GALVANIZING and TENACITY.

Those of you who know me, might question this, but to me, it's very clear.

It's why I have so many half finished books around the house.
It's why there is still a piece of insulation lying on our deck from a month ago.
It's why there are still 3 bags of debris waiting to go to the dump,

I lose steam before the finish comes, because my creativity has already moved on to the next project.

My husband also lacks natural tenacity.
That's why we have so many half finished house projects

Yet, many of us have trained ourselves to be good enough at all 6.

But being able to do something, doesn't mean that it gives us energy.

As I look back on my joyful moments, and my pain points for 2025, I can see myself in geniuses and my frustrations.

What I love about this model is that Lencioni's not inviting us to become great at all of these geniuses -- he actually insists that no one is ever a genius in all areas.

Instead, he encourages us to bring awareness to our geniuses, competencies and frustrations, and to surround ourselves with people who complement our geniuses -- to redesign our teams and our roles along these geniuses.

When we do, everything gets better and easier.

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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