How Working Genius Began

“You know, at the core of Working Genius, what it does is it allows us to avoid guilt and judgment—guilt about ourselves and judgment of others.”

That’s Patrick Lencioni, bestselling author and organizational health expert, talking about his breakthrough Working Genius productivity framework on the Sales Gravy podcast. If you’re leading a sales team, this explains why high performers thrive in some roles and burn out in others.

Right now, you probably have high performers who are miserable, rockstars who’ve lost their spark, and top reps who suddenly can’t hit quota. And you’re wondering—did you hire wrong, did someone lose their edge, or do you need to have “the conversation”?

What if the problem isn’t the person at all? 

The Real Reason Your Best People Are Struggling

Not all work is created equal, and your sales reps aren’t wired to do all of it.

Lencioni stumbled on this insight while reflecting on himself. He’d show up to work loving his job and the people he worked with, yet swing from energized to frustrated without understanding why. 

His colleague asked, “Why are you like that?” Over a few hours, Lencioni and his team pinpointed six distinct types of work. Depending on which type you’re doing, you’re either energized or drained.

Five years later, over 1.5 million people have taken the Working Genius assessment. Why? Most organizations force talented people into work that drains them, then blame them when they struggle.

Most sales leaders hire a closer for their ability to seal deals, then wonder why they can’t prospect. They promote a quota-crusher into management, then watch them implode under administrative responsibilities. Or move an account manager into new business development and act shocked when performance tanks.

The talent was there all along, but their positioning was wrong.

Six Types of Work—and Why Most People Only Excel at Two

Patrick Lencioni identified six distinct types of work that exist in every organization:

1. Wonder (W): Spotting opportunities, asking big-picture questions
2. Invention (I): Creating new solutions, processes, or systems
3. Discernment (D): Evaluating ideas, figuring out what will work
4. Galvanizing (G): Rallying the team, getting people moving
5. Enablement (E): Supporting others, clearing obstacles, making things happen
6. Tenacity (T): Following through, finishing tasks, closing deals

Here’s what matters: most people are strong in two, competent in two, and are drained by the remaining two.

And there are no good or bad geniuses. Your closer with natural Tenacity isn’t more valuable than your strategic thinker with Wonder and Discernment. Your rep who rallies the team (Galvanizing) isn’t better than the one who quietly enables everyone behind the scenes. Different geniuses are valuable in different ways. The goal is to build a team where all six are represented, and people work in their areas of strength.

Force someone into work that drains them, and sales team performance tanks. Leave them in their genius zones, and energy and results skyrocket.

Stop Judging Your People (And Yourself)

You’ve probably got a rep right now who frustrates you. Maybe they’re brilliant in client meetings but terrible at following up. Maybe they generate incredible account strategies, but can’t stand the daily grind of outbound prospecting. Maybe they close deals but never update the CRM.

Your first instinct is to judge them. “They’re not coachable.” “They don’t care about the details.” “They’re lazy.”

Working Genius removes that judgment. It shows you that their struggle isn’t about character—it’s about wiring. A rep isn’t bad at follow-up because they don’t care. They’re bad at it because Tenacity isn’t their genius. A rep isn’t a bad team player because they don’t remove obstacles for others. Enablement isn’t their strength.

And here’s the part most sales leaders miss: you need to stop judging yourself, too. You feel guilty that you hate certain parts of your job. You think you should be better at forecasting, or administrative work, or whatever drains you. But guilt about your own limitations makes you harder on your team.

When you accept that you’re not built to excel at everything, you can extend that same grace to others. You stop punishing people for being human and start positioning them for success.

Start With Self-Reflection

Which activities give you energy? Which leave you drained?

I’ll be honest about my own wake-up call. I travel over 300 nights a year, giving keynotes and working with clients. Last summer, I got to the point where I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown. Days stacked with short calls, client check-ins, alignment meetings, and podcasts. I was furious when I got to the office, and furious when I left because those days completely destroy my brain.

I’m a wonderer and a thinker. I need space to ideate. Without that time, I can’t function. So I implemented a new rule: no more than two meetings per day. I understood my working genius and restructured my time.

Once you see your own patterns, look at your team. Track what lights people up and what slows them down. Patterns emerge quickly.

How to Apply Working Genius to Your Sales Team

We had a team member at Sales Gravy who was noticeably unhappy. Not complaining out loud, just clearly not thriving. When we looked at what the job required versus their working genius profile, the answer was obvious. We had them doing work completely opposite of their natural abilities. Once we restructured their role to align with their strengths, everything changed.

Here’s how you can apply it:

Pair complementary geniuses. Big-picture thinkers need execution-focused partners. Strategic planners need implementers. Someone strong in Wonder and Invention but weak in Tenacity needs to work with someone who loves finishing and closing.

Restructure roles around natural strengths. Don’t force people into weaknesses. Reassign or support tasks that drain them. 

Be intentional with promotions. Top performers don’t automatically make good managers. Your best individual contributor may hate administrative work. Your best manager may dislike strategic planning. Know what fits before making moves.

Have your team take the assessment. Get everyone’s working genius profile. Put it at their workstation. Use it in real-time during team meetings when you’re trying to figure out why something isn’t working. We do this at Sales Gravy, and it’s transformed how we work together. 

The Bottom Line

Your sales team isn’t broken, but your understanding of how they work might be.

When you force talented people into roles that clash with their natural strengths, you get frustration, underperformance, and attrition. Then you blame the person and start hiring again. 

Everyone has areas of frustration. Everyone faces work they aren’t naturally good at. Working Genius doesn’t let people avoid the draining tasks—but it helps you understand why some work feels impossible, build teams that complement each other, and stop punishing your people for being human.

Stop judging that rep who struggles with CRM updates. Stop feeling guilty that you hate certain parts of your job. Start positioning people where their natural abilities can shine.

Over 1.5 million people have discovered their working genius. Most of them wish they’d found it sooner. Visit workinggenius.com and take the assessment. Use coupon code GRAVY for 20% off.