Here’s something that took me years to understand — you can be excellent at something and still be drained by it.
Competence and energy aren’t the same thing.
The Working Genius Framework
Patrick Lencioni’s Working Genius assessment helped me understand this distinction. It breaks any project into six phases (Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity) and shows which phases give you energy and which drain you.
Your top two are your Geniuses: the work you could do all day and still feel great.
Your bottom two are your Frustrations: the work that exhausts you, even if you’re good at it.
The middle two are your Competencies: you can do them, but they don’t energize you.
My Personal Discovery
My areas of Working Genius are Discernment and Wonder. I get energy from pondering potential, asking “what ifs,” and noticing relevant details others miss.
My Frustrations? Enablement and Tenacity: the nitty-gritty of gathering details and taking projects across the finish line.
For years as an entrepreneur, I had to do those final phases. And I became good at them. But I had no idea why certain days left me energized while others left me depleted.
When I finally understood, I stopped feeling lazy for not wanting to finish things. I started designing my work around my strengths instead of grinding through my frustrations.
The Permission Slip
This framework gave me permission, and language, to stop forcing myself into roles that drained me.
It also helped me build a team where everyone works in their genius more often. The result? Higher energy, better output, and a team that actually enjoys the work.
What’s draining you right now that someone else might find energizing? That question is explored deeply in Goodness over Greatness, along with tools to help you answer it.
