"Can I do that for you?" or "I can make that happen!" These are phrases someone with an E as a Working Genius type frequently say and words I LOVE to hear!

The fifth type of Working Genius is Enablement. The Table Group folks like to mention that this is the good kind of enabling, not the bad kind. The word "enable" may have a bad reputation, but the concept is beautiful!

Enabling takes that project we have dreamed about, thought through, discerned to be ready to go, and rallied around on to the invaluable step of actually doing something! Enabling is the ultimate action step. It launches the concept into reality!

If your Working Genius letters don't include an E, you may struggle with "boots on the ground" forward movement or repeated tasks. This may mean you make lists but don't get to them, or you have competing priorities, and the actual doing part gets pushed down. 

Enablement is a frustration for me. (I have a strong T genius, but that is different, more...

Discernment is noteworthy for several reasons.

1. It's the third letter/step in the Working Genius process. (Wonder and Invention are the first two.)
2. Discernment may be the most neglected part of the process while at the same time the most important.
3. Discernment is likely the most difficult genius to describe and also to trust.

Let me explain.

The official Working Genius definition of Discernment is "The natural gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations."

It's a gut thing. And personally, that is hard for me. I'm a facts person. I value logic and reason, so when someone with the genius of discernment just isn't "feeling it", I have a hard time accepting that. 

And yet - I have paid many a steep price for skipping this step. 

I'd like to think I have this genius, but the truth is I just want to move things along. I tend to go straight from invention to implementation and skip D and G altogether. (More on G next time.)

Once I start...

Next in the Working Genius series lineup is Invention. 

First, we had Wonder - in a nutshell - that is where the ideas start. Then we move to stage 2 of our 6-letter series. 

Patrick Lencioni defines the Genius of Invention as "The natural gift of creating original and novel ideas and solutions." Remember a genius is something you just love to do - you were born for it. You enjoy it so much that you lose track of time when you get to do it. 

Invention is like that for me!

I LOVE to ideate, especially when it has something to do with organizing and projecting. Structure development is way fun for me. I'm happy to build multiple scenario possibilities so the best ideas can be chosen.

I know it's a little geeky, maybe even more than a little, but understanding this genius has changed my work life in a few significant ways.

1) I volunteer to organize stuff now. I used to think everyone loved structure and I was "stealing" the fun jobs if I worked on...

Wonder is the first in the lineup for Working Genius. 

Wonder is the start of .... well....everything. Nothing new starts without this essential first step.

People with the Working Genius of Wonder have a natural tendency to think of new versions of what is or completely new ideas of what could be. In short, they have a propensity to see what might be out there. 

I like to think of wonder thoughts as seeds. Planters often have a lot more seeds than actually take root, but without seeds, there can be no plants.

If you have a client who has this genius they will easily dream about possibilities and depending on their second genius they may, or may not, need direction in choosing which dreams to pursue.

Clients who have Wonder as a frustration (one of their two lowest-scoring geniuses) will likely have difficulty, or be frustrated coming up with dreams or potential long-term goals. I see this all the time with faithful people who are truly put out by thoughts for their...

I've been following Patrick Lencioni for years so when he came out with the Working Genius assessment in 2020 and said it was his "magnum opus", I paid attention. (If you don't know of him he literally wrote the book - actually a series of books - on business leadership and teamwork. His books have changed my life and the lives of many!

His newest work, Working Genius, is an assessment tool that helps people identify their God-given design. As people learn what makes them tick they can find their best placement on any team. A wise leader has people placed where they fit best and do what they love. 

Working Genius actually breaks down the process of any project into 6 categories. Lencioni says, "Every job is a 6 letter job." And then the premise of Working Genius is that each person has two letters that are their "genius", defined as something they love to do and do easily and without effort. Then there are two letters that are competences, you can do them,...

Rehashing is actually a thing. The definition of rehash is "to discuss again without significant change".

We do it all the time. We talk about how something is really hard and we can't really do anything about it. We justify being stuck and excuse ourselves from finding a way to move forward.

It feels legit when we do it, but it can feel annoying when someone else does it. 

You know. you have this friend, client, co-worker, or family member, and they just keep circling around the same topic. The conversation is almost verbatim. You ask how things are going, and they tell you the same thing they said last time.

"What's new?", you say.

"Not much," they reply. And they tell you about their situation again...

If I'm honest though, I do the same thing! I get in a rut in my thinking and feel like I have explored all the angles and there is just no way out. 

It's sad really. There is no hope when our perspective is like that. 

It feels like the situation is truly...

We've been talking about coaching and the biblical model for growth. 

We started with how God wants to interact with people directly. 

Next we talked about adult learning, "Aha" moments and discipleship.

And finally, today, we will focus on how God made each of us differently. 

We are really big on this at Bridges, we even have an entire course on discovering your Destiny by Design!

1 Corinthians 12 is one place we see God sharing about our individual design.

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit.  ⁵ There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve.  ⁶ And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. 

There are many more places in the Bible that talk about our individuality. Some of us are more evangelistic and some are more inclined to teach or to serve. Later in 1 Corinthians 12 people are compared...

Firsts are important. First impressions set the tone for how relationships are going to role. First interactions set a foundation for protocol.

Let's take a quick look at God's first corrective teaching interaction with man. When Adam and Ever first messed up in the garden and ate the forbidden fruit, God could have given them a lecture about listening. He could have sat them down and taught them about follow-through. 

Instead, God offered them an "Aha" moment. An "Aha" moment is an example of adult learning - where people come to an understanding of something on their own rather than being told by someone else. I believe God asked Adam a question to help him come to a personal realization. God asked, "Where are you?" Adam answered that he was hiding because he was afraid. 

God didn't ask because he didn't know where Adam was or what he had done. He asked for Adam's sake.

Adam could then move forward and deal with where he was at. 

When Job went through all the...

A pastor friend of mine recently told me that a mentor of his mentioned that he wasn't even sure coaching was biblical. I actually understand that question. 

Many people, pastors even, don't really know what coaching is.

And if I'm completely honest, I really wish there was a different word than coaching for that very reason. It gets confusing. Many people think coaching is telling others what to do in a kind, but direct, way. Coaching, as we align with at Bridges, is quite different.

(If you aren't sure how to define coaching please click here and maybe even here before reading on...)

Coaches help people learn to discern what God is prompting them to think and do. It's much easier to weigh in and tell people what you think they should do. Maybe you have been through a similar situation and you feel you should just spare them the difficulty and give them your solution. 

But what if...

What if God has a different plan for their journey? 

Of course, there...

Ever wish you could have a do-over? Maybe it was something you said or did, or maybe something you didn't say or didn't do. Whatever it was, you wish it didn't happen the way it did?

We're all human so it happens sometimes...

Some people choose never to look back. "No regrets," they say, but perhaps this isn't the best approach. If we can't learn from what has happened how can we ever show up the way we really want to be?

I propose the Rethink and Prethink method.

It goes like this. 

1- You have a nagging thought that you wish something had gone differently. You choose not to stuff it, but to ask God to help you see what He has for you in it.

2- You choose to explore what happened. You lean into processing what caused you to say or do whatever you have concerns about. You explore your emotions and how you were triggered. You'll probably need to work through some hurt and likely forgiveness will be involved - receiving and giving. (for more on this step check out 4...