25 Ways to Implement Working Genius With a Resistant Team

Your leadership team sits with arms folded while you explain the next assessment.

You can feel the resistance before you finish the first slide. They have done Myers-Briggs. They have done DiSC. They have done StrengthsFinder. They are tired of frameworks that promise transformation and deliver a laminated card they never look at again. Working Genius is different, but your team does not know that yet. They only know they are about to spend another hour on something that feels like it was designed for someone else's team.

Resistance is not the problem. Resistance is information.

When a team pushes back on Working Genius, they are not rejecting the model. They are protecting themselves from one more initiative that will not change anything. The question is not how to overcome resistance. The question is how to implement Working Genius in a way that honours the resistance, earns trust slowly, and produces change your team can feel in the next 90 days. This is how you do it.

BEFORE YOU INTRODUCE THE MODEL

The biggest mistakes happen before your team even knows what Working Genius is. Leaders rush the setup because they are excited about the framework. The team interprets the rush as one more thing being done to them instead of with them. These moves create the conditions for genuine engagement before you ever mention the six types.

1. Name why the last framework failed

Your team remembers the last assessment you brought in. They remember how it felt useful for a week and then disappeared. If you do not acknowledge that memory, it sits in the room as unspoken scepticism. Start by naming it directly.

What this sounds like in practice: "We have done assessments before and most of them have not stuck. I know that. This one works differently because it focuses on the work itself, not personality types. But I also know you have heard that before. So here is what I am asking. Give this two months. If it has not changed how we work by then, we drop it."

The honesty does two things. It validates their experience instead of pretending the past does not exist. It also sets a clear accountability point for you as the leader. Your team is not resistant because they are difficult. They are resistant because they have been let down before.

Key move: Acknowledge past failures out loud before introducing the Working Genius model. Do not defend them. Do not explain them. Just name them and move forward.

2. Start with the problem, not the solution

Most leaders introduce Working Genius by explaining the six types. The team hears taxonomy and stops listening. A better entry point is the problem the team already knows they have. Name the frustration first. Introduce the framework second.

• If meetings drag without decisions, name that as the problem.

• If projects stall in the middle, name that as the problem.

• If the same people are always overloaded while others coast, name that as the problem.

Once the problem is named and the team agrees it exists, Working Genius becomes the tool that explains why the problem keeps happening. The framework is not the point. The problem is the point. The framework is just the map.

Transition language that works: "We keep starting projects with energy and then they die halfway through. I think I know why. It is not about effort. It is about how work gets divided. Working Genius gives us language for what is actually happening."

3. Let them see the model work on you first

Your team will not trust a framework you have not tested on yourself. Before you ask them to take the assessment, take it yourself. Share your results. Name where your geniuses show up in how you lead. Name where your frustrations come from. Let them see you using the model to explain your own behaviour before you ask them to explain theirs.

What to share:

• Your two geniuses and where they show up in your leadership.

• Your two frustrations and how they explain the work you avoid or delegate poorly.

• One specific decision you made differently after understanding your Working Genius.

This is not vulnerability performance. This is credibility building. Your team needs to see that you believe the framework enough to let it name something true about you. If you skip this step, the rollout feels like something you are doing to them while exempting yourself.

Watch for this: If you cannot name a real example of how Working Genius has changed your own behaviour, you are not ready to introduce it to your team yet. Go deeper with the model yourself first.

4. Frame it as temporary, then extend it

Commitment is expensive when trust is low. Do not ask your resistant team to commit to Working Genius forever. Ask them to try it for 60 or 90 days. Frame the initial rollout as an experiment with a built-in exit point. This lowers the psychological cost of saying yes.

At the end of the trial period, evaluate together. If the team sees value, extend it. If they do not, you honour the agreement and move on. Most teams who agree to try it for 90 days end up keeping it, but they need the safety of knowing the door is not locked.

Language that reduces resistance: "We are going to trial this for the next two months. At the end, we will evaluate whether it is actually helping. If it is not, we stop. No guilt. No forced continuation. Just an honest assessment."

The psychological shift this creates: Your team stops defending against permanent change and starts evaluating a short-term experiment. That is a much easier decision to make.

5. Identify your silent influencers and brief them early

Every team has one or two people whose opinion shapes everyone else's. They are not always the loudest. They are the ones others look to when deciding whether something is worth their energy. If you lose those people, you lose the room.

Identify who those people are on your team. Before you introduce Working Genius to the full group, brief them privately. Explain why you are bringing it in. Ask for their honest reaction. Listen to their concerns without defending. If they see you taking their input seriously, they are far more likely to give the framework a fair chance when you introduce it to everyone else.

What this conversation includes:

• Why you are introducing Working Genius now.

• What problem you are trying to solve.

• What you are asking them to do, and what you are not asking them to do.

• A genuine question: what would make this feel useful instead of like one more thing?

Critical move: Do not try to convert them in this conversation. Your job is to listen and let them know their perspective matters. Influence happens after they feel heard, not before.

DURING THE INTRODUCTION

How you introduce Working Genius determines whether your team engages or endures. The language you use, the time you allocate, and the examples you choose all signal whether this is another corporate exercise or something that will actually help them do their jobs better. These strategies turn introduction into engagement.

6. Do not call it a personality test

Working Genius is not a personality assessment. It is a productivity model. The distinction matters because your team is tired of being told who they are. They are not tired of understanding why some work energises them and other work drains them. Frame it as the second thing, not the first.

Framing that works: "This is not about your personality. It is about the type of work that gives you energy versus the type that costs you energy. We are not trying to label you. We are trying to stop assigning work in ways that burn people out."

Framing that backfires: "This will help you understand yourself better." Your team does not need another lens on their identity. They need a tool that makes their workday less exhausting.

Watch the language you use in every conversation: Work, energy, tasks, projects, contribution. Not traits, tendencies, personality, or type. The vocabulary shift changes how your team receives the framework.

7. Show them the six types in under five minutes

Do not explain the model in depth before they take the assessment. Give them just enough to understand what they are about to discover. If you spend 30 minutes teaching the framework before they have their results, they stop listening. Save the depth for after they know their own geniuses.

The five-minute introduction covers:

• There are six types of work: Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanising, Enablement, Tenacity.

• Everyone has two that give them energy, two that are competent but draining, and two that frustrate them.

• This explains why some meetings energise you and others make you want to quit.

• You are about to take a 10-minute assessment that will show you your mix.

Stop there. Let them take the assessment. The depth comes after they have results in their hands and a reason to care.

Pacing rule: Teach concepts after they have context. Context comes from seeing their own results first.

8. Let them take the assessment privately, then discuss publicly

Some leaders have the whole team take the Working Genius assessment together in a meeting. This backfires with resistant teams because it feels performative. Give your team time to take the assessment on their own, process their results privately, and come to the group discussion with their own reactions already formed.

The sequence that works:

• Introduce the framework briefly in a team meeting.

• Send the assessment link and give them three days to complete it on their own time.

• Reconvene as a team to discuss results and implications.

The private processing time gives your sceptics space to decide the framework is useful without social pressure. When they come back to the group discussion, they are reacting to their own experience, not performing for the room.

What to say when you send the link: "Take this on your own. It is 10 minutes. Read your results. See if they ring true. We will talk about it as a team on Thursday, but take the time to process it privately first." For facilitators navigating this step with a sceptical group, Working Genius certification covers how to read the room and adjust in real time.

9. Normalize disagreement with the results

Some people will take the assessment and feel like it nailed them. Others will take it and think the results are partially wrong. If you only celebrate the first group, the second group disengages. Instead, normalize disagreement as part of the process.

What this sounds like: "Some of you will read your results and think they are spot on. Some of you will read them and think they are only 70 percent accurate. Both reactions are fine. The goal is not perfection. The goal is useful. If this helps you understand even one pattern in your work, it is worth it."

The permission to disagree keeps the door open for sceptics. They do not have to love their results to engage with the framework. They just have to find one thing that rings true.

Follow-up question that deepens engagement: "Where do your results match your experience? Where do they not? Let us talk about both."

10. Use their language, not the model's language

When your team discusses their results, they will describe their geniuses in their own words. A Galvanising genius might say "I like getting people excited about an idea." A Tenacity genius might say "I like finishing things." Do not immediately correct them with the official terminology. Let them use their language first. The model's language can come later once they feel ownership.

What this looks like: Your team member says "I hate meetings where we just brainstorm and nothing gets decided." You respond: "That sounds like you might be low in Wonder and Invention and high in Discernment. You want to move to the decision." You are translating their experience into the framework, not forcing the framework onto their experience.

The distinction is small but it matters. One approach makes the team feel like the framework fits them. The other makes them feel like they have to fit the framework.

WHEN RESISTANCE SHOWS UP DIRECTLY

Even with a strong introduction, some team members will resist. They will sit with arms folded. They will make sarcastic comments. They will comply without engaging. These moves help you navigate direct resistance without escalating it or pretending it does not exist.

11. Ask what they are protecting

Resistance is almost always protection. Your team member is not resisting Working Genius because they are difficult. They are resisting because something about the rollout feels threatening. Instead of trying to overcome the resistance, ask what they are protecting.

The question that opens the conversation: "I notice you are hesitant about this. That is fine. Can I ask what you are concerned about?"

Common answers and what they actually mean:

• "We have done this before and it did not help." Translation: I do not trust that this will be different.

• "I do not want to be put in a box." Translation: I am worried this will limit how you see me.

• "I do not have time for this." Translation: This feels like one more thing on top of an already unsustainable workload.

• "I do not see how this applies to my role." Translation: I do not understand the benefit yet.

Once you know what they are protecting, you can address the actual concern instead of arguing with the surface resistance. The Working Genius FAQ addresses many of these objections in detail.

12. Let them opt out of sharing their results

Some team members will take the assessment and decide they do not want to share their results with the group. Let them opt out. The goal is not universal participation. The goal is useful change. If someone engages privately with the framework but not publicly, that is still engagement.

What you say to the person who wants to opt out: "You do not have to share your results if you do not want to. The framework is a tool for you first, not a performance for the team. If you find it useful privately, that is enough."

This creates psychological safety for the resisters. They do not have to perform vulnerability to participate. They can engage at the level that feels safe to them. Many people who opt out early end up sharing later once they see the team is not using the framework as a weapon.

Boundary to hold: Opting out of sharing is fine. Opting out of engaging is not. Everyone still has to understand the model well enough to work with teammates who are using it.

13. Do not force consensus on someone's results

Sometimes a team member shares their results and someone else disagrees. "You are not a Wonder genius. You never come up with ideas." If you let that comment sit unchallenged, you have just turned Working Genius into a team sport where people argue about each other's identity. Shut it down immediately.

The intervention that resets the boundary: "We do not debate someone else's results. If Sarah says her results feel accurate, we trust that. The assessment measures what gives her energy, not what you see from the outside. Those are two different things."

This protects psychological safety and keeps the framework from becoming a labeling exercise. People are far more likely to engage when they know their self-assessment will not be overridden by group opinion.

Why this matters: Resistant teams are looking for reasons to dismiss the framework. If you let the team turn it into a judgment tool, you hand them that reason.

14. Separate the framework from your leadership

Some team members will resist Working Genius because they are actually resisting you. Maybe they do not trust your judgment. Maybe they are frustrated about something unrelated. Maybe they see this as one more example of you bringing in a solution without asking for input first. If that is the dynamic, no amount of framework explanation will reduce the resistance.

The move that helps: Separate the framework from yourself. Position Working Genius as something the team is testing together, not something you are requiring them to adopt. The less it feels like your initiative, the less their resistance to you blocks their engagement with the model. If leadership buy-in is also a challenge, see getting leadership buy-in for Working Genius for specific tactics.

Language that creates separation: "A few people on the team mentioned they wanted a better way to divide up project work. I found this model and it seems like it might help. Let us test it and see. If it does not work, we try something else."

What this does: It shifts Working Genius from "the leader's new thing" to "a tool the team is evaluating together." The frame lowers resistance because it lowers the power dynamic.

15. Give them a small win in the first two weeks

Resistant teams need proof, not promises. The fastest way to reduce resistance is to let them experience one tangible improvement within the first two weeks of introducing Working Genius. Do not wait for the full transformation. Give them one small thing that changes immediately.

Examples of small wins:

• Reassign one recurring task to someone whose genius aligns with it.

• Change how you structure one meeting to include all six types of work.

• Stop inviting someone to a brainstorming meeting they hate and watch their relief.

• Name out loud why a project stalled and use Working Genius to explain it.

The key move: Point out the win explicitly. Do not assume your team will connect the dots on their own. Say out loud: "We moved the project kickoff responsibility to Michael because he is a Galvanising genius. Did you notice how much faster that meeting moved? That is Working Genius in action."

Small wins create belief. Belief reduces resistance. Resistance is not overcome through argument. It is overcome through evidence.

APPLYING THE FRAMEWORK TO REAL WORK

Working Genius only works if it changes how work gets done. Resistant teams stay resistant when the framework lives in a workshop and dies in the day-to-day. These strategies embed Working Genius into the actual rhythm of your team's work so it becomes a tool they use, not a language they tolerate.

16. Map one project to the six types

Take one current project your team is working on. Walk through the six types of work the project requires. Identify who on your team has the genius for each phase. Make the assignments visible. This turns abstract taxonomy into concrete workflow.

The six types mapped to project phases:

• Wonder: Who asks the questions that define what problem we are really solving?

• Invention: Who comes up with the ideas and solutions?

• Discernment: Who evaluates which ideas will actually work?

• Galvanising: Who gets the team excited and aligned on the plan?

• Enablement: Who makes sure people have what they need to do their part?

• Tenacity: Who drives the project across the finish line?

What happens when you map it: Your team sees gaps. They see why projects stall. They see why certain people are always overloaded. They see why some phases feel easy and others feel like pulling teeth. The map explains the pain they already feel.

The follow-up action: Reassign one phase of the project based on what you see. Let your team experience the difference between working in their genius and working outside it.

17. Add a genius check to your project kickoffs

Every time you start a new project, spend five minutes identifying which types of work the project will require and who on the team has the genius for each phase. This prevents the default pattern where the same people get assigned to everything and then burn out halfway through.

The agenda addition that works:

• What are we trying to do? (Wonder)

• Who is going to come up with the solution? (Invention)

• Who is going to evaluate whether the solution is any good? (Discernment)

• Who is going to get everyone on board? (Galvanising)

• Who is going to remove obstacles and support the team? (Enablement)

• Who is going to finish it? (Tenacity)

What this prevents: The project that starts with energy, stalls in the middle, and dies three weeks before the deadline because no one with Tenacity was assigned to it.

Cultural shift this creates: Your team starts thinking about work in terms of energy and fit, not just availability and seniority. The person who has time is not always the person who should do the work.

18. Name the missing genius when projects stall

When a project stalls, do not just push harder. Ask which genius is missing. Most stalls happen because one of the six types of work is not being done, and the team is trying to compensate by doing more of the types that are present. Naming the missing genius gives you a specific fix instead of a vague frustration.

Common stall patterns and the missing genius:

• The project feels aimless: Missing Wonder. No one asked the right questions at the start.

• The project has no good options: Missing Invention. No one generated creative solutions.

• The project is full of bad ideas: Missing Discernment. No one evaluated what would actually work.

• The project has a plan but no momentum: Missing Galvanising. No one got the team excited and aligned.

• The project keeps hitting obstacles: Missing Enablement. No one is clearing the path.

• The project is 90 percent done forever: Missing Tenacity. No one is finishing it.

The diagnostic question to ask: "Which type of work are we not doing right now?" Once you name it, assign someone with that genius to fill the gap.

19. Stop inviting people to meetings outside their genius

Your team is sitting in too many meetings that drain them. One of the fastest applications of Working Genius is to stop inviting people to meetings that do not match their geniuses. A Tenacity genius does not need to sit through a two-hour Wonder brainstorm. An Invention genius does not need to be in the Tenacity execution meeting.

Meeting audit process:

• List your recurring meetings.

• Identify which type of work each meeting is doing.

• Check who is invited against who has that genius.

• Remove people whose genius does not match the meeting.

What this requires: Letting go of the belief that everyone needs to be in every meeting to stay informed. Information can be shared asynchronously. Presence should be reserved for contribution.

Resistance you will face: People who worry that not being in the meeting means they are being excluded. Address it directly: "You are not being excluded. You are being protected from work that drains you. If you want to stay in the meeting, you can. But you do not have to."

20. Assign communication by genius, not by role

Some leaders are great at Galvanising but terrible at Discernment. If you ask them to communicate a difficult decision, they will rally the team but skip the reasoning. Other leaders are great at Discernment but low in Galvanising. If you ask them to announce a new initiative, they will explain it clearly but no one will feel excited. Match the communication task to the genius, not to the org chart.

Communication tasks and the genius that fits:

• Announcing a new direction: Galvanising genius. They make people want to move.

• Explaining a complex decision: Discernment genius. They make people understand the reasoning.

• Asking hard questions in a town hall: Wonder genius. They surface what everyone is thinking.

• Describing what success looks like: Invention genius. They paint the picture.

• Removing confusion about next steps: Enablement genius. They clarify the path.

• Sharing a win after a long project: Tenacity genius. They honor the finish.

What this changes: Your team hears from the person whose genius matches the message. The communication lands because the messenger is energized by the type of work the message requires.

WHEN THE FRAMEWORK IS NOT STICKING

Even with strong implementation, some teams struggle to integrate Working Genius into their daily rhythm. The model makes sense in theory but does not change how work actually gets done. These strategies help you diagnose why the framework is not sticking and what to do about it.

21. Check whether you are using it as a label or a tool

The fastest way to kill Working Genius is to turn it into a labeling system. "Of course that is what she said, she is a Discernment genius." "We cannot ask him to do that, he is low in Wonder." When the framework becomes an excuse instead of a diagnostic, it stops being useful.

The difference:

• Label: "He is a Tenacity genius so he should finish this project."

• Tool: "This project needs someone with Tenacity to finish it. Who on the team has that genius and also has capacity right now?"

Watch for this language: Any sentence that starts with "You are a [genius] so you should..." is a red flag. The framework describes energy patterns, not job assignments. Someone's genius tells you what energizes them, not what they are required to do. For a full breakdown of how the framework gets misused, see common Working Genius myths.

The reset move: If your team starts using Working Genius as a label, stop and reframe it. "Working Genius is not about limiting what people can do. It is about understanding what drains them so we can divide work more sustainably."

22. Audit whether you are overloading your Enablement geniuses

Enablement geniuses are the people who make sure everyone else has what they need to succeed. They are also the people most likely to burn out because they are too helpful. If Working Genius is not sticking, check whether you have quietly turned your Enablement geniuses into the team servants while everyone else protects their boundaries.

Warning signs:

• The same person is always volunteering to take notes, book the room, send the follow-up email.

• Your Enablement genius is the one who stays late to help others finish their work.

• Projects succeed when this person is involved and collapse when they are not.

The intervention: Protect your Enablement geniuses from themselves. Assign support work to people outside their genius on a rotating basis. Let the Enablement genius focus on high-value enabling, not low-value admin that anyone could do.

What you say to the overloaded Enablement genius: "You are great at enabling, but you are being asked to do too much of it. We are going to redistribute some of this work so you can focus on the enabling that only you can do."

23. Make sure your Tenacity geniuses are finishing, not doing everything

Tenacity geniuses love to finish things. They are also the people most likely to get stuck doing all the execution work while everyone else brainstorms and moves on to the next idea. If your Tenacity geniuses are burning out, you have confused finishing with doing all the work in between.

The distinction:

• Tenacity work: Driving the project to completion. Checking in on progress. Removing final obstacles. Pushing through the last 10 percent.

• Not Tenacity work: Doing every task between the kickoff and the finish line just because no one else wants to.

What happens when you confuse them: Your Tenacity genius becomes the person who does all the hard work while the Wonder and Invention geniuses move on to the next exciting idea. Resentment builds. Engagement drops.

The fix: Assign the middle work to people whose genius matches it. Let your Tenacity genius own the finish, not the entire journey.

24. Ask your Discernment geniuses if they feel heard

Discernment geniuses see what will not work. They are the people who say "That idea sounds great but here is the flaw we are not talking about." If your team is not listening to them, they disengage. If they disengage, your projects move forward with preventable problems baked in.

Check for this dynamic: Your Discernment genius raises a concern in a meeting. The team acknowledges it politely and then moves on without addressing it. Three weeks later, the concern becomes a crisis. The Discernment genius stops speaking up because they have learned their input does not change anything.

The cultural fix: When a Discernment genius raises a concern, pause the conversation. Ask: "What would addressing that concern require?" Do not move forward until you have either addressed it or made a conscious decision to accept the risk.

What you say to your Discernment geniuses: "Your job is to tell us what will not work. Our job is to listen. If we are not doing that, tell me. This only works if you keep speaking up."

25. Revisit the framework every 90 days

Working Genius is not a one-time workshop. It is a language your team uses to make better decisions about work. If you introduce it once and never come back to it, the language fades and the old patterns return. Build a 90-day review into your rhythm.

What the 90-day review includes:

• What has changed since we started using Working Genius?

• Where is the framework helping? Where is it not?

• Are we assigning work in ways that match people's geniuses?

• Who is still working outside their genius too often, and why?

• What do we need to adjust in the next 90 days?

The key shift this creates: Working Genius becomes something your team refines together, not something you require them to follow. Ownership increases. Resistance decreases. For a comprehensive approach to keeping the framework alive long-term, see building a Working Genius culture.

The long game: A resistant team does not transform in a workshop. They transform over months of seeing the framework explain their experience and improve their work. The 90-day review keeps the framework alive long enough for transformation to happen.

FINAL INTEGRATION MOVES

Once your team has moved past initial resistance and started using Working Genius in real work, these final strategies lock the framework into your team's operating rhythm. They ensure Working Genius becomes how your team works, not just how they talk about work.

26. Build genius into your hiring process

If you are hiring and you do not assess Working Genius during the interview process, you will keep hiring the same gaps. Add a genius conversation to your final interview round. Ask candidates to describe the type of work that energises them versus the type that drains them. Listen for patterns that match the six types.

What you are listening for:

• Does this person light up when describing ideation or execution?

• Do they talk about loving the start of projects or the finish?

• Do they describe frustration with ambiguity or frustration with repetition?

Once you make the hire, have them take the Working Genius assessment in their first week. Use their results to shape their onboarding and their first 90 days. A new hire who starts in their genius builds momentum. A new hire who starts outside their genius questions whether they made the right choice.

The onboarding shift: Stop giving new hires a generic first-month plan. Tailor their early projects to their geniuses. Let them build confidence in work that energises them before you ask them to stretch into work that drains them.

27. Add genius to your one-on-one structure

Your one-on-ones are where real coaching happens. Add a standing agenda item: where are you working in your genius right now, and where are you working outside it? This keeps the conversation focused on energy and sustainability, not just output and deadlines.

Questions that surface the real issues:

• What work energised you this week?

• What work drained you?

• Are you spending too much time outside your genius?

• What would need to change for you to spend more time in your genius?

What this prevents: The slow burnout that happens when someone is performing well but dying inside because they are working outside their genius every day. Output is not the same as sustainability. Working Genius helps you see the difference.

When someone is struggling: Before you assume it is a performance issue, check whether they are working outside their genius. Underperformance often signals misalignment, not incapability.

28. Use genius to explain team conflict

Most team conflict is not personal. It is a clash of geniuses. The Wonder genius thinks the Tenacity genius is impatient. The Tenacity genius thinks the Wonder genius never finishes anything. Neither is wrong. They are just energised by different types of work. Working Genius gives you neutral language to explain the conflict without making it about personality.

The reframe that reduces tension: "This is not a personality clash. This is a genius clash. You are energised by asking questions and exploring possibilities. She is energised by making decisions and finishing projects. Both are necessary. Neither is wrong. But you are going to frustrate each other if you do not understand what is happening."

What this does: It takes the judgment out of the conflict. The issue is not that one person is difficult. The issue is that two people with different geniuses are trying to work together without a shared language for their differences.

The follow-up action: Restructure how they collaborate so each person spends more time in their genius and less time compensating for the other person's frustration. Let the Wonder genius lead the exploratory phase. Let the Tenacity genius lead the execution phase. Stop forcing them to do both together.

29. Teach your team to request genius-aligned work

Your team should not have to wait for you to notice when they are working outside their genius. Teach them to request genius-aligned work proactively. This shifts the responsibility for energy management from you as the leader to the team as a whole.

What this sounds like:

• "I am low in Invention. Can someone else lead the brainstorming session?"

• "I am high in Discernment. Can I review the plan before we finalise it?"

• "I am a Tenacity genius. Can I own the finish line on this project?"

The cultural shift this requires: Your team has to believe that requesting genius-aligned work is a sign of self-awareness, not laziness. If they think asking for a different assignment makes them look weak, they will never do it.

How you reinforce it: When someone makes a genius-based request, honor it publicly. "Great self-awareness. Yes, let's reassign that." The more you reward the behavior, the more your team will do it.

30. Share your own genius struggles publicly

Your team is watching how you handle your own frustrations. If you only talk about your geniuses, they will think the framework is about celebrating strengths. If you also talk about the work you hate and how you are trying to delegate it, they will understand the framework is about sustainability.

What to share in team meetings:

• The type of work you are trying to spend less time doing because it drains you.

• The type of work you are trying to protect because it energises you.

• The moments when you catch yourself doing work outside your genius and have to reset.

Why this matters: It models honest use of the framework. Your team learns that Working Genius is not about pretending you love all your work. It is about making conscious choices about where you spend your energy.

The vulnerability rule: Share the struggle, not the fix. If you only share how you successfully delegated your frustration work, your team hears performance. If you share that you are still figuring it out, they hear permission to be imperfect too.

Your resistant team is not rejecting the framework. They are protecting themselves from one more thing that will not stick. The path forward is not to push harder. The path forward is to prove the framework works by letting them see it change how work gets divided, how projects get finished, and how their own energy gets protected. Start with one small move. Let them feel the difference. Then build from there.

Resistance is temporary when results are real. Your job is to create the conditions where real results can happen fast enough that scepticism turns into curiosity. Working Genius becomes the language your team uses when it explains their experience better than any language they had before. You do not force that. You demonstrate it. And then you let your team decide for themselves.

Ready to implement Working Genius with your team? Reach out at jonno@consultclarity.org or visit consultclarity.org to learn more about Working Genius facilitation, executive offsites, and keynote speaking.