Episode Summary:

Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Episode 147: Discover Your Working Genius and Beat Career Burnout | Patrick Lencioni
Date: February 24, 2026
Guest: Patrick Lencioni
Host: Ilana Golan

Episode Overview

In this compelling conversation, Ilana Golan welcomes organizational health pioneer Patrick Lencioni, best-selling author and creator of the "Six Types of Working Genius," to dive deep into the real drivers of career fulfillment, team effectiveness, and beating burnout. The episode traces Patrick’s personal and professional journey, the importance of understanding one’s natural working strengths, and how aligning work with those strengths leads to genuine success—not just on paper, but in happiness and impact. Together, they explore how the Working Genius model can revolutionize individual careers, team dynamics, and even family relationships.

Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. Patrick Lencioni’s Early Life and Career Path

• Formative Experiences (02:57):

  • Growing up in a family that didn’t attend college, seeing his father's work frustration planted early questions about the purpose and satisfaction of work.
  • Took odd jobs from a young age—barber shop, busboy, bank teller without knowledge of the corporate world.

  Quote:

  "My dad should not be frustrated. He's been gone for like nine and a half hours. He should come home happy. And I remember just thinking, what is that all about? And what's this work thing? What's the deal with work?"
  —Patrick, [03:12]

• Education and Creativity (04:41):

  • Studied economics (at his father’s urging), but passion was for writing and creativity.
  • Screenwriting classes influenced his later writing of business fables.

• Corporate Entry and Lessons (06:42):

  • Hired at Bain & Company, an “impossibly hard” role for his natural talents; later recognized the misfit thanks to the Working Genius model.
  • Moved to Oracle, where creativity and pitching a self-invented job taught risk and self-advocacy.
  • Insights into mentorship and bold moves ("Make sure when you interview that they know you really want the job" —Patrick’s father).

2. Stepping into Entrepreneurship

• Critical Career Decisions (14:33):

  • Turned down a prestigious Pixar job after interviewing with Steve Jobs, recognizing HR wasn't his calling.
  • Founded The Table Group, despite parental fears, motivated by desire for meaningful day-to-day work.

  Quote:

  “Every job comes down to, are you gonna love the day-to-day?...Don’t do something so that it leads to the next thing and finally you’ll be happy. You’ll never be good at it and you’ll never get there.”
  —Patrick, [18:40]

• On Support and Risk (22:28):

  • Wife’s faith in him provided the borrowed confidence to leap.
  • Emphasizes the importance of community and partners in entrepreneurship.

  Quote:

  “Knowing that somebody else had actually more confidence in me than I had in myself was really important.”
  —Patrick, [22:56]

3. The Power of Understanding Motivation and Joy

• Comparison and Happiness (19:52):

  • Warns against benchmarking your journey to others’ (Theodore Roosevelt: “Comparison is the thief of joy”).
  • Stresses that internal satisfaction trumps external success.

• Team Building and Fulfillment (21:16):

  • Chasing only titles or “success” leads to burnout and emptiness.
  • The “Sunday blues” test: If you dread Mondays, something is misaligned.

  Quote:

  “If on Sundays you’re like, oh, tomorrow will be fine, I’m looking forward to seeing everybody I work with and doing what I get to do—that is its own reward.”
  —Patrick, [20:50]

4. The Working Genius Model: Discovery and Impact

• Origin Story (33:36):

  • Born from Patrick’s self-analysis and frustration during COVID, noticing energy fluctuations between types of work.
  • Built six distinct types of “genius” required in any project—validated by rapid, real-world team improvements.

  Quote:

  “I had a whiteboard and a pen just to solve my own problem...I came up with six circles on a whiteboard...these are the six different things required in any kind of work.”
  —Patrick, [33:44]

• Assessment as a Game Changer (35:46):

  • 2 million+ people have taken the Working Genius since launch.
  • Differentiates itself by focusing specifically on “the nitty gritty of day-to-day work” and being easy, fast, and actionable.

  Quote:

  “People were saying, oh my gosh, I’m looking at my marriage differently...I was gonna fire somebody on my team and then we did the working genius and I realized, she just doesn’t have the right genius for that job.”
  —Patrick, [34:33]

5. Explaining the Six Types of Working Genius (44:02–53:41)

Patrick breaks down each type, explaining their superpower and how all are necessary for successful work and life:

• Wonder (W): Ponders and questions, sees possibilities.
  “They ponder things, they ask questions, they’re up in their head. They can sit and literally wonder and ponder for hours.” —Patrick, [44:09]

• Invention (I): Creates original ideas/solutions.
  “That’s when you know it’s a genius—I do it because it gives me joy and energy.” —Patrick, [44:24]

• Discernment (D): Instinctively evaluates and filters ideas.
  “They have intuition and instinct, and they see patterns that evolve, and they can go, I think this is the best idea.” —Patrick, [47:04]

• Galvanizing (G): Rallies others and drives action.
  “They love to rally the troops, push things, sell things, inspire, convince.” —Patrick, [49:18]

• Enablement (E): Supports and assists team efforts.
  “They have the genius, the joy and energy out of coming alongside and saying, I’m going to enable you to accomplish this.” —Patrick, [51:10]

• Tenacity (T): Pushes to completion and closure.
  “They like to finish things. I have none of this, Ilana; neither do you.” —Patrick, [51:18]

Patrick and Ilana discuss the importance of owning strengths and letting go of guilt over “deficiencies,” and how the genius mix explains everything from team breakdowns to marital strife.

6. Real-World Application

• Team Effectiveness:

  • Visual “team maps” reveal genius gaps and strengths for effective role design and hiring.
  • Foundational for both startups and established organizations.

• Family and Relationships (54:00):

  • Model applies to marriages, parenting, and personal dynamics.
  • Endorses using the Working Genius assessment with families and students (a dedicated student edition exists).

  Quote:

  “When people in their marriage, in their family, in their teams, understand what they are and they're not, they celebrate other people's geniuses that aren't their own.”
  —Patrick, [53:41]

7. Healing Old Patterns and Scarcity Thinking

• Reflecting on Childhood and Motivation (58:04):

  • Acknowledges how formative experiences shape adult work styles and irrational “hustle.”
  • Encourages listeners to reflect and, if needed, “reprocess” wounds from childhood—not just for healing, but for moving from fear-based achievement to joy-based work.

  Quote:

  “For me, my whole life I kept thinking, if I just do more, I will finally feel like I’m enough. Most of the CEOs I work with are the same way. Sometimes they’re like, ‘Yeah, I keep waiting for when it’s going to feel like I don’t have to do anymore.’”
  —Patrick, [59:15]

  • Reframes scars as sites of personal strength after healing.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Real Career Fulfillment:
  “If you’re the vice president of marketing for a bank...and you don’t like doing it, you are not blessed. You are stuck.”
  —Patrick, [20:43]

• On Scarcity vs. Sufficiency:
  “Fear of failure is not a good reason to live.”
  —Patrick, [60:00]

• On Simplicity in Teaching & Writing:
  “If you can write a book in 30 pages, do it, call it a book. People aren’t going to be like, ‘I’ll pay $24 because it’s 300 pages.’ I actually think they’ll pay more for something that’s shorter because they can read it and hand it off.”
  —Patrick, [28:07]

• On Team Building:
  “Stop shaming yourself and feeling guilty—‘Oh, I’m not great at that’—in fact, you go, ‘Oh, I suck at that, and I can tell the world’...and it’s not a criticism.”
  —Patrick, [52:24]

• On Genius Pairings in Marriage:
  “He went from thinking, ‘She is trying to frustrate me, she doesn’t believe in me,’ to, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s filling in my gap for me.’ And it was not against me—it was so for me.”
  —Patrick, [55:11]

Important Timestamps

• 02:57–06:27: Patrick's childhood influences and early jobs.
• 08:43–14:33: Early corporate path, risky pitches, and bold career choices at Oracle.
• 14:33–19:04: Pixar story, consulting leap, rejecting the “success trap.”
• 22:28–24:01: The importance of borrowed confidence from others.
• 33:36–35:46: Birth of the Working Genius model.
• 44:02–53:41: Detailed explanation of the six Working Genius types.
• 54:00–57:18: Applying Working Genius in relationships and families; assessment info.
• 58:04–61:45: Healing childhood scars, reframing achievement, building real fulfillment.

How to Access the Working Genius Assessment

• Website: workinggenius.com
  • Includes professional and student versions, 12-min completion, and team mapping.

Actionable Takeaways

• For Individuals

  • Assess your own Working Geniuses and structure your career around your true strengths.
  • Work with others whose strengths fill your gaps—avoid guilt or shame about your frustrations.
  • Regularly reflect on childhood patterns that may influence your drive in the workplace.

• For Teams & Leaders

  • Use the Working Genius as a shared language for building effective, joyful teams.
  • Assign roles and tasks based on natural strengths to reduce tension and increase results.
  • Celebrate all types of genius equally—everyone has a vital contribution.

• For Families and Students

  • Apply the Working Genius model to understand and support each family member’s way of working.
  • Give young people insight early to avoid misaligned career paths and boost self-confidence.
  • The student edition adapts workplace scenarios to classroom/group project contexts.

Final Thoughts

This episode is a frank, energizing road map to authentic, sustainable career happiness—straight from one of the world’s most respected organizational thinkers. Whether you’re a leader, aspiring entrepreneur, or simply seeking more joy at work, Lencioni and Golan lay out the blueprint for playing to your strengths, supporting others, and leaping with confidence.

For more resources, visit: workinggenius.com
Connect with Ilana Golan’s Leap Academy for further training and live events.