Episode 14: Innovation through the lens of the six working geniuses
Published on 7 January 2025 • Hosted by Dr Lisa Colledge
Innovation through the lens of the six working geniuses
Innovation doesn’t happen by accident — it’s powered by diverse cognitive strengths and behaviors across all stages of the innovation cycle. In this episode of Culture by Neurodesign, I further explore Patrick Lencioni’s six working geniuses which I connected to the innovation cycle in Episode 13.
Each working genius represents innate strengths that align naturally with different parts of the innovation process. I this episode, I look at how these six geniuses contribute to innovation.
➡️ If this episode resonates a situations you recognise in your own team, I’m happy to explore that with you.
In a short, no-obligation conversation, we can:
Unpack what’s happening in your team or organization.
Look at the signals and symptoms you’re noticing, and the underlying root causes.
Explore how a neuro-inspired approach could boost your resilience and innovation in these times of change.
Natural exploring working geniuses
These strengths help teams step into the unknown.
Wonder: exploring possibilities
People with the genius of wonder excel at challenging the status quo and asking “What if?” They are natural questioners, pushing beyond accepted norms to spark ideas that lead to innovation.
Trait highlight: curiosity.
Invention: generating original ideas
Inventors thrive on making new connections between what we think we know, and breaking conventional thinking. They don’t just imagine possibilities—they create entirely new concepts from them.
Trait highlight: creativity.
Natural exploiting working geniuses
These strengths help teams evaluate, implement, and deliver value.
Discernment: evaluating ideas
Discerners have a gift for identifying the ideas that are worth pursuing. They use intuition, logic, and experience to make decisions that guide teams toward viable solutions.
Trait highlight: analytical judgment.
Galvanizing: mobilizing action
Galvanizers inspire others to act by creating shared goals and rallying the team around a clear vision. They are the driving force that turns ideas into action.
Trait highlight: leadership energy.
Enablement: supporting execution
Enablers ensure that everyone has the resources and support they need to bring ideas to life. They are team-oriented and collaborative, keeping projects moving forward.
Trait highlight: team collaboration.
Tenacity: seeing projects through
Tenacious individuals have the discipline and focus to ensure that ideas are completed and deliver tangible value. They are the finishers who refuse to give up.
Trait highlight: determination.
Why it matters for your innovation cycle
To ensure that a thriving innovation cycle runs automatically and continuously, organizations need a balance of all six geniuses. Each stage — exploring, evaluating, and executing — relies on the unique contributions of people with these innate cognitive strengths. Missing any of these cognitive styles creates gaps that disrupt your innovation process.
But having the right mix isn’t enough. Without a cognitively inclusive culture, these diverse strengths struggle to work effectively together. Leaders need to create cultures that activate their cognitive diversity, where differences are celebrated, collaboration is enabled, and every genius type is enabled to thrive.
Cognitive diversity enables innovation. A cognitively inclusive culture makes it a reality.
➡️ Want to learn more?
I refer in the podcast to research showing that only cognitive diversity makes any difference in a team’s ability to solve problems.
You can read more about that here: Need to adapt? Secrets of the best team problem solving.
