Just get it done ...

Many many years ago I had a boss tell me to arrange a series of meetings for him in a foreign city. No guidance on who to call or specifically what to talk to them about. He was clear on the "where" and the "when", but we were really woolly on the "what" and absolutely misaligned on "why". My attempts at clarification got me an earful of what I would now consider to be workplace abuse. Oh, and I was to task and work alongside someone on the other side of the planet, someone with no experience of that city, our business or even our industry! It was beyond frustrating, unbelievably stressful, and I was being set up for failure. I took early maternity leave to avoid it all!

I've mulled on this occasionally over the years. Now, with the distance of time and a lot of personal growth, several things strike me about that little scenario:

1. He fixated on an outcome, investing staff effort into it, yet he was unwilling to take the time to work through the strategy of how to achieve his end goal. What was with that?!

2. Why did I continue to work for this man for so long, helping to grow and expand his business despite him being such a dreadful manager?

3. Why did I react the way I did, enabling this type of behaviour, and avoiding the conflict necessary to resolve it?

While the circumstances and subtexts of the past don't need airing in public, insights into what was going on for me personally have clarified only recently, mainly thanks to The 6 Types of Working Genius. As I mentioned in my last blog, my Working Geniuses are Enablement and Discernment. How does this help me answer my questions?

1. If I was to take a guess, I suspect his Working Geniuses were Galvanizing and Ideation, with Frustrations around Discernment and Enablement. He had had a 'great' idea and just wanted the job DONE.

2. I was actually a really great workplace partnership for him, thriving in the tasks and project areas he struggled with. But that only carries so far as it's necessary for differences to be viewed with respect. We now realise just how important psychological safety and wellbeing are in the workplace: People need to FEEL safe to be fully engaged with what they do and thrive at work. It's pretty important in a small team if you want to produce results together and succeed.

3. I discovered that I'm 'triple responsive' with my Working Geniuses. What made me a great workplace partner, and effective in what I did, also made me very susceptible to the sorts of negative behaviour that marred that season of my worklife.

   
   

Working Genius carries within it the concept of 'responsive' and 'disruptive' genius themes.

• Wonder, Discernment and Enablement are responsive. They bounce off externalities, other people and ideas. They tend to react to the ideas, decisions and tasks of others. They're likely to be more restrained, adapting to the circumstances around them before moving into action.

• Invention, Galvanizing and Tenacity, on the other hand, are disruptive. They initiate and provoke change, even if others aren't calling for it, and are likely to be proactive in how they interact with projects or initiatives.

There's a little bit of explanation needed over the use of the term 'enablement' due to the sometimes negative connotations of the word in modern usage.

• In the world of psychology, enablement is supporting another person's poor choices and failing to step into healthy conflict; it is not refusing to support someone else's destructive behaviour. It is continuing to provide an addict with what they shouldn't have.

• In the world of organisational health, however, the Genius of Enablement refers to people who provide support and assistance in a way that is needed. Those with the Genius of Enablement are adept at responding to the needs of others; they are inclined to help others accomplish their goals, often anticipating what people need before they even ask. They step into decisions and get things moving, but aren't as focused on getting the tasks completed as they are on supporting the people around them get things done.

  
  

It's all about context. Even though it's been taken advantage of in the past, I am proud to say that I have the Genius of Enablement. I love to see diverse and multi-skilled teams developing their talents together, supporting each others goals, and aiming for mutually agreed results and success in the workplace. And that is a strength that every team needs.