August 3, 2026
You've seen your Working Genius profile and something clicks straight away: that reporting work you keep getting stuck on sits in your Working Frustration. The logical next thought is that you don't have to do it anymore. Sorry, that isn't how the model works ;)
Working Genius, Working Competency and Working Frustration say something about where your energy comes from, not about how good you are at something. You can be perfectly good at work that falls in your Working Frustration and still find it draining. Without that distinction, a mismatch like that feels like a personal failure, not driven enough, not smart enough. With the model it becomes clear that this is about fit, not about character.
| Working Frustration is | Working Frustration isn't |
|---|---|
| A signal that this work structurally costs you energy | A free pass to leave a task sitting |
| A reason to open a conversation about task allocation | Proof that you're performing badly |
| Something to reduce over time | A guarantee you'll never have to do it |
Use your Working Frustration as an opening for a conversation with your manager about how work gets divided, not as an argument to leave a task sitting today.
Source: Patrick Lencioni, The 6 Types of Working Genius (The Table Group, 2022).
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