Team development with the 6 Types of Working Genius

Increase your team's productivity and joy at work.

Working Genius reveals which parts of work give people energy and which tend to drain it. I help teams turn those insights into how they work together, so they understand each other and make full use of what each person brings.

Let’s talk The approach
Working Genius model W I D G E T
25+ teams supported

Including teams in consulting, education and NGOs.

Universiteit van Amsterdam
Hogeschool van Amsterdam
Capgemini
ADC Consulting
Sea Ranger Service
Fan Factory
Amnesty International
bol.

Who it’s for

Is this for your team?

Established teams

Your team wants to take collaboration to the next level

Your team is up and running, but you’re asking: how can we work together more effectively, and with more joy? You may be noticing:

  • Team members don’t know how to make the best use of each other to get work done
  • Colleagues don’t fully understand each other’s ways of working
  • Work isn’t always allocated in the best way
  • Projects and plans lose momentum or remain unfinished
  • Decisions are made too quickly
  • People leave meetings frustrated
  • Team members are overloaded

New teams

For new teams that need to get up to speed quickly

A new team. A new project. Pressure to perform quickly. You’re already doing the work, but you barely know each other yet.

You want to:

  • Quickly understand where each person’s strengths lie in relation to the work
  • See where the team has plenty of energy, and where you may need to pay extra attention
  • Make better use of each other so you start working as a team, rather than alongside one another
  • Get to know each other
  • Build trust quickly
  • Develop a shared language for talking about the work and how you collaborate
"Working Genius helped me see more clearly where my team’s strengths lay and what an assignment required from us. That enabled me to set more realistic expectations with the client and make better decisions about what I could ask of my team. We were much more aligned, and there were far fewer surprises."
Teddy van Eijk · Manager, Capgemini Invent

The approach

6 Types of Working Genius

The 6 Types of Working Genius describes six core activities that are needed to get work done together: from wondering and generating ideas to mobilising people and bringing work across the finish line.

The model shows which kinds of work give you energy and which tend to drain it.

Looking at everyone’s profiles together reveals where the team has most energy, where energy is likely to drain away, and what that means for the work you need to do together.

The model was developed by Patrick Lencioni.

What teams gain

  • More effective and productive collaboration
  • More energy and joy at work
  • A better understanding of your own and each other’s strengths
  • A shared language for collaboration
  • A clear view of where the team has more or less energy in relation to the work that needs to be done
  • More understanding and fewer snap judgements about each other’s motivation

I facilitate sessions in Dutch, English or bilingually for mixed-language groups.

Introductory call
W
Wonder

Sees untapped potential and possibilities. Naturally asks: why are things the way they are? Falls in love with the problem, not the solution.

I
Invention

Enjoys taking on challenges and coming up with original solutions. Loves starting with a blank sheet of paper.

D
Discernment

Assesses the workability of ideas using intuition and pattern recognition. Quickly senses what is likely to work.

G
Galvanizing

Rallies people around an idea and enjoys getting things moving. Creates momentum.

E
Enablement

Anticipates what others need and supports execution. Helps turn intentions into action and keeps the team moving.

T
Tenacity

Drives projects and tasks through to completion. Loves making a to-do list and ticking things off.

"The training gives you insight into each other’s talents and energy drains, both individually and as a team, and connects them to the different stages of the work process. That provides more insight than, for example, DISC."
Kim op 't Hoog | Team Lead Contract Management | University of Amsterdam

What I offer

Team programme

Voor wie: Established and new teams

Vorm: Intake, two 3-hour sessions and a close-out

Wat we doen

  • Intake with the team leader
  • Session 1: the Working Genius framework applied to the team’s actual work, plus each team member’s Working Genius profile
  • Session 2: exploring the team map. How do the profiles come together, and what does that mean for the way you collaborate?
  • Close-out with the team leader

Uitkomst

  • Greater insight into and understanding of yourself and each other
  • More joy and effectiveness as a team
  • Clarity on what you want to do differently yourself and what you need from each other
  • Practical ways to improve day-to-day collaboration

Leadership team session

Voor wie: For leadership teams that want to understand each other better and work together more effectively

Vorm: An intensive half-day that brings together your individual profiles, the team map and the work you do together.

Wat we doen

  • You learn the model through your own profiles
  • We bring the profiles together in a team map and explore what stands out
  • We use the Working Genius lens to look back at real work: where did things flow, and where did they get stuck?
  • We translate those insights into the work ahead

Uitkomst

  • Greater insight into and understanding of yourself and each other
  • A shared language for how you work together
  • Visibility into patterns in how your team gets work done
  • Clear points of attention for the work ahead

Project kickoff

Voor wie: Project teams whose members don’t yet know each other well

Vorm: A half-day session, followed one month later by a 90-minute facilitated review

Wat we doen

  • Get to know each other
  • Build a language for talking about energy and strengths
  • Develop habits for communicating about what you’re good at, enjoy doing and need from others
  • Apply the team map directly to the dynamics and work of the project

Uitkomst

  • Quickly gain insight into and understanding of yourself and each other
  • Build trust faster among colleagues who don’t yet know each other well
  • Establish a shared language for working well together from the start
  • Get up to speed as a team faster, with more joy along the way
"Working Genius speeds up the process of becoming a team and understanding each other. People work in different ways, and that can cause frustration. It helps you understand those differences sooner and creates a constructive basis for talking about how you work together."Sanne Boekhoff · Head of People · Sea Ranger Service

Tailored programmes

For example: sessions for larger groups, individual coaching, or a tailored approach for an entire department.

Let’s talk
Annabelle Groenendijk

About

Annabelle Groenendijk

Collaboration has always been the common thread

My working life has always revolved around collaboration. I started out as a chef, studied at hotel management school, opened and ran hospitality businesses, and later worked as an entrepreneur, programme initiator, project manager and trainer. Building and working with teams has been a constant throughout.

I’m curious about what happens between people: why do we do what we do, and could we do it differently? Because when a team is in flow, that’s a feeling of happiness. And when collaboration isn’t working, it has a big impact.

Slow down to speed up

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that time, attention and slowing down can actually make teams more productive. Rather than constantly pushing ahead, it helps to create space to explore what is happening and what is needed, so you can move forward more effectively afterwards.

Professional probing

People describe me as warm, engaged and genuinely interested. I look at what is happening with an open mind and enjoy challenging people with care. What drives me is progress: what are we seeing, and what do we want to do with it, and what are we able to do?

Discernment is my strongest Working Genius. I’m perceptive and often quickly sense what does and doesn’t seem to add up. At the same time, I try to approach people with as little judgement as possible. That is exactly why Working Genius resonates with me: it helps us take behaviour less personally, attach fewer quick judgements to it, and stay curious about what may be going on.

I call that professional probing (with permission): uncovering dynamics together and creating room for improvement and growth.

Certified Working Genius Facilitator NOBCO & StiR certified team coach 15+ years of experience in project management and building new initiatives Sessions in Dutch, English and bilingual formats

Contact

Curious whether this fits what your team needs?

Book a no-obligation introductory call. I’ll ask a few questions, you can ask yours, and we’ll quickly find out whether there’s a useful next step.

annabelle@zestalenten.nl