Unleash Your Team’s Natural Genius!

In this guide you will read about the following

1. Ask each direct report for ideas about how they can use more of their natural genius.
2. Reassign tasks and responsibilities across your team to better align with people’s genius.
3. Give each direct report more ownership in an existing work area.
4. Add an engaging side project to the person’s workload.
5. Highlight and appreciate each direct report’s natural genius when you talk to them about their work.

5 Ways to Multiply Your Team’s Natural Genius — and Unlock Their Full Contribution

Genius is everywhere — if you look for it. Every person has things that they not only do exceptionally well but also love to do — their natural genius. And they want to contribute those abilities in ways that are seen and valued. By leading like a Multiplier, you can unlock the natural genius of every member of your team. Research shows that Multipliers get more from the people they lead — much more. They get more intelligent action, more skillful problem solving, and more concentrated effort.

Try these FranklinCovey best practices for guiding your team members’ work in ways that allow each of them to make full use of their natural genius.

1. Ask each direct report for ideas about how they can use more of their natural genius.

Once you and your direct reports have identified each person’s natural genius, they’ll likely have ideas for how to apply it to their work.

After all, they’re the experts. But if you have an explicit conversation about it, you’ll raise their awareness further and help them take a more proactive role in their development.

Before your next round of 1-on-1s, explain your intention. You could say:
Now that we’ve identified your natural genius, I’d like to explore ways to help you use and hone it.

Send questions to your direct reports to prime their thinking, such as:

• How can your natural genius help the team?
• What are some ways you can use it more in your work?
• What are some ways you’d like to develop your genius but haven’t had the opportunity to do so?
• What are some things you need from me in order to apply your genius more?

In the meetings, listen to your direct reports’ answers and ask follow-up questions. Share what you see, too. After all, you likely have greater visibility into the whole team’s work than they do, and some may struggle to see how they contribute unless you share what you notice about their genius and its impact on the team. Ideally, you’ll leave each conversation with a few ideas for you both to try and refine. Make it clear that this is the start of an ongoing conversation, not a one-off.