Assign project phases to genius-matched people
Route early ideation to Wonder/Invention geniuses and execution phases to Tenacity geniuses.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Route early ideation to Wonder/Invention geniuses and execution phases to Tenacity geniuses.
- Why it works: The six activities cluster naturally into three phases of work: ideation (Wonder, Invention), activation (Discernment, Galvanizing), and implementation (Enablement, Tenacity). Assigning people to phases where their genius lives reduces energy cost, increases quality, and makes handoffs explicit — the transition from one phase to the next is where teams most often stall.
- Evidence: Plausible mechanism, limited direct outcome data.
- Avoid: Keeping project phases implicit so that a Tenacity genius is pulled into early brainstorming they find painful, or an Invention genius is expected to finish work they lose interest in.
Why it works
The six activities cluster naturally into three phases of work: ideation (Wonder, Invention), activation (Discernment, Galvanizing), and implementation (Enablement, Tenacity). Assigning people to phases where their genius lives reduces energy cost, increases quality, and makes handoffs explicit — the transition from one phase to the next is where teams most often stall.
How to do it
- 1Map your current project’s major phases: what activities does each phase require?
- 2Identify who on the team has genius in those activities and make the assignment explicit.
- 3Design handoff moments: who signals that ideation is done and activation begins?
What the evidence says
MechanisticPhase-appropriate leadership is consistent with situational leadership research and with studies showing that person–task fit improves both performance and job satisfaction. The specific genius labels are Lencioni’s framing.
Honest caveat: Phase-based assignment is a practical heuristic; team members often need to work across phases regardless of genius, so the model should guide design, not rigidly dictate it.
Common mistake
Keeping project phases implicit so that a Tenacity genius is pulled into early brainstorming they find painful, or an Invention genius is expected to finish work they lose interest in.
IX Coach helps you structure a project plan that explicitly assigns phases to genius-matched contributors and names the handoff points.
Practice this with IX Coach →