How to Work Out What Your Zone of Genius Is

In this article, I want to talk about something that is going to ultimately lead to you having greater success in your life, in your work, in your business, but also to you having greater happiness overall. And that is about working in your zone of genius. 

This is obviously not a new concept, and it's something I didn't create, but it's something I'm reading about in this book called “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks. If you haven't read it, I really recommend getting a copy of it. 

He talks about the zone of genius, and the thing that surprised me the most about this was that when we think about our zone of genius, we kind of think of it as being like a job that we could do, like ‘Oh yeah, my zone of genius is bookkeeping,' or ‘My zone of genius is marketing,' or something like that. But in reality, he takes you through the process of working out what your zone of genius is, and it ends up being something very specific, and more of nuance in your personality and your character and something that you are very intuitively good at that is your zone of genius. 

And if you can tap into what that is and then look at how that plays out in your life and in business and work, and then make sure everything you choose to do works within that zone of genius, then that is when you're going to have true success in your life. 

So I want to give you the four questions so that you can have a think about this. But I really recommend getting out and getting the book and reading the whole thing yourself. 

These are the four questions that you ask yourself to work down through the layers to work out what your zone of genius is. And then I'm going to tell you what I worked out mine was. 

1. What do I most love to do?

I love it so much I can do it for long stretches of time without getting tired or bored. 

What is the stuff that you love to do, whether or not it be work or at home, or just in general? 

What is it that gives you great joy? 

So that's the first question to ask yourself. 

2. What work do I do that doesn't seem like work? 

I can do it all day long without ever feeling tired or bored. 

What is it that you do that doesn't feel like work? 

So it is something that you enjoy so much and you get so much satisfaction out of, that it just doesn't seem like work at all. 

3. In my work, what produces the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to the amount of time spent?

You're looking at the ratio of how much time you're spending on something versus how much satisfaction you're going to get out of it. 

What is it that you are doing in your job that gives you the greatest intensity of satisfaction and makes you really feel like you've nailed it and that you've done a good job that day? 

4. What is my unique ability? 

He says there is a special skill that we're all gifted with. This unique ability fully realized and put to work can provide enormous benefits to you in any organization that you serve. 

So what is your unique ability? 

Once again, you might be tempted to think broadly about this. But instead, try and hone in on a specific talent that you have. 

Examples of this might be the ability to feel energy movements within a room which makes you able to run meetings really well because of that. 

Gay Hendrick talks about how he's very good at helping people who are in conflict, come to a resolution. 

My zone of genius is creating order out of chaos. That may be creating order within a business, or being able to sift down through the fog of someone’s story and finding the core problem and then being able to show that to them. 

I'm very good at looking at the chaos in something that's been done and then tidying it up into a nice system that works really well.

So that is my zone of genius, creating order out of chaos. 

Everyone has their own zone of genius. You need to find out what it is. And once you tap into that, once you work out what it is, have a look at what you are doing in your business. Have a look at what you are in your job. Have a look at what you are doing in your life. 

And he says only accept things that tap into that zone of genius and say, ‘No,’ to things that aren't. 

By doing that, not only are you playing to your strength, but you are permitting other people to do the same thing. You're giving other people the permission to say no to things that are not their zone of genius. We're all going to be much more effective, much happier, more abundant, and more successful together. 

Okay, so go get this book, “The Big Leap”. I highly recommend it. And you go and have a fabulous week.