Wiring Versus Work Ethic Diagnostic
Separate energy mismatch from a genuine lack of hunger before acting
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 93%
This diagnostic prevents leaders from collapsing work wiring and character into one judgment. Start with the observable behavior, identify which kind of work triggers it, and compare that stage with the employee's geniuses and frustrations. If the person works hard and performs well in energizing domains but slows down in a frustration, the likely issue is role fit or support rather than laziness. Hunger must then be assessed independently: some people truly do not work hard, care, or follow through, and Working Genius should not excuse that. The decision rule is to redesign or support work when evidence points to wiring, but manage performance directly when low effort persists across contexts. This preserves strong employees without denying real accountability.
Origin
Lencioni contrasted his own lack of enablement and tenacity with laziness, then separated Working Genius from the humble-hungry-smart values in The Ideal Team Player.
Core principles
- 01Frustration is not laziness
- 02Different genius does not mean lower intelligence
- 03Hunger and work wiring are separate variables
- 04Reassignment can preserve good people
How to run it
- 1
Describe the behavior
Replace labels such as lazy or not smart with specific missed work, delays, or interactions. Establish what actually happened.
Watch out A character label hides the evidence needed for a fair diagnosis.
- 2
Locate the work type
Identify which Working Genius stage the difficult task belongs to and whether it is a genius, competency, or frustration for the person.
- 3
Compare across contexts
Look for effort and quality when the person works inside a genius. Strong effort there but depletion elsewhere supports a wiring explanation.
Pro tip Use multiple examples rather than one difficult assignment.
Watch out The profile cannot prove motivation by itself.
- 4
Assess hunger separately
Evaluate whether the person cares, works hard, accepts responsibility, and follows team standards across situations. Keep this judgment distinct from aptitude and energy.
Watch out Do not use Working Genius to excuse chronic low effort or misconduct.
- 5
Choose the response
Reassign, support, or create lateral movement when wiring is the issue. Use normal performance management when hunger or conduct is the issue.
Pro tip Test a bounded role adjustment before losing a good employee.
In the wild
Lencioni says he lacks enablement and tenacity and could therefore call himself lazy, despite working extremely hard in the work he does. The profile explains that he is not naturally an implementer while preserving the separate question of whether he works hard.
→ The judgment shifts from a global character flaw to a specific energy mismatch.
A prolific inventor sees a colleague struggle to create ideas and assumes the colleague is not smart. The diagnostic recognizes intelligence expressed through a different genius and assigns ideation elsewhere.
→ The team avoids losing a capable person because of a mismatched definition of intelligence.
Common mistakes
Using type as an excuse
A frustration does not remove responsibility for effort, behavior, or agreed results.
Globalizing one weak stage
Difficulty inventing or finishing should not become a verdict on the person's overall intelligence or value.
Firing before redesigning
A lateral move or responsibility swap may retain a strong employee at far lower cost than replacement.
Is it for you?
Best for
Leaders deciding whether poor performance reflects role design, motivation, or behavior.
Not ideal for
Cases with clear misconduct or consistently poor effort across both energizing and draining work.
From the transcript
“I'll work really hard in the things that I do or a person that doesn't have invention we can go they're not very smart”
“there are people that aren't hungry they don't work hard so there are people that are Slackers and yeah they deserve to be recognized as…”
“if it's just that they're wired differently man that's a tragedy when we lose good people because they're just wired differently and we attribute it…”
From the episode
Patrick Lencioni: Build an A-Team with Working Genius
Patrick Lencioni