7: How to Find Your Zone of Genius with Laura Garnett

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Hi, I'm Jenny Blake, your host of the Pivot Podcast and author of the book Turn what's Working for you into what's Next, which comes out with Portfolio Penguin in September of 2016.

In this podcast, I talk with peak performers to reverse engineer their most successful career. Pivots interview experts on what it takes to be agile in a rapidly evolving economy and open the kimono on what happens behind the scenes of my book and business. You can learn to capitalize on risk, fear and uncertainty as the doorways of opportunity. My promise is that you will leave every episode with practical tips, tools and tactics. For show notes from this episode, visit jennyblake Me podcast.

If change is the only constant, then.

Let'S get better at it. Here we go.

I am thrilled to be here with Laura Garnett, who is a performance strategist who helps business leaders reach their peak potential. Laura works with Fortune 100 companies and startups and she's a frequent contributor to Inc, Forbes and Fast Company. Laura, welcome. Thank you for being here.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I'm delighted.

I love what you say on your website. Everyone has untapped genius. The key is to identify and unleash it.

Yes.

I'm excited to dive in. I love that you are an advocate for people finding this untapped genius and really working in their zone of genius. So can you just tell us a little bit about what that means?

Absolutely. Well, it's really just.

Comes from knowing that we've all had this experience where.

Experiences where we feel like we know.

That we're in the zone. Those moments where we lose track of time. We're so energetic about what we're doing we almost can't sleep.

We just feel a heightened sense of.

Aliveness in those moments. And I've always been really curious about those moments and how to create more. And really my work with the Zone of Genius is an attempt to help people understand what about themselves is required to be able to create more of those moments and then apply that to their career on an ongoing basis.

And how do they start to uncover what their zone of genius formula is?

Well, it starts with defining it. So I tried.

When I kind of embarked on this endeavor and journey of figuring out how.

Those moments are created, I wanted to simplify it.

And so I created a definition for.

The zone of genius that is the following. And it really is comprised of two in my mind, data points. One of them is what I call your innate talent, and it's really the innate way that your brain solves problems.

And the other one is purpose. So what gives you fulfillment?

What is the impact that you want the work that you're doing to have?

And how does that.

What gives you the kind of fulfillment.

That gets into that world of endless motivation for what you're doing? So those two pieces are, in my.

Mind, like two data points.

You identify what those are, and then you navigate what you're doing and ensure.

That both of those are present. And if both of those pieces are present in what you're doing, you have no.

There's no way you can't be in the zone. And so that has been what I.

Found to be a really easy and simple way to kind of wrap your head around this idea of peak performance.

It's fascinating to hear you define talent as the way that our brain likes to solve problems. I've actually never heard that before. And I think we advise people. You know, I work with people in career, too, and we say all the time, figure out your natural talents. What are your natural talents? Even in the pivot method, I say leverage your natural talents, but you're actually helping people figure out what those are. And through the lens of problem solving, that is fascinating to me.

Yes. Well, you know, it came from the fact that I also was told the.

Same messages, and I just felt confused and really, you know, and a lot.

Of other.

People in this space will say, you have many talents. And I agree. I think that the word talent has so many meanings. That's why I'd like to be very descriptive with what my version is of it.

Again, I'm using this primarily for peak performance.

That's it. And what I found is that it's how you innately think.

That can help you then understand the types of work.

That you should be doing. Rather than getting kind of overwhelmed with all the various.

Talents or ways that you are.

That are. That are strong. I found that kind of focusing singularly on the way that you think makes.

Recreating that moment a lot more.

A lot easier, and it's more straightforward.

And that makes a lot of sense. Right. It makes A ton of sense, because flow tends to come from a sense of challenge. Pushing ourselves just to the edge where we're so engaged. And in order to have challenge, that means we are probably solving problems and kind of meaty, hairy ones. So. Yeah, really cool that you. Yeah, go ahead.

Well, I was going to say. And you mentioned flow. And I would say kind of the.

Genesis or my work was really is.

Mihalayish just sex Mihaly's flow. And again, he said there's three things that you need.

You need a measurable goal to work towards.

You need feedback, and then you need to have this perceived challenge. You need to be doing something that's.

Kind of in that sweet spot of challenge for you.

And once again, when I read this, I was so motivated and excited that I. It's that third pillar that people really kind of stumble upon. Like, well, what is it that.

Where's that sweet spot of challenge for me?

And so again, how do I uniquely solve problems?

Yeah. And I feel like my goal is.

To answer that third pillar of flow with my work with the Zeno genius, because it really helps you become an expert in yourself and being able to manufacture and create that third pillar, those moments of challenge that are, you know, not too much, not too little. But then the purpose brings in the extra element that everyone is seeking, which is fulfillment.

Does purpose need to be related to someone's talent?

Well, purpose actually is, you know, I say that I define it as what gives you fulfillment, but I go a level deeper with that because again, purpose is very similar. The word purpose is very similar to the word talent.

There's.

Lots of different definitions, explanations, ideas.

And they, again, most have lots of kind of.

Confusing elements to it. So what I define purpose as is it's what gives you fulfillment is correlated.

To a core challenge that you faced in your life.

So the hard part is identifying that challenge. What is kind of a singular challenge that you've dealt with either for a short period of time of your life.

That had a huge impact or something.

That you've in some way dealt with throughout the course of your life. And if you're able to identify that.

And then be able to help others.

With that same challenge, then again, that's another way that you can take control of creating scenarios that give you fulfillment just by knowing that information.

Once again, such a helpful breakdown. Because you're right. We hear purpose bandied about quite a bit in the career and performance space. And I love the way that you encourage people to find it by asking what their core challenge Is that already leaps and bounds more helpful than so much of what's out there?

Well, and you know, sometimes I read.

I mean I obviously am reading and studying and researching all of this stuff.

On an online basis and I get.

Confused with some of this stuff on purpose. And I think, I mean, I don't.

Know, you know, it can be hair splitting. And so, you know, and I, and I think again that's where that was. Another huge motivating factor for me with my work was to really help, really just get some practical, here's how aspect to this aspect of life and career and what are you supposed to do?

Like make it very simple but results oriented.

What would you say to someone who has a bit of imposter syndrome saying, well, if this is my core challenge, how is this the way I'm going to be of service? I clearly haven't figured it out yet. You know, how does it go from being a challenge into an area of service for others and possibly even expertise?

Well, it really has more to do with, it's kind of, you know, and I can click Simon Fennec.

It's kind of like your why?

But once you know it, then you're able to take almost, you know, endless.

Scenarios and it connects yourself to it. So it's not like your core challenge.

Was, you know, I had an eating disorder my life and I conquered it.

And that was a significant challenge for me.

And now my purpose is to only work with people with eating disorders.

I mean, that could be the case.

But what I do is it provides a big picture for people. So it may be that the reason that you have the eating disorder was.

That you just never felt good enough and you really relate to anyone that doesn't feel good enough.

So you want to be working in an environment where the ultimate goal of that company, of that business, of that.

Service provider is to help people feel good enough.

And it's amazing how when you understand.

This, how easy it is to apply.

To so many areas of expertise or companies.

And again, this goes hand in hand with companies getting more astute and clear.

On what their mission and their own purpose is, because then that allows individuals to really connect theirs to the purpose of the company.

It's a powerful connection because one of the things I write about is how do you show up in an interview and there's nothing more powerful than for.

You to say, I know that anything.

That involves helping other people feel good enough is going to give me endless amounts of energy for what I do.

And being able to connect the dots.

To that in an interview to a company where their ultimate goal is to help people feel good enough is.

Very persuasive.

And again, it has the end result of keeping that person highly motivated at all times.

Absolutely. And I love the way that you zoomed out a little bit. The example you provided was very helpful. That it doesn't have to be as narrow as your specific challenge with that exact demographic that you are. It can zoom out until you find something that really is expansive. I know performance strategy work. You work a lot with CEOs and really high level people who are clearly very accomplished and successful in their life. What would you say their biggest stumbling blocks are? Or when they hit a plateau as far as peak performance and working in their zone of genius?

Why?

What are the biggest stumbling blocks that they encounter?

Well, I mean, you know, you'd be surprised.

I'm always surprised because we have this idea that people that are leading companies or running or the CEO running a company, that they have it all figured out and that they are the most.

Confident, secure people around.

And the reality is that everyone has.

What I call performance barriers.

And a lot of people have not done the work to figure out what those are. So they might have been just.

In a certain position for a variety of reasons.

But I would say some of the.

Biggest performance barriers that I see and that I witness with people is a.

Believing that what they bring to the table is of value and being able.

To strategically take what they're doing day.

To day and using it more.

I think one of the biggest.

Societal challenges at work is that we're kind of at work.

We're, we've been told we kind of are moving.

I feel like our society is shifting.

From a do what you're told to.

Tell people what you should be doing and kind of work environment.

And I would say a lot of people, Even executives and CEOs still feel like they should be doing certain things versus, you know, shifting that. Shifting what they're doing to make it.

Work for them but also work for their performance. So, for example, they may be doing a CEO role in the way that they think they should. They think they should know everything and they think that even if they're not good in finance, that finance is where they need to spend their time because they're the CEO and they're supposed to know everything.

Rather than, you know, again.

I think the more we learn about.

True leadership and as our society and business innovation at work is that you.

Can'T be good at everything.

You need to leverage other people for the things that you're not good at. But that simple concept is still, I'd say, one of the biggest challenges that leaders come across.

Right. It reminds me of a related question, which is, how can someone tell when they're in the right role, but they just need to push through these performance barriers versus when the role itself is no longer a fit or the company itself? And I know that's kind of what.

I talk about, but do you have.

A way to help someone distinguish when it is time to make a bigger change? And maybe that's in addition to doing the personal work on their own performance barriers?

Yeah. Well, I think it all boils down.

To is what they're doing working for them.

I always like to use the 8020 rule.

Are you enjoying work 80% of the time?

And, you know, I developed a tool, I call it the Zenergenius scorecard, because.

I would say one of the biggest.

Reasons why people end up spinning their wheel or staying in a job that's.

Not right for years is that they're not really conscious to how miserable they are.

They may say, I'm not really enjoying.

What I do, but they couldn't be specific as to why that is the case.

So what I help people do is get more conscious on a weekly basis about their performance.

When you can look at a scorecard.

That shows you at a one to.

Five for six weeks in a row, you're at a one. That's a significant sign that things aren't working. Absolutely. I agree.

So much power.

Exactly. And we've talked about this before. One of the things that I've noticed is that having a job you don't like is a bad habit. So habits are hard to break, and you get in. I think having a job you don't like, it's just a habit. You just get used to it and you complain about it, but you don't do anything because showing up and complaining becomes a habit. Right.

That's so true. It's so true.

So in the pivot method, and the big reason that I came up with the pivot method was I felt that many people, when it was time to leave a job, would spend so much energy, myself included, looking at what they didn't have, what wasn't working, what they didn't want anymore. You know, they're trying to break the habit, but they're only kind of moving away from fear. And the pivot method is really about leveraging your strengths and parlaying those into what's next. Like, I describe it like A pole vaulter. How can someone.

Use, like, what.

What can they use about the zone of genius work that you're so great at to help them pivot on their strengths, not just what they don't like, if that makes sense.

Well, I really think part of making.

Any change or move requires confidence and clarity.

Because if you don't know what.

Where you're going to, and you don't know that you're the best at what you're doing, it makes making a big.

Change even more challenging. So I would say big picture. One of the main reasons that I'm.

Doing this work and what I love about it the most is that if.

You know your Geno genius and you're.

Really at a point in your life where you're willing to accept it and.

Love it, then it gives you this sense of confidence and clarity that allows.

You to make many pivots. So not just one, but continually, because.

You know so clearly, okay, am I using my talent?

Am I, you know, able to think in the way that I know I'm best at?

And is what I'm doing giving me fulfillment? If one of those is a no, it's a no.

And you can change jobs and realize halfway through it that if one of those is a no, well, it's time to change again.

And, you know, careers are.

And it's like driving a car. You're always adjusting, you're always thinking.

You.

Know, growing yourself, developing yourself.

And the way that our world is.

Changing, there are endless opportunities. So I think the zone of genius is almost the fuel in the car.

To keep pivoting as much or as.

Little as you want.

That's such a cool analogy.

I love it.

I love it. Yeah, there's something you said. It was very subtle, but accepting your zone of genius. I actually just had coffee with a woman who did a strengthsfinder type test probably 10 years ago and didn't like the results because it wasn't consistent with her company and the industry, which was brand strategy, what they valued. So her strengths, which were more around empathy, listening, kind of what she called soft skills, didn't judge. So for 10 years, she pretty much ignored those aspects of herself. And it's only now that she's going and getting positive psychology certification and actually owning and accepting her zone of genius. So I had never even considered that someone might have clues to what it is and not be ready to accept it yet. But have you seen that in your work?

Oh, my goodness. All the time. I mean, I would say that.

You know, we were talking earlier about what holds people back. I mean, that's another big one. It's, you know, and that is probably.

I don't work with a lot of people that have that, because then we can't do anything.

And unfortunately, I think that's probably one of the reasons why so many people.

Aren'T engaged at work is that they're.

Not willing to really get over the.

Psychological baggage that they have to be someone they're not. And you have to be willing to really appreciate yourself and what you bring to the table. So if someone is always trying to be what their father or mother wants.

Them to be, then they're going to.

Struggle with, really, their full potential and ever being able to achieve the kind.

Of success that I think we're all now aspiring to, which includes fulfillment.

So, you know, I would say absolutely.

One of the biggest criteria is just really owning your. Your talent and your purpose.

Like owning that.

That who you are is good enough.

And is absolutely a superpower. You know, your energy is a superpower. Are you gonna use it or you're not? Right, right, right.

Do you think that the zone of genius can A, change or B, be cultivated? So in the first part, I'm curious if it's an inherent thing that we just need to carve away at, like Michelangelo and the angel and the statue. And the second part of the question, I'm curious, can someone choose and say, I want that zone of genius and develop it?

No.

It's something that's there and can be cultivated.

And there are.

Other.

So here's my take on that. I think that your talent and purpose.

Are kind of like your.

They're your headlights. You know, there's a big sticking with the car analysis.

I've never been so great.

They're like the bright shining headlights that you really need to prioritize.

You know, just like we were talking.

About before, we all have other things.

And, you know, for example, let's use a surgeon.

You know, a surgeon. The surgeons that really believe kind of.

Cultivate their genius are the ones that are inventing new ways of doing heart surgery.

And it may be that this one.

Particular surgeon is their talent. The way that they think about things is just to really think out of.

The box with how they approach heart surgery.

And we've seen this in the TV shows.

There's always. And this person is the one that's.

Innovating and creating new surgeries that everyone wants to watch. And then you've got another person who's.

Really just good at.

Doing the same thing. Over and over again.

And if they know this about themselves, then they can ensure that that's in place.

But you can always bring in other.

Things about yourself to kind of support those headlights.

It's like.

I've seen this. I've experienced it myself, and I see it in my clients. It's like.

It's almost like a domino effect.

It's like, okay, the surgeon that's innovative, as soon as he or she starts.

Really seeing, like, whoa. When I use this way that my brain operates to the hilt, brings out other parts of myself that may be.

Not as strong as that, but are kind of supporting my genius because I'm.

So relaxed and confident and focused. So it's like, can you imagine?

This person is probably extroverted.

And the fact that they're creating new.

Ways of doing heart surgery and they're saving lives and people in the hospital just want to learn from them. All of a sudden, they now feel like that kind of small part of them that wanted to be an actor or be on stage is supporting that.

Genius because they're more.

You know, they put on a show, they talk to.

People, they engage people, they bring them.

Into the innovation process. So I don't know if that's helpful.

But that's kind of, you know, how I see it being cultivated. But through that process of cultivation, other aspects of yourself are also heightened.

Absolutely.

What if someone is still in the process? I often use the analogy of San Francisco on a foggy day. They know their talent and their purpose are in there, but it's sort of clouded at the moment. And one thing I talk about in the pivot method is piloting and doing small experiments and having a hypothesis and testing it. Do you have anything in parallel that helps people.

Remove the fog, dissolve the fog from uncovering what their true talent and purpose is?

Well, that is. I mean, that's my process, I would say.

I have a series of questions. You know, when I'm working with someone.

I take that on and I remove the fog. But I also have a series of questions.

And again, the scorecard that can help.

Someone stay in the zone can also help someone identify their talent and purpose more easily, because really, it again comes.

Back to consciousness, but also really paying attention to your excitement, your joy, those.

Moments that you're experiencing. You're in the zone, really breaking that down as to what's happening. You can get really close by going through the back door way. Like, you can work with someone to help them identify it, or you can go through the back door and just.

Kind of unravel the experiences and the.

Emotions and the feelings of it to get to pinpoint it. But either way, more consciousness overall is going to provide. It's going to help that fog dissipate.

That is such a great point that it's such a. I'm trying to connect it to your car analogy, but coming up short. But I love that, that just paying attention, just asking these questions. Some of it may be through the kind of mental gymnastics that we do, some maybe coming at it a different way or looking at our past, but that just shining the light on this is already going to move someone forward.

Right.

Well, I mean, in the car analogy, it's like if your zone of genius is the gas or, you know, or the headlights, you know, as you pay attention to the environment around you, you.

See more, see the direction you want to go.

If you're, you know, wearing blinders and not looking around and seeing what's going on, then it's. You're unclear. Right. You know, so it's. It is about that kind of, you know, and I, and I would say that this is the reason why the work is important, is because then the more you, you pay attention to it.

Then it's the more opportunity you have to crack, create kind of the career.

And life you want, you know. And again, another analogy that I think is really easy to make is just eating, you know, health, what you put.

In your body, the food you put in your body. How many people are unconsciously throwing things.

In their mouths and all of a sudden they don't feel good or they don't have the health or the energy or the body they want. And, you know, this is, you know, that's very, this is very similar to that.

It's so true and, and relates to career and peak performance. If someone is completely hungover or has eaten themselves into oblivion at lunch, guaranteed you're not going to come back after that feeling sprightly and creative and innovative. Even what you just described will have an impact.

Absolutely. Well, I think also it's empowering people to believe. I write a lot of articles about this. It's like it is possible to have your dream job. It actually is.

Yeah.

This is a fact. It's not a time.

And I think a lot of people.

Don'T even believe that to begin with.

So why be more conscious?

I love that you just said that.

It is such a great note to start to wrap up on. Can you just say, how are you so sure? How do we know that everyone, that the dream job is Possible?

Well, for one, we all have a genius.

We all have as inner genius.

We all have a superpower and something major to contribute.

So that's.

We know that to be true. And secondly, the job market is expanding on a minute by minute basis in.

Terms of what is possible.

You know, 50 years ago, different situation.

But if you look at the rate.

That technology is advancing and we all.

Know that it's exponential.

So what our phones look like in five, 10 years is going to be something we can't even imagine.

And it's the same with jobs. We're moving away from.

People having to do.

We're moving to a point where machines can take the place of what a lot of people are doing, which opens the space for lots of really creative.

Jobs that we can't even think of. And so really, in my mind, the opportunities are endless.

And.

That'S, I mean, I think that's kind of the main reason why I think it's true. And it's a fact. And the fact, and the fact that entrepreneurship is on the rise and you know, you can see an opportunity and come up with a service that is fact.

There's enough technology to support anyone who has an idea to make it happen.

So a dream job is just really.

An idea that needs to be made to happen.

Amazing.

Yeah.

There is no one better at that than you. You are definitely someone who lives your message and brings so much joy and vivaciousness to your work. It's inspiring to watch.

Thank you. Thank you. Well, you know, I'm in my zone of genius. Let me tell you.

It is abundantly clear.

Yeah.

It makes a huge. It's like you said it, I'm sure you feel fulfilled. But more importantly, you become a magnet and this radiant force and you know, for everyone who you interact with, your clients, your friends, your partner, who, whomever, it really does benefit you far beyond just what you do every day on the hours that you're sitting at your computer on the phone with clients. And that's really cool to see that.

There is a ripple effect to working.

In your zone of genius. And it's very powerful and it makes you magnetic where opportunities come to you and you hardly have to try. And that's such a magical, cool place to be. And I love that you have such a, such a clear framework for helping people find that for themselves.

Well, and I also believe that the more people are, the more people that are in their dream job, the better the world will be.

I mean, can you even imagine.

It would be amazing. And I definitely think that it's just a shift in mindset. I was just thinking everyone believes that there's a one out there. Everyone believes that they can have true love, but few believe that they can have their dream job. And it's the same thing changes now.

I love it. Laura, thank you so much for sharing all these great insights. Where can people find more if they want to keep in touch or learn more about your work? Absolutely.

Well, they can go to my website, which is just lauragarnett.com youm can sign up for my newsletter the Zone, where on a weekly basis I give tips.

And ideas and share stories and articles.

So there's a lot of information if.

You join that and that's pretty much it.

Awesome. Thank you so much Laura.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. This was so much fun.

Foreign.

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Pivot Podcast. To learn more and get in touch, visit Jennyblake Me, where I blog about systems at the intersection of mind, body and business. Or find me on Twitter ennyblake. And remember, build first, then your courage will follow. Hasn't it always.