Discover Your Team Potential Using the Six Working Geniuses with Michelle Bambenek

Welcome back to another episode of the Willpower podcast, Rockstars. Thank you so much for tuning in. Today we have Michelle Bambinek. She's a PT entrepreneur, but really she's the clinic director whisperer. This leader knows how to take teams of people and create layers of leadership that are bought in to the company culture and each other in a way that frees owners up. Is that something you'd like to learn more about? Well, Michelle and I have worked together as partners in multiple businesses, but we started in my old PT practice that she later became a partner of. And the reason we partnered together was because we had this magic formula that we couldn't put into words that our team saw and later we discovered through this process called the Six Working Geniuses, exactly why our magic was so powerful. We're going to teach that to you today in this very special episode, because if you're a clinical owner who never quite feels that the leadership is taking over, or if you're a leader who never quite feels that the owner or your team are fully supporting you, a lot of it just comes from not understanding this concept that she is going to beautifully show you as a clinic director whisperer. She has a way of being able to bring teams together, and this is one of her primary tools that she's going to teach you. But it's not just transforming PT businesses. This is transforming industries across the country and helping build better teams. So buckle in. It's going to be a powerful episode. We're going to kick it off with her teaching what it is, why you should care about it, how you can develop it within your own team so that you can create rocket fuel in your business. All right, guys, enjoy the show. Michelle, I'm so excited to talk to you because we just did the Six Working Genius test at home with Alex.

So excited.

Yeah, it was wild because, you know, he's leaving for two years to go on his mission. And so when, before he left, we were talking about it, Heather, Ethan and I, as a family, we're just talking about how we get energy when we work and all these things. And because he's the fourth member of our family to take this test, we were all taking guesses as to what we thought he was.

Yeah.

And then Ethan, our producer, is my oldest son. He was. Do you remember what you guessed? I was the closest. He was the closest. Which he guessed. What was it that you guessed? I don't remember. I was, like, two or three off, though. I think we should. Yeah. In the future, we should probably have A microphone live for you.

Yeah, for sure.

People can hear you. But, yeah, it was funny because Alex is one of those kids where early on I thought he was being defiant.

Oh, sure.

Because he was just like, why is it this way? And why is it that way? And I thought he was questioning authority, but he was just wondering why things were the way they were. So it's so anyway, because I just.

Love that I am on fire about the six types of working geniuses, as you know. So. But it's just so interesting because of what you just said about him just seemingly being defiant, and it's truly just, like, not really understanding where his genius lies. Right. And then having judgment because it may not align with our own or that it just doesn't seem to, like, fit the mold of how we need it to fit in that specific moment. I think there's so much freedom in knowing, like, what your geniuses are, what your competencies, as well as, like, your frustrations, simply because you can relieve yourself of judgment. Right. I think you and I talked about this around when you and I strategized. We always knew that we had this beautiful magic, like, coupling of, like, work and how we were able to seamlessly go through things together. And then once we took the test, it was like, oh, there's actually words and vernacular to why this works, because, you know, invention to discernment, to galvanizing, to enablement. Like, we just were able to work through that flow. Now we miss on the other opposite ends, where we had team members to help bring in some tenacity. And you have some wonder in you, and you and I do, too. But that being said, we get a better understanding of, like, what really brings us joy and energy, but also the capability just naturally. Right. And so that doesn't excuse the way the fact that, like, I have my, like, least is tenacity doesn't mean I don't get to do that. Right. Like, it doesn't mean that I just get absolved from ever carrying out the process, but it also realizes why I don't have so much energy there. Right?

Yeah, totally. So, well, what is the. So for those people who are tuning in, what is the six working geniuses? What is it?

It's a concept from the book that by Patrick Lencioni. And it's a framework of just understanding how everything that we encounter throughout the day, right? Whether it's cleaning up the kitchen or putting together a PowerPoint presentation or whatever you have to do in front of you, that it could be qualified as work. How There is a certain framework that all of these things have to go through. It starts with wonder, right? This idea of understanding, like, oh, could this be better? Is this the best way that we have to attack this? Or what is the thing that's causing this that I need to put some attention on? And then it drives into invention, which is like coming up with the idea based off of the question that was presented. This idea is like, oh, well, I think this is a way to attack it. This is a proposed way of handling that situation or washing that dish, whatever you have in front of you. And right. And so then it goes into discernment, which is teasing out the most appropriate way to address that, that particular work, right? So it's like, is this the best idea possible? Is there a next. Is it. Yes. And. Or how can we better this to then move into action? So then from wonder to invention to discernment, now you've got this working idea of how to, to attack this, this thing in front of you. And now we have to rally the troops. And that's when it goes into galvanizing. This is an individual who just loves to get inspiration through people, right? They're just presenting this situation, this way of addressing this problem, this work, this project, and they just engage the team. It's like, show them the possibilities of what's in front of them. And then off of the heels of a galvanizer goes into enablement, which is that individual that packages the situation, has the policy, procedure, the workability of how to get that thing tackled, right? It sets up the scene for someone to tackle the work and then it moves into tenacity, which is what we consider boots on the ground, those people that are actually carrying out the work to completion. So it's this beautiful framework of how things work together. And the beauty is it's particular to work, doesn't mean it can't be used for families or in the student situation, but it is a way of understanding where you fit into that puzzle piece. But then also, how do I leverage the strength of others? How do I infuse what I do well and make the thing go really great? So I really should back up a little bit in terms of what I mean by genius. Tenass, you know, so there's three breakouts, right? So it's geniuses, competencies and frustrations. The geniuses being the thing that naturally gives you energy that doesn't feel like work, right? The thing that's just like, I love doing this and nothing can stop me from it. The competencies Are like it never. It doesn't really necessarily draw from your energy, but it doesn't necessarily mean like you get all of your energy back.

So you can do it, but it doesn't necessarily feed your soul. So you're capable of doing it well. But it's not like this thing that you get excited about, like the green or the ones that energize you, light you up, this doesn't let you up or take you down. But it does take time. Correct. So the only negative thing there would be that it like takes away from time that you could be spending doing something that you are genius about.

Correct, Correct. But it is one of those that's like eh, could take it or leave it kind of situation. And then the frustrations are those that we would rather not do. Right. Those things that actually pull energy from us that actually results in, you know, maybe some procrastination or just an inability to confront it or attack it and so to speak.

So yeah, so this is all about team dynamics, right. Like you're talking about. Because other personality tests, there's a lot out there, there's Myers Briggs, we've done all of them in our different businesses that we've been in together. Why does this one stand out to you? Like why is this one energizing you so much compared to other ones that you've done historically?

I think it's the workability of it and then the understanding how it's not just a personality, it's like, oh, that's.

Who I am, I'm a feeler.

Yeah, I'm a feel, I'm a thinker. Right? Yeah, right. It shows you, I think more of like the practicality of how this works within a teamwork framework. Not just honoring you for human who you are, which we always want to do. Right. So honoring the humanity in front of us for being a feeler, a thinker, a mover or however you're labeled. But also how do I fit within the network of people that I work with on a day to day basis that I do life with at work or at home. Right. And seeing how I can complement that but then also helps you just thrive in areas that you naturally have those genius, those God given abilities. But then recognizing where you can lean on others, right. For what they do well and saying, hey, I need somebody to like really rally the troops around this or I need an idea. Right. I think there's just a workability about it.

Yeah, I love that. It's so cool because this is lit up our world and is changing and revolutionizing businesses across the country. So, as our listeners are hearing this, I really want to highlight the fact that what we love about this is that it's so applicable to any business or organization. Like I was saying at the beginning of this podcast, we're doing it within our family and learning why certain people fit the company or business or family in a way that's synergistic. Or not.

Right.

Cause you and I, you mentioned this. You and I have always had this really powerful partnership. You and I and people outside would just say, wow, it's magic. You know, there's a book called Rocket Fuel that talks about ideal partnerships without getting into detail. But when we took the six working geniuses, that's when I think you and I really understood what makes.

Our connection so powerful. So to go through those six working geniuses, I think it's a good illustration for people who are learning about this for the first time. So what are your two geniuses? Cause that's what Patrick Lencioni says, is that we all have two geniuses. Two neutral competencies. Competencies. And then two detractors or frustrations. Frustrations, yeah. Okay, so let's talk about your geniuses. Let's give it. What? Are you sure?

I am. I'm an ed. So an enablement discerner. So enablement is the. The part of the work flow that packages things together. This is. This is pretty quintessential to an operations coach kind of mentality.

Yeah. So like someone who's coaching someone or like a trainer.

Right. Or.

Okay.

Putting things in a way that makes it workable for people to carry out the task. So it's setting up the scene for success. Policies, procedures, workflows, all that type of thing. But also tandemly working with a galvanizer, feeding off the energy that you bring from one of your geniuses.

Got it, Got it. So there's a. There's a flow, and that's what I love about those six geniuses. It's cyclic, like. It's like a cycle of action. It starts with wondering why things are the way they are, Creating ideas, deciding if those ideas are good, getting people excited about it, coaching and training them. And then there's the tease, the tenacity where people get it done. In our case, neither one of us are green or have a genius in wonder.

Correct.

But we both have the capability. Or is that me?

No, we're both have wonder as a competency.

So a yellow. Yes, we can do it, but we don't, like, live in it and love It.

Yeah. And wonder really pulls from the universe. Right. Like, the outside perspective of these are the. Like, I wonder how that, like, plane is in the air. Right, right.

Why do we. Why do we have to use stairs? Why can't we figure out a machine that carries us up? That kind of thing?

But then it tends to land there. Right. They're like, huh, good thought. Right. Like, it's the inventor that then's like, well, yeah, like, let's look at that. Does that have to be the way where they start to bring in ideas, which is one of your geniuses? The invention.

Yeah, that's my first. My top green is the idea as a person. So for me, the way that it looks is that I can't stop thinking about ideas. I. My favorite thing in the world is to have a whiteboard and for someone to present either a problem or an opportunity, and then for me to just come up with, like, 30 different solutions. The problem with being an idea or an inventor is that half of my ideas aren't any use and the other half are incredibly genius.

Yes.

But I don't know the difference.

Right.

Which is where, like. So we both go from a competency of wondering why things are the way they are. I love coming up with the ideas, but once I have the idea, then I go to you who your biggest genius is. Discernment, isn't it?

That's right. Yes. Well, it's. I'm actually. Enablement. Discernment.

That makes more sense.

Yeah. So. But discernment is high. It's one of my geniuses as well. I love it when you start throw. I'm like, give me more, give me more, say more.

And I feel selfish. The whole time we're working together, I feel selfish because I'm doing the thing.

That I love and. Me too.

And I'm like, well, surely Michelle wants to come up with some more ideas around it, but you don't care about that.

No. I actually would sit in judgment over myself. Earlier I was speaking about this judgment. I was like, why can't I think of anything right now? Like, why is my mind blank? And I was just not thinking of. It was like, give me some ideas. And I think that was your way of, like, trying to pull me in to the idea. And I'm like, I don't know. You know? You know?

Well, half of you knows half of the ideas are going to be off. But you loved. And see, you loved discerning those things and being like, well, that was genius one. And you have a very kind way. You Never say it's trash.

Right, right.

But you have a kind way of. Of just saying, well, let's kind of.

You know, which is an important point. Right. So we can settle into our geniuses, but also have to recognize that of others. So I can quickly shut you down if I'm like, that's terrible. No, Right, right. And really just minimize or detract from your genius by settling too firmly into mine. Right. Of discernment. Or if I'm a tenacity person, I'm like, that's never gonna work. Right. It's like, whoa. Like, we have to let the ideas flow and hit the table and really go through. Like, yes. That's, you know, always acknowledging. Right. Never invalidating an idea that comes across until we tease them out. Right. Because maybe it's not applicable for this workflow or this particular situation, but it can be for a future one.

Yeah.

So it's this beautiful give and take of acknowledging what you do well, but then also sharing in with others. But like I said, as a discerner, I have to be cautious not to shut you down because sometimes the flow of ideas can be very, very full. Right.

And you don't want to shut that source off by causing a sense of invalidation. But I do love the fact that you are able, though, to highlight the ones that work really well, because what happens is when you discern, you're able to explain to me why it's a good idea. Ethan, my son, who's producing this, he is a discerner as well as one of his strengths. And earlier today, I was presenting a problem about an event that I'm spe at this weekend, and he discerned it. He said, well, no, it's actually that problem that you're concerned about is actually beneficial, and here's why. And it just opened my mind up. So it's like the inventor of the idea has opportunity, but the discerner can actually not only almost intuitively sense which ones are better, but, like, you, like he did, can go, here's why that's such a good idea. And it gives it, feeds it, validates it, and it becomes more real and, like, more exciting because you can see why it's going to actually make the difference you want it to.

Well, the why always, like, precedes the how. Right. And so in that moment, it becomes a catalyst to an inventor like yourself or anybody else to be like, oh, I see why you can start to picture out what the how is, and you start inventing micro invention around that as well.

Yeah.

There's nobody that loves an inventor more than a discerner.

It's a powerful combination, for sure. But what's really neat is what goes beyond that for us, because neither of us, we're competent at wondering. I do the ideas, you filter them and make them better or eliminate the ones that would wasted time and money.

Right.

And then. And then it goes back to me. Right.

Baton toss. Right back to you.

So once you and I come up with this, we've done this for years in multiple companies. Once we both are like, that's the idea. Right. And the end product is a byproduct of both of our efforts. So it's not like one person owns it. It's this.

Two.

One plus one equals five. Right. This idea is ten times better than it would have ever been without the other person. But then it comes back to me, and my job is then to go take it to a group of people, a team, and say, hey, guys, Michelle and I have talked it through. This is the thing we're gonna do. It could be a new concept, a new business, a solution to a problem. But what I love, and it's funny, because my second favorite thing to do in the world is to be in front of people.

Oh, yeah.

And it's not because I'm like a public motivational speaker type. I love being with people to help facilitate group solutions around problems, knowing where I'd like it to go. Because, like, part of what I do in galvanization is I don't just say, hey, Michelle and I are doing this hip, hip hooray.

Yeah.

Is I paint the picture and I set the table and let them come to it.

That's right.

And when everyone's all excited about it, that is literally where I want to walk away forever. Because at that point, I am in my. I am in my reds because I'm a yellow discerner. So I can competently discern some ideas. But my two reds. And this used to really bother me because I used to look at coaches and be like, I wanna be a coach. Right. I started a coaching business and I wanted to jump off a bridge I love. I was able to do it even. Even though it was. But it drained my soul in a way that I still like. I used to invalidate myself for sure.

Yeah.

But then when I realized about this process, I'm like, I don't need to be invalidated by it. I just need to not do it. And back into our. When we were partners in a PT practice, this is where once the team was on board, you'd step in. So talk about how you'd step in.

Yeah. So it's essentially building off of what you. Again, like a discerner loves an inventor. A galvanizer really appreciates an enabler. There's nothing worse for you, I would imagine, than standing in front of people, trying to get them rallied around an idea or a thought or whatever have you. And like crickets and just like nothing's moving. Right. That is what brings you joy and energy, is seeing people buy into the concept of what's been such work to, like, all the genius, like, coming to this idea now, like, let's rally the troops around this. So that's where an enabler is really beneficial because they can feed off of that energy and see and start to figure out how that starts to get to the ground level of workability. You can see how this starts to part. Like, picture out into, okay, this division needs to do this. That division needs to do this. We need to gauge this, people. Maybe I need to meet with a marketer in this area to start moving this concept, this big rock or this big boulder of like, of an idea through towards workability. Sure. So they start to create. We start to create a path of getting it done.

You help people understand, learn. So it's one part training, one part motivational coach, like ethereal. I mean, it's an art. I appreciate it. I've always had a coach myself, so I've been a participant of it. And watching you do it's one of my favorite things. And people just. I always tell people that you're a clinic director whisperer because that's what you were in our business. Right. You'd go with the director. You'd help them see the why you would enable them. I would say the one compliment, the only thing I've ever changed in this process is I'd rather use the word empowerer than enabler, but Patrick Lencioni is dead set on that word. But you, you enable them to take over their own power and be successful. And then both of us, this last thing, this. This last step in this six working geniuses, both of us lose our energy and tenacity. What's tenacity again? And how does that fall into our world?

Yeah. So tenacity simply is getting the thing done. Right. So it's actually completing the work. So the production side of anything, any idea that comes to fruition. And so what it looks like for us is engaging with team members who love to do that stuff. Right. So it's really making sure that in this beautiful workability of this framework that we are surrounded by people who love to tick the boxes and cross the finish line and get like a completion. Like nobody better than that on our team to do the work.

Yeah. And so in my world, that would be my wife. My wife is a discerner tenacity.

Okay, okay.

So she loves. Well, I don't know if she loves listening to me talk, but she's patient enough. She's the type where like, we'll go on a walk and I will talk for 30 minutes and then she'll just say one thing at the end. That is the most profound discernment of what I was thinking. That brings it all together. But then she also just likes to get it done. She'll tell me, I don't want to think about why we should get it done or how to get it done. She's like, if we can figure out the eight steps, I will get it done, but I will move mountains to get those things done.

Yeah. Beautiful point. That is. Those are the ones that are in a meeting and they're like, just tell me what I need to do.

Yeah, I don't care about this stuff. Just tell me the eight things I gotta do today.

So it's really. Those people are better served doing the work and not in that particular meeting. Now, there's certain meetings and structures that everyone needs to be involved to see how this thing paints out. But sometimes it's like, hey, this is an invention discernment meeting. We don't need tenacity until we get to that point. Right?

Yeah.

Because then they're just sitting there wasting their time, feeling drained by this whole, like, idea share and teasing out when they're just like, there's actual work to be done. Yeah, I need to go get some work done. And so that's where our tenacity people like to live.

Okay, so we get this, we get the whole workflow. Every team needs this. Again, this is less about, like, personality and more about, like understanding where people get energy and just a little background. Patrick Lencioni, obviously one of the best selling business authors of all time.

Absolutely.

Five dysfunctions of a team. This is his latest. It came from his coaching group.

The table group.

The table group. And he has worked with thousands and thousands of people for decades.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

And so he came up with this based on this idea of like, oh, I've observed this for so long. This is what I wish people would know about how teams work. So how do you take the six working genius model with PT practices that you coach. Because one of the main things you do at Rockstar Director is you are helping create leadership teams where they run the business as intrapreneurs.

That's right.

So how do you leverage the six working geniuses in this model?

Yeah, so. Well, first of all, it's a great awareness. Right. So awareness for a leader is paramount. Right. In order for us to be able to lead efficiently, we have to first know thyself and understand what makes us an effective leader. How are we being perceived? How are we being received by the people that we're working with and how are we training other people to receive us? And so understanding that this is one of those component parts of knowing where your energy lies. I think it's pretty often in the world of physical therapy that sometimes the highest producer becomes your director.

Yeah. You promote the person who's like the biggest team player. Who produces the most, who produces the most.

Well, I think it's a step back that we have to evaluate where is it that they're bringing. Do they love enabling people or are they the type of people that just like to wonder about an idea and get things done? Because sometimes our highest producer isn't the best leader. Maybe they don't have the skills, the competencies and in which to be patient and tease out ideas and go through those, Those, you know, enablement pieces that are going to get people to cross the finish line and get production down the line. So this framework is really helpful in just understanding where you lie within that. That model and seeing, hey, is it doesn't negate you from promotion into the clinical directorship, but it also helps you settle into the areas that you are best served on that team.

Yeah. Because maybe, maybe their strength is tenacity and wonder, and that might be a harder director to train than someone who's naturally into enablement or discernment or invention. So, like, you know, so is there a combination that you see as ideal or is it really very.

It really varies because it just will tailor the way that I approach that coaching session. Right. Like, if they are a wonder or an inventor or a tenacity. Sorry. Then in that moment I know that they have an ability to get work done. So their tendency might be like, why aren't these people just getting the job done? Why aren't they finishing their notes? I can't get it. I don't understand. And it's then really helping them understand their other teammates and where they might be. And so they have to build and Strengthen the other component parts of this framework in order to better be able to serve them. They've got that down. We can cross the line on statistics. Yeah, but how are we introducing them into crucial conversations? How are you going to be leveling with them on a personal level that to see their hopes, need, wants and desires as a human being just like your own. Right. And then really taking into consideration where they have their strengths, then nurturing those, but then also building up those other component parts of tenacity that just needs to get done. Right. We need to do our notes, we need to bill appropriately. We need to get our billing across the finish line so that the revenue cycle can take place. So it's marrying that with all the other areas and just, it's just nice to see what the whole team has to offer. And then you can just lean into each one of them. But, but for me specifically, it helps me understand their baseline and then determine where we need to do our coaching.

Where they need strength and I'm guessing where you need to hire for others because.

Absolutely.

Because that's the cool thing. As a director or an owner, if they know what their six working geniuses are and where their energy drains are, they could build and hire a team based on that. So in real, real life for one of my companies, we were, when this concept came out, we were just building our leadership team for one of my companies. And so it was time for me to hire an executive assistant.

Yeah.

So I wanted tenacity.

Yeah.

I wanted someone who was going to. If I was a tenacity based owner, maybe I would, Maybe I'd want an executive assistant to be more of an ideas person or a wonderful. But I already kind of have that covered. The tenacity is what I stink at and I hate. So I needed someone with a great attention to detail, with a high degree of tenacity. And so we found Kim and she just hit a year last week with us. And I can't live without Kim. Kim is the type where I can invent ideas, discern enough a little bit on my own or with one of the other discerners in my leadership team. And then go to Kim and say, hey, Kim, this is the idea. Here's about the 12 steps I think you need to do, but figure it out.

Sure.

Kim's the type that will see the product, the finish line, and just get it done. So to your point, I think that the key to this is the idea of like just knowing where the teamwork is, where the dream works. So if we Know where the owner is and what their strengths are and what they want to do and the director what their strengths are. And you can hire, you can either train or hire to those other missing geniuses to complete the cycle.

Absolutely. I think it's a beautiful tool to utilize and leverage for recruiting. Right. So knowing where your gaps are and seeing who you need to bring onto the team like in a hiring situation, real life for me too. I am training or coaching with a group and they are, they took the test and one of the team members that was in a leadership position, it's still remaining in a leadership position but was removed from the, the weekly calls because that was not something that served them.

They weren't contributing, they weren't getting out.

Of it like ah, they'd rather go do the work. So the leadership transitioned to putting some of the global responsibilities on one of them and then some of those like more moving the needle on like diagnostics and running that part of like the actual doing of work and provision of care move to that particular provider. And so it's just nice to see that they can use that to still strengthen their individual leadership without creating, well, you're a bad leader blanket statement. Right. It's just like you just don't do well in this area. But you excel beyond my understanding in this one.

Yeah. And I think that's something I've seen and heard so many times over the years with owners, owners who are like, oh, why can't my director just get it? And they don't realize that maybe what they're doing is they're comparing their working genius that they had as the leader in that role against someone who gets an energy drain from it and they're not able to support them. Because all leaders who ultimately are frustrated with their directors or any other, you know, mid level leaders, they feel like they're failing. They're like, well, clearly I stink. They may blame them when they're frustrated, but it's more of this like invalidation of self of like I can't even build a team. Why do these other people figure it out? But this is, this is the missing information. Because without this figured out, people aren't able to. No, they're never going to be set up for success with all the right policies and procedures and all the right steps if they don't understand this concept.

Well, I agree. I mean it can occur, right? It can magically occur like it did for us. But now that we have verbiage to it, you can seek that out and leverage those people that you're going to connect with and naturally vibe off of just because of where you lie within your genius. So I think it's imperative for everyone to take this test. I'm getting certified in it. I'm so excited about it. I think it's a beautiful way to leverage some behind the scenes understanding of who we are to a workability in our clinics.

Yeah, I love that. It's kind of funny. I was having lunch last week with James from Showit.

Oh, okay. Yeah.

So this is a company that I was renting space out of their marketing company and they're very successful. Well, they're not a marketing company, they're a SaaS.

Okay.

So they build websites for people specifically in the photography space, but they can do it for anybody. But they're massive. Like they're growing like crazy. So James is the director of marketing and he and I were sitting down having lunch on Friday and we're talking and he's talking and talking and talking. It wasn't like an over talker. I was engaged the whole time. I was fascinated with him. And usually I'm that guy. Sure, I'm the one who's over talking and steamrolling a little. But he was just going off and I was fascinated with what he was saying. I was rolled into it. And then he was talking about his world and I just said, you know, there's this concept called the six working geniuses. And he goes, shut up. He goes, I am a ig.

Oh, stop.

He goes, I am an ig. And he went through my exact geniuses in order. And it was so funny because so we started talking about him being an inventor of ideas and galvanizer and we were talking about his world. It's amazing to me because this concept has only been out officially for a year or two, but it is taking storm. It's a simple test. I think it cost 25 bucks.

$25? Yeah.

We'll put that in the link. Rockstars go down to the bottom, click on the link, take the test. We get nothing out of it financially. We just want you to make sure you take this test because it begins like Michelle said, in understanding who you are in this world of geniuses. And it's going to open doors of like, no wonder I suck or hate doing X, Y and Z. And all that self invalidation goes away. And then I've been building my world around getting into those geniuses ever since. And it's just been like this superpower. But going back to James, we were talking about the power of this in their company, of how they've been able to build teams based on this concept of like, what do they have and what are they missing? It's almost like they're shortcutting what you and I had to do at Rise Rehab, which is like, gosh, why isn't this working with this person? And a inexperienced leader takes it personal. Either they judge themselves or more than often they'll judge the other person and then like be tempted to like complain at least to their spouse about them late at night. If not other team members, is it just me or is Rick not really figuring this out? Well, Rick may not have the genius in what we've hired him or her to do. Right. Like, it's a game changer in that regard. So you're getting certified in it. What's your vision for it? Like, what do you want to be doing long term?

Oh man, I would love to be able to utilize this and leverage this tool to help other teams get there faster. Right. Like, what we created at Rise was something of magic.

Yeah.

And to get people to tell them about the magic.

I don't think. Because people who are listening are like, what does that even mean?

Yeah, what does that even mean? So there's so much to that magic. But essentially it was just building a team. A team that was so self accountable to, to each other that we would try and move mountains for each other. So it was a highly productive, highly cultural alignment group of individuals, but came with work. Right. It was struggling. It was sometimes taking clinics down to the, to the studs to make sure that we had the right team behind us that was purpose driven and value aligned and really working towards the same unified goal. But I mean, it was just a team that took accountability to the next level. You know, this idea and this concept that some people shy away from of like, oh man, you're going to hold me accountable. I don't want to have that conversation to, hey, I know my impact in this team and it's valuable at any level. From CEO down, right, and up again. That idea of like, I care and love about you enough that we're gonna, we're gonna hold each other accountable to this target, to this goal, to this statistic, to this metric, to this value to our purpose. And when you have everyone beating at that same drum, it's just incredible. And it was a machine that just started moving itself because every individual was like doing their part.

Yeah, they're doing their part. They were bought in. They cared about the collective more than themselves.

Oh, that's. That's the biggest thing is just understanding their 360 degree view around themselves. That in. So by doing this, I'm impacting all these other areas. And that understanding that awareness of their involvement in the greater, like a part of something bigger than themselves was where the magic came.

It's hard not to think about like. Cause for me, I remember the days of like. And you've heard me share this story of where I was. I came back into the clinic once when I had a different team to pick up something from my office that I'd forgotten. And my team was having their own meeting after the meeting, talking about how horrible I was. And it was amazing to me, years later, when we had those multiple locations going into a town hall that we did once a quarter where we'd shut down the practices and bring everyone together. How we would walk in. They were so thrilled to see us. But they were that excited to see everybody.

Absolutely.

There was no favoritism. People were all about the collective, like something, a movement. And it was so magical. We had that one to two years, maybe more of this experience. And that's when you and I were like, we've had to share this with others and take this out to the world. So it sounds like you're on a mission to help other companies create their work families with using this as one of the many tools that you bring.

One of the tools to leverage to just fast track that. Right. You know, it's one of those things that you've heard me say this before turn decades into days. If this is a tool that they can leverage to better understand the makeup of their teams so that they can fill in the gaps of the missing pieces, strengthen the ones that are a little bit deficient and. Or live in the spaces that really bring joy and energy so that people are excited about the work that they're doing and creating together. And everybody has this energy. Right. I mean, at the top of this time together. I'm not usually the one that speaks on end, but I'm lit up about that. I don't think I gave you an edge. Word.

It's a podcast. I think this is what you're supposed to do. You're doing fantastic.

I was like, I probably should let him talk here. But it was just going on because of the fact that how much power I think this has for our teams as a whole. And that's my E coming out. Right. You know, is really just wanting to. To disseminate this to others. And, you know, it's Funny, because we came risers. Right. Like all of us were risers. And we. It's that collective. That part of something bigger than ourselves. And sharing that. You mentioned sharing that we have a number of people that you and I are still in communication with from those times and.

Oh yeah.

You know, there's just a certain standard of operating that they all have and carry and they take that to their next location and business.

How many of them have opened their own practices or own businesses.

Absolutely. Or standing in leadership positions in new ones. And it's this like, domino effect of this. This idea of. Of leadership at any level. Yeah. That I. I really just can't get enough of because they. They hold their new teams, their new employees to a standard that I think everyone would benefit from.

Oh my gosh. What it. To have that experience of going to work like it was back in those days. And I. And by the way, I feel it now. I don't. I didn't.

Same.

What's really cool is once it's learned, we can reproduce that. Obviously you and I are helping companies in our own different ways and related ways. The first time was the most significant because I never thought it was possible. I never believed I could love a group of people and consider them like family to me and like have 98% of our discussions be about work. So it's not that we avoided the personal stuff. We actually leaned into that. Like when people in our town halls were suffering through trials or people needed help. We have that safety and trust where we could say, hey, I'm having a hard time and I can't tell you why, or I am having our time and I've lost something or someone that we really rallied for them in a very personal way. But that wasn't our focus, was still what was best for the company.

Always.

And the reason being is because the company was us.

That's right.

Just to encourage people to trust that they can experience that in their lifetime.

Absolutely.

And ironically, that's when your company's the most profitable.

Yep.

And when everyone's the happiest and you're helping more people and. And all of that. So I love that you're out there doing this. I think it's been fun to watch you work with other companies now across the country. I mean, you've worked with companies for the last number of years now sharing this and, you know, the six working geniuses is just one of the tools, one of the tools in your arsenal to get there to be effective for you. But if people wanted to get help from you on the six working geniuses or they wanted to talk to you about how they could develop their teams. What would you how can you get ahold of you?

Absolutely. Well, put it in the show notes, but you can also reach me on my email michelle@unlockhba.com okay hba.com well, awesome.

Michelle, thank you so much for being on the show. Obviously you're going to be a repeat guest. I can't wait because people aren't going to get enough of you and I'm so excited to have you on the show. So thank you for spending some time with me.

Thank you for having me.

All right, guys.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to to today's episode. As a thank you, I have a gift. In today's show notes, there's a link for you to join the Stress Free PT newsletter. This is a comedy newsletter for anyone who works in healthcare. And of course we're going to have comedy bits. We're going to have inspirational stories, Leadership bits. It's going to be a weekly newsletter just to lighten your week to help you do what you love with more passion. So click that link below and join that newsletter and we'll see you in our next episode out.