What is a ‘zone of genius’?
David, Margaret, and Michelle discussed the concept of a ‘zone of genius’ in the work context. They defined it as a state where one is highly skilled and derives great joy from their work, a place of great flow. It’s a place where others would recognize us as being in the top percentile of our field.
The Bottom of the Zones: Incompetence
On the other end of the spectrum, they discussed the ‘zone of incompetence.’ This is work that one is not good at and does not enjoy it.
Margaret and Michelle know, for example, that trying to do home repair or fix house projects (with tools? seriously?) would be in a zone of incompetence. For David, it’s number crunching and accounting.
This zone is a place where significant change, delegating or stepping down from the role is necessary.
The Zone of Competence
In the ‘zone of competence,’ tasks are manageable. But those tasks inspire no enthusiasm and no spark.
Examples include: scheduling and calendars, email response and accounting for David, Michelle and Margaret.
The “Slippery” Zone of Excellence
In the ‘zone of excellence,’ tasks are performed with a high level of competence and skill. But these tasks may not bring the same level of joy as tasks in the ‘zone of genius.’
The team acknowledged that these zones can overlap and be slippery to navigate. And sometimes, the zone of excellence is a trap because we are so good at something that we keep doing it. But by definition, the zone of excellence means that these activities don’t bring us a lot of joy.
Burnout often lives in the zone of excellence.
The Joy of the Zone of Genius
Michelle, Margaret, and David concluded by sharing their respective ‘zones of genius‘. This is a place of flow and joy. It is a place where we can lose track of time in a good way.
David loves teaching. Michelle loves leading groups. Margaret is a reader of space. All three consider coaching in their zone of genius. These activities leave us feeling lit up and like we’ve had impact.
Takeaways
Here are some of the actionable takeaways for listeners:
- Reflect on where you live in your own zone of genius to see where you can focus more of your time and energy.
- Are you trapped in a zone of excellence? See if you can reflect on where that might be happening.
- What tasks in your zones of competence or excellence don’t bring you any joy? Can you delegate or minimize more of those tasks?
- Even if your zone of genius isn’t part of your work work, that’s okay. How might you incorporate non-work-related zones of genius into your life?
Contact Margaret, David, or Michelle if you want some help sorting this out through coaching.