What type of work energises you most?

The VIA Classification of Character Strengths was developed by psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman, published in 2004. It identifies 24 character strengths organised under 6 virtues. The framework was developed through cross-cultural research spanning 40 countries and has been taken by over 20 million people. Research shows that using your signature strengths in new ways increases well-being and reduces depression.

This assessment is an original Find The Norm tool built on different research foundations. Lencioni's assessment is a proprietary, copyrighted assessment based on his consulting experience. Our assessment uses the VIA Character Strengths framework (peer-reviewed, free) combined with the UWES-9 (a validated work engagement scale). We explicitly disclaim any affiliation with Lencioni's work.

A low score across all six categories, combined with a low UWES-9 engagement score, may indicate burnout rather than an absence of genius. Burnout suppresses enthusiasm and energy across all domains, making it impossible to distinguish genius from frustration. If you recognise burnout symptoms, addressing them through rest or professional support should precede any strengths assessment.

The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) is a 9-item questionnaire measuring work engagement across three dimensions: vigour (energy and resilience), dedication (enthusiasm and significance), and absorption (concentration and immersion). Developed by Schaufeli and Bakker (2003) and validated across dozens of countries, it is the most widely used measure of work engagement in organisational psychology. We include it because knowing your genius areas is only half the picture: the UWES-9 measures whether your current work actually engages those geniuses. A person with Wonder and Invention geniuses who scores low on the UWES-9 is likely in a role that does not activate their strengths, which is valuable diagnostic information for career decisions.

Your core genius areas tend to be relatively stable because they are rooted in character strengths that develop early and persist. However, career transitions may activate previously dormant geniuses: moving from execution to management may reveal a latent Galvanising genius. Life experiences, therapy, and deliberate development can strengthen weaker areas, and burnout can temporarily suppress all genius zones, making everything feel draining. Rather than trying to change your geniuses, the research suggests designing your work to maximise time in genius zones and minimise time in frustration zones, through delegation, role crafting, or career change.

The most productive team application is mapping everyone's geniuses to identify gaps and overlaps. A team where everyone scores high on Wonder and Invention but low on Tenacity will generate brilliant ideas that never ship. A team heavy on Tenacity and Enablement but lacking Wonder will execute efficiently on uninspired projects. Use the assessment to start conversations about who naturally gravitates toward ideation versus execution versus evaluation, reducing interpersonal friction by explaining why certain tasks feel energising to some people and draining to others. Avoid using it to create rigid role assignments; instead, use it to encourage conscious role crafting.

In this framework, a strength is something you are good at (high skill). A genius is something you are good at AND that energises you (high skill plus high energy). A draining competence is something you are good at but that exhausts you (high skill, low energy). Many people spend their careers developing competencies that drain them because organisations reward performance regardless of energetic cost. A classic example is a brilliant engineer promoted to management who performs adequately but feels exhausted, because management requires Galvanising and Enablement while their geniuses are Invention and Wonder.

Yes. A 2015 meta-analysis by Quinlan, Swain, and Vella-Brodrick found that strengths-based interventions in the workplace are associated with increased wellbeing (d = 0.34), increased performance (d = 0.28), and decreased distress (d = -0.19). Gallup's research, covering 2.7 million employees, shows that people who use their strengths daily are 6 times more likely to be engaged at work. The VIA Institute has compiled over 700 peer-reviewed articles on character strengths applications. While no study has tested this specific 6-category model directly, the underlying principle that aligning work tasks with natural strengths and energy patterns improves engagement and performance is well-established in organisational psychology.