You have gifts and I have gifts. Those gifts probably aren’t the same because we are each uniquely created. One of my gifts is discernment. Why do I want to talk about it, and what is it anyway? Many of us don’t recognize or appreciate our gifts, and we should. I came to understand my gift of discernment recently and it was helpful for me, and it answered many questions from my past. It also comes with a confession of how a gift can be misunderstood by others and misused by the person with the gift.
What is discernment? It’s the ability to quickly evaluate whether an idea will work or not, or if what someone is saying is plausible, or if “buyer beware” defenses should go up. Because it’s a gift, it’s natural, easy, and my brain does it instantly, or as my grandkids might say, “really, really fast”. It also doesn’t matter what the subject is, because the ability to discern isn’t based on “expertise” of the subject matter. Discernment allows me, or someone with this gift (I’m not the only one that has it) to both “see the dots” and “connect the dots”, in ways others can’t. Discernment doesn’t mean I’m perfect, but I’m right a very high percentage of the time and have watched it be proven out over the years.
As someone with discernment, you would want me (or someone else with the gift) in the room with you if your team is evaluating something as a possible solution or trying to figure out if a new idea will work. You should want a discerner with you because without them, your team might develop solutions that will underperform or have a high failure rate, and both of those are costly.
What mistakes do I make in choosing when to use this gift? Let me share a recent story of how it can unintentionally go wrong or get sideways.
She had an idea, and I wanted to help, which for my brain means making certain they don’t fail. I truly want people to succeed, so I begin peppering her with questions. The questions alone can make them feel like I’m criticizing them (which it did), even when I’m just trying to gather more information. Because I see things quickly, my brain assumes everyone can too, which is not correct. That little assumption sometimes causes me to ask questions or questions with a tone that can make the person feel belittled. Apparently, I did. As I listen to their responses, I become excited or concerned. I was concerned because to me, my quick judgement thought she didn’t seem to have a clue about what she hadn’t thought of and why she thought it would work as planned. I was correct, but it didn’t help. I don’t hide expressions well (ask my wife if you want confirmation), so even using the right words doesn’t help when my face doesn’t match. It didn’t. I had repair work to do.
I’ve learned I must become better at asking up front if they are open to questions (there may be many), thoughts and ideas, or if they just want to do what they’ve planned. It’s a work in progress for me, because I can’t imagine people wanting to fail at something, or they don’t care if they do. But they aren’t me (thankfully) and I shouldn’t put me on them. I also need to just be more sensitive as it relates to others who don’t see what I see.
I came to recognize my gift of discernment in taking the Six Types of Working Genius © assessment. What I learned moved me to become certified to help others, especially teams, in understanding their gifts and frustrations. Over the next five weeks, I’ll share my other gift, frustrations and working competencies.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, Philippians 1:9-10
If you would like to learn more about the Six Types of Working Genius, for your team where you work, or for yourself, please reach out to me at dale@dalekreienkamp.com.
