It was a Saturday morning and dad said, as he always seemed to say, “we have some work to do.” Usually that meant another project around the house that he wanted to get accomplished, and we (my brothers and me) were his helping hands. Today, we were going somewhere, which turned out to be the empty and newly resurfaced parking lot at our church. It didn’t take long to realize we were going to paint stripes on it for the day. Dad had no machine, just a chalk line, a couple of 2 x 4 pieces of wood, a sawed-off paint roller, buckets, lots of yellow paint and of course an excellent crew of free labor. And with it, we manually striped that big parking lot that day. We even left a small remembrance, signing our work with a little yellow circle where I kicked over the can of paint and quickly picked it up. (There is no way to cover up yellow paint on blacktop.) This was one of the many opportunities in my life where I learned about helping others. The church needed it done and was tight on funds, dad had the skills, so we helped. I don’t think I realized until later in life that you could attend an event somewhere and not arrive early to set up or stay late to take things down, because that’s what my parents always did. They had the genius of helping.

The genius of helping is called enablement. I have it, but for me, it’s a working competency, which means I can do it, I love to do it, but I do tire of helping at some point, so I can’t do it for long periods of time.

Enablement is one of those words that today has a double meaning. It is often associated with enabling (the act of helping) someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol with help that isn’t good for them. The result is they continue the addiction and remain dependent.

Enablement really means helping. In the dictionary it’s defined as a) to provide with the means or opportunity, b) to make possible, practical, or easy, c) to cause to operate. It’s a great definition for those who step up to help.

If you have the genius of enablement, you probably don’t even think of it as a genius. Someone needs help and you just put up your hand and say, “I can help with that.” It’s natural to do and you love to do it. The only thing you hope is that your help is appreciated by others. It doesn’t mean you want public recognition, just someone to recognize your efforts with something as simple as, “thanks, I’m glad you helped out.” A person with the genius of enablement helps by doing whatever is asked. Other geniuses will help, but through their lens. Because one of my geniuses is discernment and I must admit to you that before I help, I often try to figure out if helping the way they’ve asked is the best way. Sometimes my help isn’t helpful.

Without people who are willing to help, any project, new initiative or idea will either die or take forever to finish because there aren’t people to help make it a reality. You can have the best idea, but without those who can help, it remains just an idea. We need people who are willing to help.

Thankfully, most people are wired to help. Out of all the people who have taken the Six Types of Working Genius assessment, 47.59% of them have the genius of enablement as one of their two geniuses. It ranks #1 of the six in how frequently it shows up. That’s good news.

The genius of enablement is about relationships. People with it are great collaborators and team members. They like people. A danger for them is learning when to say, “no”, as they can become overcommitted. Another area to watch for is appeasement, trying to make everyone happy instead of focusing on what needs to be done.

Celebrate those who help. They are special and you won’t be successful without them.

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10

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.