I’m in awe of those who are good at wonder, of asking questions others never thought to ask. I say to myself, how do they do that? What made them think that? I also know that without them, we would be stuck. Those who wonder are forward thinking, always asking, “why are things the way they are?”, “is there a better way?”, “what if…” or “why can’t we…”  They are energized by imagining possibilities.

Mark Zuckerberg, whether you love him or hate him, wondered if there was a better way to connect with other students at Harvard and then created a solution. Its popularity pushed the next question, “can we do this with students at other universities?”, and then, “why not everyone, everywhere?” It worked.

Someone at Walmart wondered if they could also sell groceries at their stores. Walmart experimented with a superstore in 1988. Success changed their business model to look for bigger tracts of land to build superstores with bigger parking lots. Today they lead the grocery business.

Amazon wondered if people really wanted to go to a store, causing them to create a way to ship products quickly to your door, which has revolutionized how we shop.

In biblical times, the Maji wondered when they first saw the star, which led them to Bethlehem.

We all have the capacity and skill to wonder, but many of us aren’t wired naturally to do it. I have the genius of wonder, but for me it’s one of my working competencies, which means I’m capable of doing it, but not for long periods of time. If I was asked to attend a 2-hour meeting to talk about my industry, possible changes and brainstorm some ideas for our organization, I would enjoy it. If we did it for a half day, I’m good to go. But if you scheduled two full days of it, I can’t do it well. I’ll run out of energy and get bored.

Yet someone reading this would absolutely love the 2 days offsite wondering. Their eyes just light up at the thought of it. If that’s you, it’s probably one of your two geniuses.

Every invention we’ve ever enjoyed began with someone wondering. Sometimes the person who wondered, was also the person who invented. Yet other times the person who wondered had other gifts and another person who was gifted with invention took their questions and created a solution. You can’t invent without someone wondering.

Every organization and team need people who have the genius of wonder. You might think that people with wonder slow down work because of all their questions and you would be wrong. While temporarily things might slow down, they help make certain the team or organization are solving the right problems. Without them, you’ll be too busy just doing, causing you to miss opportunities, and let your competition pass you by. Or without wonder, you might miss the needs of your customers or team members, causing them to look elsewhere.

Everything about having wonder isn’t perfect, their strength is also their weakness. Someone with wonder can wonder in a loop, causing them to over think and become paralyzed with inaction. They will also frustrate those they work with by always wanting to re-open a conversation on something that was decided. Maybe you’ve never had the experiences I’ve had where you are close to finishing something, and the person with wonder (who also happens to be the leader) says, “I’ve been thinking about what we’re about to do, and I wonder if …?” Because they were the leader, we of course must spend time re-considering what we already decided and become rushed and frustrated to get back on track to finish.

If you have the genius of wonder, I’m thankful for you. We need you and can’t get work done without you.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2: 1-2

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.