32 | Working Genius in the Boardroom

In this episode of the Build Better Boards podcast, Dr. Keri Jacobs, Richard Fagerlin, and Mitch Majeski explore how the Working Genius assessment can strengthen board governance. They discuss how understanding directors’ natural strengths and frustrations improves agenda discipline, decision clarity, and healthy oversight.Working Genius looks different in a boardroom than on a management team. Directors operate with line of sight to strategy, accountability, and long-term value. In this episode, they discuss:

• The six types of work—Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity—and how they show up in board conversations.
• Why boards experience “turbulence” when discussions shift altitude without clarity about the type of thinking required.
• How identifying each director’s Working Genius helps structure agenda items around purpose and oversight.
• The unique influence of the board chair in shaping group dynamics and maintaining the right altitude.
• What Tenacity looks like in governance: disciplined follow-through on priorities, clear motions and next steps, effective committee diligence, and consistent return to agreed metrics and commitments.
• How mapping a board’s collective strengths can reveal gaps in ideation, activation, or follow-through, allowing the board to adjust how it governs.

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