Genius Team Role Explained

Belonging to the group according to the team role theory: Air group

Air personality types have fluid emotional intelligence and often have their heads in the clouds. At first glance, such people lack organization and discipline — but that doesn't mean they don't work well. Most often, representatives of the Air group are very gifted and talented, and some are even brilliant.

Standard work instructions or conditions are usually not enough to unleash their potential for the team. First, they need the freedom to work at their own pace; second, they have to be genuinely interested. Then individuals from the Air group are comfortable working and can deliver amazing results.

Not every team has a Genius, and not every team feels the need for people of this type. Usually, a Genius is a loner, barely involved in team life. Such people think big and aren't afraid of bold ideas and experiments. A Genius isn't necessarily introverted, but they always stand out because of their passion for the profession and keep their distance when communicating with co-workers.

Such people are not highly motivated by money — however, a big paycheck is still high on their priority list. They work willingly only when interested in the idea or task itself. For people of this type, intangible honors like recognition and authority are very important. Geniuses are completely obsessed with their work. As a rule, their entire life — work and free time — is devoted to the study of their chosen topics. Such people have a true calling for their profession.

They are the ones who see work tasks as a challenge to their professionalism. They may not sleep or eat for several days to find the right solution. Geniuses don't accept constraints and are always looking for their own way of completing the assigned tasks.

Geniuses go through two stages of development. In the first stage, the Genius already realizes they are significantly ahead of their colleagues, but at the same time, they work for the team and don't require special treatment. Geniuses in the first stage provide the most value to the company. The second stage comes when the Genius realizes the full depth of the gap between their level and that of other team members and can no longer hold back their need for recognition. From this moment on, the Genius's demands regarding the complexity of tasks, resource allocation, and working conditions will only increase.

• Geniuses can bring truly revolutionary ideas to life in their industry.
• Having such people on the team encourages the rest of the employees to keep developing and learning.
• Geniuses never back down when they take on a project or task.
• Such people don't need external motivation; they set their own goals and achieve them.
• The thinking of this type of person is unique — if they voice an idea to the team, it's definitely worthwhile.
• Geniuses don't recognize authorities and are ready to defend their point of view.

• A Genius can often feel useless or out of place on the team.
• The Genius doesn't separate professional and personal life very well — their chosen profession greatly influences their personality as a whole.
• They might reinvent the wheel, developing a solution from scratch instead of refining the existing one.
• Their ever-growing sense of professional excellence breeds a condescending attitude toward their colleagues' abilities.
• They become less and less team-oriented as their own capabilities grow.

The team members with the mindset closest to Geniuses are the Analysts — Geniuses prefer to receive tasks from them and discuss possible solutions with them. Warriors can annoy Geniuses with their groundless self-confidence and insufficient level of knowledge, so to avoid conflicts, they should keep communication to a minimum.

Geniuses are loners by nature, so they prefer to depend as little as possible on the results of other team members. When working on a task, such people easily find alternative solutions, which the entire team can later use.

Most teams should recruit mature Geniuses only for the duration of a complex project, not permanently. Exceptions are high-tech industries such as software or drug development, where the whole business can be built on the Genius's ideas and decisions.

Established Geniuses may be overly proud of their past achievements and stop developing. To avoid this, the Genius needs to constantly tackle increasingly complex tasks and projects.

If they want to, Geniuses can easily become good top managers. Thanks to their knowledge and experience, they have absolute authority over their subordinates.

Burnout at work is a significant problem for people of this type. Geniuses desperately need to learn how to rest and how to balance time between work and personal life.