MCode vs Working Genius
If your organization bases its hiring, talent development, and retention strategies on the results of a workplace assessment, choose an assessment solution with a proven track record of empowering executives, business leaders, and high-performance teams for more than 60 years.
Some of these assessments are great (Working Genius has been a personal favorite), but… you have to force yourself into their pre-defined molds to get their predefined outputs. MCode is different. You tell it YOUR stories and it helps you understand what powered you through those personal wins. It provides structure and actionable intel on your core Motivations to help you think about your work, to create more victories in the future.
Energizing work not draining work
The Working Genius Assessment and Motivation Code assessment both examine the dichotomy between energizing life-giving work and draining soul-sucking work — and it's not about capabilities or strengths. Working Genius does it with workstyle preferences, and MCode does it with intrinsic Motivation.
Work that lights you up: When you lose yourself in your work, love what you're doing, give it your best, and go the extra mile, you tap into your strongest Motivations or Working Genius.
Work that shuts you down: When you procrastinate and struggle to care about or feel frustrated by your work, you tap into your weakest Motivations or Working Frustrations.
Strong, cohesive teams drive remarkable results
The most successful businesses have successful teams that give them a competitive advantage. But building high-performing teams without creating burnout is tough because it requires diversity in team makeup — diversity in skill, problem-solving and decision-making, behavior, and motivation.
Leaders with a crystal-clear understanding of complex team dynamics lead efficiently and effectively. They identify and fill critical team gaps, leverage team strengths, and match tasks with the right team members.
Teams that understand and respect each other and recognize the value each person contributes develop stronger relationships and work better together. They move faster and achieve more with less conflict and drama.
People who love their jobs don't just up and quit
Your happiest, most satisfied, fulfilled employees feel seen, understood, and valued. They know their work matters and makes a difference — and they genuinely enjoy their jobs and the people they work with. This doesn't happen by chance. It happens when you know your people and match their roles and assignments with their work style preferences and motivations.
When an assignment lights an individual up and sparks excitement, they engage deeply, work quickly, do their best work, and exceed expectations.
When their role within a team is clear and aligned with their natural abilities and motivations, they communicate, collaborate, and contribute with confidence.
When their managers optimize their work to play to their strengths and set them up to succeed, they become deeply loyal and stay longer.
How vs. Why
Working Genius and MCode are workplace personality assessments that aren't actually personality assessments. Working Genius assesses how work gets done and MCode assesses motivations that power decisions and actions.
The Working Genius Assessment classifies individuals according to the 6 Types of Working Genius: Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity. Results highlight Working Geniuses (top two), Working Competencies (middle two), and Working Frustrations (bottom two).
The Motivation Code assessment maps a personalized ranking of 32 Motivations to a spectrum of 8 Motivational Dimensions: Achiever, Driver, Influencer, Learner, Optimizer, Orchestrator, Relator, and Visionary.
Productivity vs. Motivation
MCode focuses on the WHY behind performance and productivity, helping individuals, leaders, and teams gain awareness of why people act the way they do. MCode creates more emotionally intelligent, compassionate teams.
Working Genius: Working Genius focuses on how individuals and teams can be most productive.
Work Style vs. Motivation
MCode achieves similar results to Working Genius but through the lens of what naturally lights people up and drives them to do their best work and what does the exact opposite.
Working Genius: Working Genius results are centered around how work is done, how teams work together, and how to get the most from your teams without burning them out.
Genius vs. Motivation
An individual has all 8 Motivational Dimensions and all 32 Motivations — what makes someone unique is determined by which Motivations are the strongest or most prominent and which are the weakest or least prominent.
Working Genius: An individual has all 6 Working Geniuses — what makes someone unique is determined by which Geniuses are the strongest and which are the weakest.
MCode vs Working Genius Features Comparison
While MCode has 60 years of scientific research and behavioral data on Working Genius, both assessment tools are used by organizations to empower leaders, engage employees, and increase the productivity and performance of high-performing teams — just not at the expense of joy, satisfaction, and deep fulfillment.
8 Motivational Dimensions shaped by a ranking of 32 Motivations.
6 types of working geniuses.
MCode is based on the System for Motivated Abilities (SIMA) created by Art Miller in the 1950s-60s, which studied how personal stories of achievement and fulfillment reveal motivated abilities and how motivation drives fulfillment.
Working Genius is based on Patrick Lencioni's 25 years of experience working with high-performing teams and organizations. He created the typology framework when trying to figure out why he occasionally felt drained and frustrated in his job.
Combines 60+ years of empirical science, qualitative research, behavioral psychology, and narrative psychology, with decades of research into high performance and the evaluation of millions of achievement and fulfillment stories.
This assessment is not science and it has not been validated. It was created by Patrick Lencioni based on his experiences. The Table Group is in the process of completing a validity and reliability study on the Working Genius Assessment.
Used since the 1960s in 1:1 interviews. Technology scaled the assessment, improved consistency, and eliminated interviewer bias. Decades of research on high performance strengthened workplace-specific results.
The assessment framework was developed by Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. The companion book, The 6 Types of Working Genius, was released in 2022.
Individuals share personal stories about times they were deeply engaged in an activity and loved every minute of what they were doing, and answer questions about those experiences.
Individuals answer a series of multiple-choice questions about their work preferences and behaviors related to problem-solving, communication, leadership, and collaboration.
Results are based on real, lived experiences and intrinsic motivation. They are not limited to work and provide a holistic understanding of a person. Core motivations remain consistent over time.
Results are focused on work, most specifically working in a team. Some users report results aren't very accurate predictors of individual behavior. Others claim results changed when taking the assessment a second time, with a Working Frustration becoming a Working Genius.
Personal growth, hiring, professional development, employee engagement, employee retention, job fit identification, task alignment, team building, leadership development, productivity enhancement.
Personal growth, hiring, professional development, employee engagement, employee retention, job fit identification, task alignment, team building, leadership development, productivity enhancement.
Results illuminate a person's motivations: What drives their thoughts, decisions, and actions and drives satisfaction and fulfillment.
Results categorize a person's geniuses into three areas: Working Geniuses, Working Competencies, and Working Frustrations.
Individuals may feel pressure to pick the stories that paint them in the best light. Some people have a hard time deciding which stories to share during the assessment process.
Results are limited to work-related preferences and may not encompass the entirety of who someone is or what they need to perform at their best and feel fulfilled by their work.
Slowing down to learn more about what motivates me has been hugely helpful in every facet of my work and personal life. Discovering my Driver strength and putting a name to my motivation has been great. I'd encourage every team in any industry to get the benefits of MCode.
MCode + Working Genius
The Motivation Code assessment and the Working Genius assessment share the same workforce goals: to help individuals understand the type of work that makes them come alive, to help organizations build high-performance teams, to help leaders understand how employees can best contribute, and to help teams improve productivity, efficiency, communication, and collaboration.
Working Genius approaches these goals from the perspective of strengths and work-related preferences. MCode approaches these goals from the perspective of natural advantages and motivation, identifying what an individual needs from their role, assignments, interactions, and work environment to succeed and feel fulfilled.
Strategic Professional Development
Results from both assessments create a strong foundation for personalized development plans. Leaders and coaches who tap into motivational drivers and work style preferences can customize strategies to fit each individual.
Aligned Task Assignment
Leaders who know an individual's working geniuses and intrinsic motivations can optimize engagement and performance. They can ensure tasks are interesting, motivating, aligned with natural abilities, and complementary to teammates' roles.
Improved Engagement and Retention
Organizations that use motivation and work preferences gain a competitive edge. Knowing what makes someone come alive, their strengths, and the "why" behind their behavior helps companies hire the right people, ensure job fit, and reduce churn.
Deeper Understanding of Team Dynamics
MCode's insights into intrinsic motivation combined with Working Genius's understanding of work preferences provide a comprehensive view of team dynamics. When team members know what drives their behavior and how they prefer to work, teams collaborate better.
Improved Leadership Effectiveness
When leaders are equipped with assessment tools like MCode and Working Genius, they become more effective, confident, inspiring leaders. Ensuring team members feel seen, understood, and valued improves team culture, reduces conflict, and builds trust.
Discover your MCode!
See what truly motivates you and experience work at its best.