Team Development Using the Working Genius Model
Recently, our leadership team partnered with Dr. Meg Cavalier, an experienced educator and consultant, for a half-day leadership workshop designed to strengthen how our senior team collaborates. Using The Six Types of Working Genius, a model that blends personality insights with practical productivity tools, Dr. Meg guided the team through:
- Understanding their natural “geniuses” – the types of work that bring energy and joy
Identifying their “frustrations” – the types of work that drain them
Applying these insights to real team dynamics
The model is 20% personality and 80% productivity, which is part of what makes it transformative. As Dr. Meg shared, “This might be the best career development I have ever had because it is so practical, elegant, and team based.”
The session sparked reflection, connection and clarity – and even fun surprises. (For example: Nancy is learning to rap!) More importantly, it helped the team see how small shifts in alignment can reduce friction, increase fulfillment, and create more room for big thinking about how CKC Good Food can continue improving systems and services.
Who Is Dr. Meg Cavalier?
Dr. Meg is no stranger to building strong teams and strong systems. With a career spanning charter, district, and private schools, she has worn many hats: teacher, founder, professor, speaker, consultant. She built a new school for 600 students in St. Paul and led a school that received the US Department of Education Green Ribbon School Award in 2018. She’s an Adjunct Professor at Bethel University and Concordia University, and her current consulting includes leadership mentoring, facilitation, and project management.
She also founded two organizations that support Minnesota educators:
- The Charter Leader Institute, which provides professional learning, leadership coaching, and a mentorship program that helps new teachers grow “from green to great.”
- Minnesota Teacher Relicensure, offering cost-effective in-person and self-paced courses aligned with PELSB and BOSA requirements—designed so teachers can immediately apply what they learn in the classroom.
Her passion for empowering leaders extends into her certified work as a Working Genius facilitator, where she helps individuals and teams discover how to work with more joy, clarity, and efficiency.
Better Understanding = Better Service
Our time with Dr. Meg reinforced something we value: when we invest in our team, we improve the experience of every client and student we serve.
When our leaders understand each other’s strengths and communicate more effectively, it trickles down and impacts the quality of service we deliver to our clients. It creates better internal alignment that leads to clearer decision-making, more efficient processes, and a stronger team culture.
What Dr. Meg shared rings true: “It brings me immense joy as a Certified Working Genius Facilitator to see ‘light bulb’ moments when people realize what brings joy and frustration at work and how this simple awareness can recalibrate our mindset.”
For CKC Good Food, these light bulb moments are foundational. Behind every menu we craft, every delivery we make and every issue we solve is a team of people making sure our clients and students receive great meals and dependable service. We’re committed to developing our team to keep enhancing the way we show up as collaborative food service partners.