Intro

Hey contractors! Don’t leave 2026 to chance! Join our free strategic planning web class on January 27 to get ahead: learn how to spot cash flow crunches before they hit, identify who to hire before you need them, and lock it all into a proven annual plan used by 1,900+ business owners. Click the link to register now: https://trybta.com/SPJan26

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP254

Use code EVOLUTION (at check out) for 20% off both the Ideal Team Player and Working Genius Assessments:

Ideal Team Player: https://www.tablegroup.com/idealteamplayer/

Working Genius: https://www.workinggenius.com/about/assessment

Are you sick of hiring the wrong people? Whether you got swindled by a smooth talker in an interview or hired a B-player in desperation, you know that recruiting top talent as a contractor is an uphill battle these days.

So today, we invited one of the most well-known experts in the industry to teach us how to simplify our hiring standards by using two proven frameworks for assessing prospective and current employees.

Our guest today is the one and only Patrick Lencioni.

He is the bestselling author of 13 books selling over 9 million copies worldwide. He’s most well known for The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

Today, we’re focusing on two of Pat’s books that are especially relevant for our industry: The Ideal Team Player and The 6 Types of Working Genius.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How to attract and hire Ideal Team Players at all levels of your business by looking for three key virtues.

The common archetypes that show up when someone is missing one of these virtues

AND how to identify the 6 types of working genius within your team so you can help everyone thrive in their roles

Pat was a dream to have on the show. If you have other guests you think we should interview, leave a comment and let us know.

More HEAVY HITTERS on Contractor Evolution:

Chris Voss - Negotiation Tactics for Contractors: https://youtu.be/a4RDJRtkOBY

Greg McKeown - Essentialism for Contractors: https://youtu.be/6J1qth84qwg

Garrett Gunderson - Why Most Contractors Stay Broke: https://youtu.be/-Xx2LKkKEI8

00:00-Intro

02:20-Why did you choose the construction industry to base your book, The Ideal Team Player, in?

05:30-Defining the three virtues of an ideal team player: hungry, humble, and smart

07:15-Defining "hungry"

09:35-Defining "humble"

11:33-Identifying "fake humble"

17:36-Defining "smart" as emotional intelligence (EQ)

23:05-How to spot these three virtues in the interview process

28:23-"Scaring" people in the recruiting process

30:55-How to look for "hunger"

33:14-“Non-ideal archetypes": the accidental mess-maker (humble and hungry, but not smart)

36:20-“Non-ideal archetypes": the lovable slacker (humble and smart, but not hungry)

40:29-“Non-ideal archetypes": the skillful politician (hungry and smart, but not humble)

44:35-About The 6 Types of Working Genius and getting people in the right seat on the bus