The Conversations Teams Keep Avoiding
Every team has a conversation they keep driving around. The feedback that never gets delivered. The disagreement that gets buried. The decision everyone privately doubts and publicly nods along to.
That’s the elephant in the room.
Where Does the Elephant Go After the Meeting?
It follows you back to work and stands in the intersection everything has to cross.
Uncomfortable in the room. Expensive in the world.
You already know the signs
- "We’ve always done it this way."
- The meeting after the meeting.
- Tension in the room that nobody names.
- Your most reliable people, quietly burning out.
What it costs
The conversation is cheap. Avoiding it isn’t.
Avoiding a conversation does not make it disappear. It gets paid for somewhere else, five ways.
Illustrative, one issue across thirty people. Yours are different.
Leadership Begins with Questions
Lean and Six Sigma taught a generation of operators to see waste on a production line, and they did it by asking questions in a deliberate order. The rework, the waiting, the inventory nobody needed: none of it was hidden. It just had no name until somebody asked.
That work moved the elephant out of the process. Ask enough questions in the right order and the thing everyone had been stepping around finally gets named. Once it has a name, it can be moved.
Then those same operators walk into a leadership meeting where all three wastes are happening in the room, and the questions stop at the door.
So the elephant comes back. Not in the process. In the room.
Bring That Same Clarity to Your People
Those questions did two things. They moved the elephant, and they left something behind: a shared way of reading the work, so nobody had to ask again.
That’s a signal. Red, yellow, green on a status report, understood the same way by everyone who sees it, from across the room, no meeting required.
You built that for the process. You never built it for the people running it.
And that is what the elephant blocks. Not the intersection, the view of it. Your team can’t read a signal it can’t see, so everybody creeps.
The elephant was never the enemy. It’s enormously powerful, it just has no business standing in a crossing. Move it to the work it’s built for and two things happen. The signals come back into view, and what blocked every lane becomes the strongest thing you own.
That’s the fifth cost. Talent was never missing. It was parked in the wrong place, and nobody had the conversation that moves it.
The Data Nobody Collects
Joy and pain aren’t soft. They’re chemical, and they run on a longer clock than any interview or training session. What gives energy gets repeated. What costs it gets avoided, quietly, months before anyone says it out loud.
So we ask two questions.
Where do you find joy in your work?
Where do you find pain?
A client once told me that in thirty years, no one had ever asked him that. He isn’t unusual. How many people on your team have spent even an hour on this with the person they report to?
Real Clients, Real Stories
Hear directly from clients about what changed when they started having the conversation.
What Clients Say
Public Google reviews, in full. There are more of them there.
“Mitch Bliven is a gift to business owners and nonprofits who want to take their leadership teams over the top. His insights into how people approach work and collaborate with others will help your organization exceed goals and ensure long-term success.”
Renee Ray Roth, Google review“Their approach to understanding and engaging the natural gifts of our team has not only boosted morale but also enhanced collaboration and productivity. By implementing their strategies, we’ve seen a significant reduction in burnout and turnover, creating a work environment where our employees feel valued, fulfilled, and motivated.”
Emily Deal, Google review-
I greatly enjoyed working with the team and have referenced my learnings from the process many times since!
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Highly recommend using the Working Genius tool to find where you shine! Mitch made the process approachable, insightful, and surprisingly practical.What I appreciated most was his ability to create a comfortable conversation rather than simply review assessment results. He listened well, asked thoughtful questions, and helped me connect the findings to real situations in both work and life.Several months later, I still find myself reflecting on insights from our discussion. Mitch has a natural way of helping people better understand how they are wired, where they bring value, and what may be contributing to frustration or burnout. I also appreciated how he shared examples from his own experience, which made the conversation relatable and helped bring the concepts to life.If you're considering Working Genius for personal growth, leadership development, or a better understanding of how you naturally contribute, I highly recommend working with Mitch.
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I had a great experience working with Mitchell Bliven and Genius Network Solutions. Mitch helped me better understand my Working Genius profile and translate it into language that is practical, accurate, and useful in a professional setting.What I appreciated most was that this was not just a generic assessment exercise. Mitch took the time to understand my background, leadership style, and the kinds of roles where I can create the most value. He helped turn the results into a clear narrative that I can use in networking, interviews, and leadership conversations.Mitch is thoughtful, insightful, and very good at connecting the Working Genius framework to real work situations. I would recommend him to leaders, teams, or organizations that want a clearer understanding of how people are wired to contribute and how to put that insight to practical use.
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Mitch is able to explain Working Genius in a really succinct and personal way. He reflected back to me what I already knew to be true: that helping and inspiring people is at the core of who I am, and that the closer I am to people, the happier I will be. I had never heard it framed that way before, and it couldn't ring more true. Thank you for helping me see myself more clearly. It was so enlightening!
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Working with Mitch and GNS has been fantastic. I've enjoyed learning more about myself and how I best work. I'd certainly recommend this team.
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This was a fantastic experience and very insightful, capturing my tendencies and suggesting ways to work with other Working Genius types.
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I’ve enjoyed my conversations with Mitchell Bliven. He brings real passion to the Working Genius framework. I used the foundation myself five years ago, and it was fun to see how he helps others put it into practice. His one‑pager was valuable and gave me clear context for what to do next.
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Working with Mitch, I found the Working Genius assessment itself helpful. But what really made the difference to me was how Mitch helped to apply it practically, so it's not just a snapshot but something that I can integrate into my daily work and life.
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Mitch and his team provided me with insights that have transformed my work life. This evaluation has allowed me a greater understanding of how I work best, which is being shown in both my output and my attitude.
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A very insightful program/method of evaluating one’s self. Mitch is well versed in Working Genius and will help you understand what motivates you, and how to use your traits to reach your goals.
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Did a great job helping me understand my best self and how I could improve my work performance. He used real work examples to help me understand my weaknesses and how to show up for my team. He was supportive and great to work with!
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I recently connected with Mitch and Cassie as part of their work with the Working Genius framework. While I haven’t attended one of their full consulting sessions, Mitch provided me with the online assessment and asked thoughtful, insightful questions that showed his strong grasp of the concepts. He clearly understands how to apply the framework in meaningful ways.Cassie was professional, polite, and excellent with follow‑through—she kept things organized and made the process smooth. Based on my experience, they bring both knowledge and professionalism to their work, and I can see how clients would benefit from their guidance.
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Mitch did a wonderful job helping me understand more about my Working Geniuses and how they interact with the others. He provided deep insights, allowing me to see these dynamics in a new and refreshing light. I appreciate his thoughtfulness and expertise regarding how this powerful tool can be used by a team within a business. Reach out to him if you are interested in implementing the Working Genius in your company.
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Working with Mitch Bliven and Genius Network Solutions has been a truly transformative experience. Mitch’s deep understanding of collaboration design through the Working Genius framework brings clarity, structure, and energy to teams in a way that few leaders can. His process helps organizations uncover how each person naturally contributes to success, turning potential friction points into powerful opportunities for synergy and growth.Beyond his expertise, Mitch is a person of exceptional integrity and character—thoughtful, genuine, and fully invested in the success of the people he works with. It’s rare to find someone who combines strategic insight with such humility and heart. I highly recommend Genius Network Solutions to any organization looking to elevate their team performance and build a culture of true collaboration.
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Just attended one of Mitch's workshops. Well put together and really cleared up some of the whys behind the different ways my team works.
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Mitchell Bliven's expertise in processing our team's Working Genius map was outstanding. His wisdom regarding team dynamics, personal development, and meeting strategies was incredibly beneficial. I highly recommend him and will continue to seek his guidance.
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Mitch is a thoughtful listener, asks great questions, and consistently offered helpful feedback. His insight helped me to understand my strengths and weaknesses better and led me to discover my next career steps. Thank you!
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I recently took the 6 Working Genius assessment through Mitch Bliven. I could not believe how accurate the results were. As my certified guy, he took me through the results and provided some great insights and recommendations for the use of the findings. I would recommend this for any individual and for teams looking for better cohesion building of team health. Mitch will really help you through this.
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Mitch is fantastic to work with! I set aside time for my two "frustration" categories throughout the day, and it has truly helped simplify and improve my daily life. I would recommend to anyone to speak with Mitch to learn your Genius's and grow as a person!
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Mitch and TWG has changed my life through his incredible passion and ability to articulate human behavioral patterns through the working genius template. I have awakened to aspects of myself in relation to my community, workplace, family, friends and overall world around and a deeper level then I knew was possible. As I implemented working genius techniques with Mitch’s array of knowledge he was able to passionately and inspiringly guide my qualities to the places where I would best fit and be understood in the world. When everyone has the chance to understand their strengths and weaknesses through this lense, you become unstoppable through tools of self awareness!Thank you for everything you do Mitch and for creating a platform for transformation and self empowerment to coexist and step into our true purpose together as a collective.
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“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” -Aristotle.Mitch and his team at GNS are committed to helping unlock this power of community and teamwork to allow teams to grow and thrive. Through a deeper understanding of each individual’s working genius profile, one can now start to deepen their understanding of their relationships within their teams, which is where the true genius of GNS comes alive.
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I am so thankful that Mitch took the time to offer this opportunity to us! With 2 kids in high school, getting these results has been helpful as they look into career choices for their future. This is a practical and insightful program- I highly recommend it!
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Working Genius has been an eye-opener for helping me and my team communicate and work together better. It’s a great tool to develop common language around the problem-solving process and each individual’s strengths along the process. I would highly recommend doing a workshop on Working Genius with your team if you’re looking to elevate the collaboration and interconnectedness of your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my team doesn’t really have one of these?
Every team has one. The only question is whether it has started costing you enough to be worth naming.
Is this a personality test?
No. Personality tells you who is in the room. This tells you where the work stalls.
We already did DiSC, Myers-Briggs, or StrengthsFinder.
Good, keep them. Those describe how people are wired to be. This measures where the work drains them, which is the part that shows up on your schedule.
What actually happens?
Your team maps where each person finds joy and pain, then uses that map to name one thing everyone has been working around.
How do we start?
A 30 minute conversation. Free, and you do not need to have anything figured out first.
Start With the Conversation That Unlocks the Rest
Decisions that stick the first time. Projects that close. The team moving instead of waiting.
That starts with one conversation, and it’s an easy one.