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6. Leadership Development Using the Enneagram
Episode 613th February 2024 • Upleveling Work • Michelle Kay Anderson
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Have you ever wondered if an issue you were facing at work was related to the task or perhaps to personality styles? Do you long to feel more confident in your ability to be a great leader? What if I could share data that could give you x-ray vision into your team dynamics?

In this episode, I share two ways that I use the Enneagram personality system to help teams reach their full potential. We cover how the Enneagram can help with leadership development, how to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your team.

(The two ways I use the Enneagram to help teams communicate better are explored in Part 2 next week.)

🔗 This episode is packed with tools and resources to help you uplevel work. You'll find everything mentioned in the complete show notes at https://uplevelingwork.com/6

Connect with Michelle:

Instagram | Free ebooks | Website

Transcripts

Michelle:

Welcome to episode five, how I use the Enneagram to help teams.

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I'm Michelle Kay Anderson and I'm excited

to bring you this two part series on

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four ways that you can use the Enneagram

to help improve performance at work.

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I recorded this episode after conducting

a team workshop with a group that I've

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been working with for a couple of years.

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And I was celebrating the fact that

we did some really deep work over a

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couple of days and how that opportunity

becomes available to teams when

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you've been working with a system

like the Enneagram for a little bit.

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So I thought I'd share specifics

on how you can apply the Enneagram

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at work so you can evaluate if

this might be a good fit for you.

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Typically managers who are working

on team building might have the team

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take a personality test or bring

in an expert to conduct a workshop.

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But often within like a week,

things seem to go back to normal.

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Working with a system like the Enneagram

allows you not just to understand each

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other better, but to begin to identify

interventions and pattern changes that

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will move the needle for you collectively.

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But working with a system like the

Enneagram is a little bit different

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in that it allows you not just to

understand each other better or

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to put each other into categories.

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Right.

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But it allows you to begin to identify

specific interventions and patterns

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that you can change that are going to

move the needle for you collectively.

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The conscious leaders that I work

with know that categorizing people is

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not a useful way to build connection.

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---

Okay, so The four main things that I tend to work on with teams when I'm

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using the Enneagram are leadership

development, identifying the strengths

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and weaknesses of your team style,

improving relationships on the team, and

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becoming more effective communicators.

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Let's start by looking at

leadership development specifically.

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In 21st century organizations,

every employee is encouraged to

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think of themselves as a leader.

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And that tends to come from the

seemingly endless set of challenges

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that go beyond just doing your job.

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Being a leader in this new world means

dealing with the fast pace of change,

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the need to improve communications

to foster better collaboration, and

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the need to relate to an increasingly

diverse workforce and stakeholders.

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Now more than ever, we need

reliable tools to help decode

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and resolve the misunderstandings

and relationship problems that

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happen all the time in business.

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One of the mistakes that managers

make when they get promoted or take

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on responsibility for a new team

is that they try to adopt a new

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leadership style or to strengthen

their leadership style typically by

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modeling it after Maybe a mentor or

the previous manager or someone who has

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been successful at the organization.

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But the type of leadership development

that I'm interested in is helping you to

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trust your unique style and the gifts that

you bring and the perspective that you

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have about the work that needs to be done.

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We don't just need one

kind of leader, right?

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There is a lot of value in

organizations and having a diverse

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set of experiences and personalities

that are leading the way.

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Warren Bennis, an author, scholar,

and leadership expert, is quoted

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as saying, "Becoming a leader is

synonymous with becoming yourself.

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It is precisely that simple,

and it is also that difficult."

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And Peter Hawkins, who's also an author,

leadership professor, and management

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consultant, thinks that to "develop

leadership is less about learning

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new skills and more about unlearning

habits and breaking free from limiting

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mindsets we already have acquired.

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I love the idea of thinking about

leadership development as a homecoming to

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who you really are and the potentiality

that already exists inside of you.

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And working with the Enneagram Types

can help you really embrace what

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makes you unique and to see the ego

defensiveness that might be getting

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in the way or become unconscious

habits that are no longer serving you.

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It also allows you to access the wisdom

of all three of your centers - your

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mind, body, and heart - so that you

can lead from a more grounded place

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and access a deeper source of wisdom.

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According to research by Daniel Goleman

and others, the key factors in developing

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high quality leadership are self

awareness and emotional intelligence.

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Self awareness is the ability to be

mindful or conscious about what you

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do, how you do it, and why you do it.

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And emotional intelligence is the

ability to recognize, understand,

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and manage your own emotions, and the

capacity to recognize, understand, and

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empathize with the emotions of others.

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Imagine I'm drawing a graph that's

divided into four quadrants.

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Along the horizontal axis we have

emotional intelligence, and on the

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vertical axis we have self awareness.

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So then across the bottom we have leaders

who are not self aware, and across the

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top we have ones that are highly self

aware, and on the left of this graph

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we have leaders who have low emotional

intelligence, and on the right, ones

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that have higher emotional intelligence.

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If we were to put a name to each

of these quadrants, I might call

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the lower left quadrant that has

low emotional intelligence and

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low self awareness, Task Managers.

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These folks will put their head down

and do what they're asked to do.

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As long as the rules are

clear, they're good to go.

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As a leader develops higher self

awareness, but maybe they still have

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low emotional intelligence, so we're in

the upper left quadrant here, I might

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call this the Egocentric Architect.

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The high self awareness makes them

acutely aware of their own needs and

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desires, but they can be blind to

the needs of other people because

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they have low emotional intelligence.

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These guys tend to be outlaws and

a little bit oblivious and their

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self interest tends to drive them

a little bit more, which is why I

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call them the egocentric architects.

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They're often quite smart and

know how to get things done.

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Okay, so now we go over to leaders

who have high emotional intelligence.

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So in the lower right quadrant.

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You have high emotional

intelligence and low self awareness.

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I might call these leaders

Empathic Martyrs, right?

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They're very attuned to the needs of

other people, but a little bit blind

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to their own patterns and needs.

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They can be self

sacrificing and super warm.

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And finally, you have leaders with high

emotional intelligence and high self

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awareness in that upper right quadrant.

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These leaders I call Resilient

Visionaries because they are self aware

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of their own strengths and limitations

of those strengths and the patterns

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that tend to get in their own way, and

they have high emotional intelligence

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so they can self regulate, they can

attune to the needs of other people,

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and even see into the environment.

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These are folks that have better access

to the wisdom of all three centers of

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intelligence, and so that allows them

to be more creative and innovative

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because they can see things more clearly.

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The idea here is that working with the

Enneagram can help you develop both self

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awareness and emotional intelligence in

a way that can help you collectively move

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up and into that upper right quadrant.

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Okay, so that is how I use the Enneagram

to work on leadership development.

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The second area that I use the Enneagram

to help teams reach their full potential

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is by running that Integrative Enneagrams

team report, which creates a team profile.

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And with that profile, I'm

able to identify the strengths,

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weaknesses, and risks associated

with your current team style.

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We look at the dominant style on your

team and the two supporting styles

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that are coming up underneath it.

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Like, you get this bar chart that

shows you for each of the nine styles,

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where you rank and so it's really

easy to visually see which style you

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might be overusing and which ones are

supporting and coloring the certain

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strengths that you have on your team.

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But it also identifies the lowest

used styles on your team to help

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you understand where you might

have a weakness or a blind spot.

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So seeing these imbalances visually

can help name some dynamics that

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might be playing out on your team

that you didn't fully understand

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or couldn't put your finger on.

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And the combination of all of this

knowledge starts to help us identify risks

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associated with relying on our strengths

too much or some of those blind spots, so

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that as you're planning your project, you

can mitigate those risks or plan to get

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more data or to pull in more resources

depending on how risk averse you are

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or what resources are available to you.

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This is also where we use

Tuckman's stages of development

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and overlay Enneagram styles.

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So you can look at how your team

style shows up in each of those

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stages of development that we

talked about in episode two.

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And pinpoint specific interventions

that are going to help you accelerate

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through those stages of development

faster so that you can get to high

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performance as a team more efficiently.

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Okay, so that's the second way.

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We're identifying strengths, weaknesses,

and risks associated with your team style.

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So that covers the first two ways that I

work with teams to improve performance,

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using insights from the Enneagram - we're

cultivating your unique leadership

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style and identifying the strengths

and weaknesses of your team style.

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These are the first steps and becoming

a more empowering, conscious leader.

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In the next episode, I'm going to

cover building trust and becoming

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more effective communicators.

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Because I go into detail on Enneagram

patterns in the next episode,

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you might want to brush up on

the system, if it is new to you.

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In addition to the free

content available on my blog at

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michellekayanderson.com/enneagram101,

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I also have a course that breaks it

all down for you in under two hours.

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You can find that at

michellekanderson.com/enneagramforteams.

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If you already know that you want access

to this type of information for your

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team and are interested in running

a team report, you can DM me or go

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to michellekayanderson.com/services

to learn more.

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And if you have a specific question that

you want me to answer on this podcast,

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you can go to uplevelingwork.com.

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Click on leave a voicemail.

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And I'll get in touch with

you for a future episode.

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This is episode four, how I

use the Enneagram at work.

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In the last episode we talked a little

bit about why I use the Enneagram

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system and some of the personal

benefits that I've seen in my life.

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Today I'd like to focus on how I

use the Enneagram at work and the

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benefits that the teams that I'm

working with can see as they use it.

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Most people find the Enneagram

like at a dinner party.

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They have a friend kind of tell

them about it and share a little

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bit about what they've learned about

themselves and how knowing your

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type might help you understand a

particular situation in your life.

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I get a lot of questions about how

would you even use this at work?

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In this episode, I will share four

specific ways that I use Enneagram data

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and personality generally to help teams

improve their performance or communicate

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better and establish trust and rapport.

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The Enneagram can help unlock

the potential of a team by

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working to identify the gifts and

strengths of your team's style.

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And then within your team it can

help you value and support the unique

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contribution of each team member.

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And then it also helps you

to notice any significant

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imbalances in the team profile.

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It's almost an invitation to ask,

what does a team lose by paying

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attention to these specific areas?

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When I run the team report from

integrative Enneagram for the teams that

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I work with, it generates a team style,

which is kind of like a compilation of how

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all the individual styles come together

on your team and how you're operating.

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Sometimes a style is aligned with the

other styles on your team, but other times

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it can be a completely different style.

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So you each have your

individual Enneagram styles.

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And then we can also look at how those

styles come together to form a team style.

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And you can discuss points of inefficiency

or friction in the team and the patterns

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or assumptions that are underlying them.

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It's like as a team we have this new

language to start to name certain dynamics

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with more specificity so that we can start

to talk about them and work with them.

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The Enneagram can help you understand

your collective social and conflict

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styles and develop processes to

harness healthy conflict as a driver

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of performance, not a barrier.

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It is becoming increasingly clear

that businesses need to invest

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in leadership development for

both team members and managers.

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Did you know that 75 percent

of long term success in a job

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role comes from soft skills?

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The remaining 25 percent

are from technical skills.

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You would think it would be the reverse,

but it's the soft skills that separate

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high performers from average performers,

according to the Stanford Research

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Institute, and 21 percent of profitability

increases come from highly engaged teams.

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Engagement looks like employees

showing up every day with passion

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and purpose, presence and energy.

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However, 53 percent of workers

report not feeling engaged

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at work, according to Gallup.

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94 percent of employees would

prolong their stay in an organization

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who invests in their development.

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And 96 percent of employees believe

that showing empathy is one of the most

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important ways we can improve retention.

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That's according to LinkedIn's

Workplace Learning Report.

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However, 69 percent of managers

express feeling uncomfortable

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communicating with their employees.

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Businesses with highly effective

communicators have a 47 percent higher

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total return to shareholders compared

to companies with the least effective

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communicators, according to the Harvard

Business Review and Towers Watson.

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What it tells us is that communication

has a direct link to both engagement

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in employees and retention of workers.

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And that soft skills are the things

that are going to help you translate

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mediocre performance into high performance

at the individual and team level.

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But the thing is, most of us

are operating on autopilot.

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This is a common mistake I see with

clients as they start coaching with me.

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It's true of everyone, really.

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The thing is, we don't know that we're

operating on autopilot most of the

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time, but most of us stay asleep to

our blind spots and the unconscious

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tendencies that are no longer serving us.

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This might look like doing the

same things over and over again,

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hoping something will change.

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Or not making progress in your

career or business for reasons

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you don't totally understand.

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Or maybe surrendering to the hustle,

working harder or longer, but not

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making a material difference and finding

yourself on a fast track to burnout.

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Maybe you're staying in a job

longer than you should, or you're

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waiting around for the right

opportunities to fall in your lap.

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I talk to a lot of people in career

crisis who are tired of playing office

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politics, or chasing the next client

or new job opportunity in the hopes of

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feeling more fulfilled or successful.

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And because they're asleep to their

own blind spots, and the ways that

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they might be preventing the very

thing that they want, they feel

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frustrated and insecure, believing

that they can't catch a break, or that

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maybe they aren't cut out for this.

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It is hard not to think that you

aren't enough when you get passed

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over for a promotion again and again.

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Using the Enneagram system at work

allows you to more clearly see the

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areas where you're strong and have

something unique to contribute and

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what work might not be meant for you.

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In other words, where are you trying

to fit a square peg in a round hole,

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when instead you could be embracing

and celebrating what makes you unique

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or communicating in a way that it

will land better with your audience.

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That way you can more confidently go

after those dream projects or clients,

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say no to the things that aren't

helping you get where you want to go,

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and find a little more ease and flow.

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Think about it, managing a team

when you're operating on autopilot

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is like traveling around the

world without navigation or sonar.

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You might see what is immediately

in front of you and try to navigate

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what comes up in the moment.

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If you hit an iceberg or something

under the surface, it's because

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you didn't see it or anticipate it.

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And so you have no way of what

is really lurking under there.

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If you run into something, you

might take on water and start to

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bail and try to patch things up

in order to keep moving forward.

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You have a choice.

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Either you do what you need to do to

move forward in these situations, or

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you turn your engines off and drift.

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Either way, it tends to be

super inefficient way to

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get where you want to go.

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This is kind of how we're

living on the daily.

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Your conscious mind deals with

the immediate demands, but the

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subconscious is what is determining

your course and influencing the results

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that you're seeing in your life.

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But what if you could install

a navigation and sonar system?

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Would you invest the time

to learn how to use it and

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practice your navigation skills?

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Of course you would.

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The truth is, it isn't about

how hard you're working or how

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long you've been at the job.

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It's all about charting your course,

using the resources available to

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you, and being strategic about

avoiding the obstacles in your way.

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What if you didn't have to work

any harder to get what you want?

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While many people are familiar

with the Enneagram as a framework

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for working with individuals, the

Enneagram also offers insight into

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what drives the behavior of teams,

groups, organizations, and communities,

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as well as providing practical

ways to improve the effectiveness.

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Most of us think of business

like a machine, where you have

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people or resources as inputs

that produce a product or service.

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And managers think about pulling

different levers or trying to

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optimize the performance of this

machine in order to produce the most

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products in the most efficient way.

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But human systems and organizations

operate more like an ecosystem or

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a living community than a machine.

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The people and teams that

make up organizations have an

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undeniably powerful effect on

the systems that they act within.

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So as each individual takes action and

then interacts with the other people

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that they work with, individuals and

the groups are making sense of the world

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and learning and adapting as they go.

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The Enneagram helps us decode and make

sense of the dynamic relationships between

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people and the systems that they form

as groups, teams, and organizations.

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So as we operate within teams and

organizations, The individuals

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influence each other, and then

the collective is also influencing

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individuals in very complex ways.

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The challenges often lie in the

relationship between individuals,

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or between the individual and

the system, and the Enneagram can

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help highlight both tensions and

possibilities in these relationships.

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Okay, so this next section draws on a

lot of the training materials that I

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received from the Integrative Enneagram

when I learned how to administer the

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team report and interpret the results.

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I really like the way they use

this model of concentric circles to

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describe the ripple effect that this

work can have within an organization.

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In the middle of this...

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model, if you can imagine, uh, the

little circle in the middle is the

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individual and then the next largest

circle that is around it is the team.

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And then the biggest circle on

the outside is the organization.

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So you can think of this

model as three nested circles.

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Starting at that individual circle in the

middle, people who are self aware are more

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aware of their habits and are better able

to reflect on and change their behaviors.

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They have this enhanced understanding

of themselves and others that enables

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them not only to be more effective

at the personal level, but also more

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compassionate and authentic in the

relationships that they have with others.

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And then, at the team level,

compassionate, authentic engagement drives

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trust in teams, groups, and even families.

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Self aware people support

positive group dynamics.

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They're better at communicating,

managing conflict, and making

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decisions collectively.

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And in the outside circle, learnings from

the individual and the team level then

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filter through to the organization and

community to create improved collaboration

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and the ability to affect real change,

supporting an innovative, adaptive culture

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that is positioned for long term success.

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So let's look at how working with

the Enneagram at the individual

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level adds value to the system.

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Within teams, families, and

systems, individuals are constantly

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learning, developing, adapting,

and improving their skills and

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knowledge to remain relevant and grow.

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The Enneagram offers an in depth

understanding of the diverse, often

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unconscious assumptions and patterns

that drive individual behavior.

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This deeper self awareness leads to

a fundamental shift in the way that

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we think, feel, and show up in the

world, while also developing our

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compassion and understanding of the

needs and perspectives of others.

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Employees, leaders, and teams with higher

levels of emotional intelligence, self

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awareness, and the ability to understand

and communicate with others tend to

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outperform their peers in most settings.

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The Enneagram is helpful for any

individual who seeks to understand

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themselves and others better, become more

tolerant, better at conflict resolution,

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and more courageous and authentic.

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It supports a diverse range of individuals

in using their strengths more effectively

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in many different areas of their life.

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Its depth and integrative nature make

it ideal for multi layered development

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over time and it is capable of

addressing a diverse range of issues.

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Now let's look at how working

with the Enneagram supports teams.

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Working effectively in teams requires

high levels of collaboration, trust,

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and interactive decision making between

diverse members and personalities.

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Therefore, much of the conflict and

friction in teams is the result of

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misunderstandings or differences

between members perspectives.

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The Enneagram offers teams a language for

understanding, discussing, and leveraging

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their diverse perspectives and strengths.

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This enables them to improve

communication, understand different

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members approaches to conflict, and

respect and leverage the gifts of

361

:

each individual within the team.

362

:

The Integrative Enneagram Report also

scales to apply to teams, going beyond

363

:

illuminating the challenges each player

may experience in a team environment

364

:

as a result of their individual type.

365

:

This team profile applies team theory

to decode and describe how the team's

366

:

diverse perspectives blend into a set of

unique collective drivers and dynamics.

367

:

Reflecting their collective Enneagram

team style and the gifts and

368

:

potential challenges they might face.

369

:

And then finally, we'll look at

how working with the Enneagram

370

:

supports the organization as a

whole and adds value at that level.

371

:

To succeed and thrive in this

modern, increasingly complex and fast

372

:

changing world, organizations need

different voices and perspectives.

373

:

This is why diversity and inclusion

initiatives are so important right now.

374

:

Major organizations around the world

are using the Enneagram to align and

375

:

link diverse organizational development

initiatives, such as leadership

376

:

development, team building, culture and

climate, engagement, and productivity.

377

:

As one framework that scales to multiple

levels, the Enneagram not only offers

378

:

a language for discussing and balancing

diverse perspectives, complex trade

379

:

offs, and real systemic polarities, It

allows organizations to embrace diverse

380

:

perspectives and utilize the gifts of

their staff, offering the potential

381

:

to create coherent, long term journeys

that result in sustainable change.

382

:

By helping managers and leaders

identify the individual needs,

383

:

motivations, and drivers of their

staff, the Enneagram helps them get

384

:

the best out of their people, even

in times of change or uncertainty.

385

:

Did you know that the Enneagram

has been used to develop leaders

386

:

in hundreds of companies, including

the NBA, Spotify, Dropbox, Toyota,

387

:

Best Buy, and Avon, among others.

388

:

Companies who work with the Enneagram have

experienced specific benefits, including

389

:

improved happiness, job performance,

engagement, communication, problem

390

:

solving, relationship satisfaction,

effectiveness, and self confidence.

391

:

And they've seen decreased

anxiety, stress, depression,

392

:

misunderstanding, and conflict.

393

:

This comes out of a survey that

the Enneagram in Business conducts.

394

:

I just completed a team workshop

with a group that I've been

395

:

working with for a couple of years.

396

:

We were doing some deep work that can

only happen when you've been working

397

:

with the system for a little bit.

398

:

Okay, so the four main things that I

tend to work on with teams when I'm

399

:

using the Enneagram are leadership

development, identifying the strengths

400

:

and weaknesses of your team style.

401

:

Improving relationships on the team and

becoming more effective communicators.

402

:

Let's start by looking at

leadership development specifically.

403

:

In 21st century organizations,

every employee is encouraged to

404

:

think of themselves as a leader.

405

:

And that tends to come from the

seemingly endless set of challenges

406

:

that go beyond just doing your job.

407

:

Being a leader in this new world means

dealing with the fast pace of change,

408

:

the need to improve communications

to foster better collaboration, and

409

:

the need to relate to an increasingly

diverse workforce and stakeholders.

410

:

Now more than ever, we need

reliable tools to help decode

411

:

and resolve the misunderstandings

and relationship problems that

412

:

happen all the time in business.

413

:

One of the mistakes that managers

make when they get promoted or take on

414

:

responsibility for a new team is that

they try to Adopt a new leadership style

415

:

or to strengthen their leadership style

typically by modeling it after Maybe

416

:

a mentor or the previous manager or

someone who has been successful at the

417

:

organization But the type of leadership

development that I'm interested in

418

:

is helping you to trust your unique

style and the gifts that you bring

419

:

and the perspective that you have

about the work that needs to be done.

420

:

We don't just need one

kind of leader, right?

421

:

There is a lot of value in

organizations and having a diverse

422

:

set of experiences and personalities

that are leading the way.

423

:

Warren Bennis, an author, scholar,

and leadership expert, is quoted

424

:

as saying, Becoming a leader is

synonymous with becoming yourself.

425

:

It is precisely that simple,

and it is also that difficult.

426

:

And Peter Hawkins, who's also an author,

leadership professor, and management

427

:

consultant, thinks that to develop

leadership is less about learning

428

:

new skills and more about unlearning

habits and breaking free from limiting

429

:

mindsets we already have acquired.

430

:

I love the idea of thinking about

leadership development as a homecoming to

431

:

who you really are and the potentiality

that already exists inside of you.

432

:

And working with the Enneagram Types

can help you really embrace what

433

:

makes you unique and to see the ego

defensiveness that might be getting

434

:

in the way or become unconscious

habits that are no longer serving you.

435

:

It also allows you to access the

wisdom of all three of your centers.

436

:

your mind, body, and heart so that you

can lead from a more grounded place

437

:

and access a deeper source of wisdom.

438

:

According to research by Daniel Goleman

and others, the key factors in developing

439

:

high quality leadership are self

awareness and emotional intelligence.

440

:

Self awareness is the ability to be

mindful or conscious about what you

441

:

do, how you do it, and why you do it.

442

:

And emotional intelligence is the

ability to recognize, understand,

443

:

and manage your own emotions, and the

capacity to recognize, understand, and

444

:

empathize with the emotions of others.

445

:

Imagine I'm drawing a graph that's

divided into four quadrants.

446

:

Along the horizontal axis we have

emotional intelligence, and on the

447

:

vertical axis we have self awareness.

448

:

So then across the bottom we have leaders

who are not self aware, and across the

449

:

top we have ones that are highly self

aware, and on the left of this graph

450

:

we have leaders who have low emotional

intelligence, and on the right, ones

451

:

that have higher emotional intelligence.

452

:

If we were to put a name to each

of these quadrants, I might call

453

:

the lower left quadrant that has

low emotional intelligence and

454

:

low self awareness, Task Managers.

455

:

These folks will put their head down

and do what they're asked to do.

456

:

As long as the rules are

clear, they're good to go.

457

:

As a leader develops higher self

awareness, but maybe they still have

458

:

low emotional intelligence, so we're

in the upper left quadrant here.

459

:

I might call this the

egocentric architect.

460

:

The high self awareness makes them

acutely aware of their own needs and

461

:

desires, but they can be blind to

the needs of other people because

462

:

they have low emotional intelligence.

463

:

These guys tend to be outlaws and

a little bit oblivious and their

464

:

self interest tends to drive them

a little bit more, which is why I

465

:

call them the egocentric architects.

466

:

They're often quite smart and

know how to get things done.

467

:

Okay, so now we go over to leaders

who have high emotional intelligence.

468

:

So in the lower right quadrant.

469

:

You have high emotional

intelligence and low self awareness.

470

:

I might call these leaders

empathic martyrs, right?

471

:

They're very attuned to the needs of

other people, but a little bit blind

472

:

to their own patterns and needs.

473

:

They can be self

sacrificing and super warm.

474

:

And finally, you have leaders with high

emotional intelligence and high self

475

:

awareness in that upper right quadrant.

476

:

These leaders I call resilient

visionaries because they are self aware

477

:

of their own strengths and limitations

of those strengths and the patterns

478

:

that tend to get in their own way, and

they have high emotional intelligence

479

:

so they can self regulate, they can

attune to the needs of other people,

480

:

and even see into the environment.

481

:

These are folks that have better

access to the wisdom of all three.

482

:

centers of intelligence, and

so that allows them to be more

483

:

creative and innovative because

they can see things more clearly.

484

:

The idea here is that working with the

Enneagram can help you develop both self

485

:

awareness and emotional intelligence in

a way that can help you collectively move

486

:

up and into that upper right quadrant.

487

:

Okay, so that is how I use the Enneagram

to work On leadership development.

488

:

The second area that I use the Enneagram

to help teams reach their full potential

489

:

is by running that integrative Enneagrams

team report, which creates a team profile.

490

:

And with that profile, I'm

able to identify the strengths,

491

:

weaknesses, and risks associated

with your current team style.

492

:

We look at the dominant style on your

team and the two supporting styles

493

:

that are coming up underneath it.

494

:

Like you get this bar chart that

shows you for each of the nine styles,

495

:

where you rank and so it's really

easy to visually see which style you

496

:

might be overusing and which ones are

supporting and coloring the certain

497

:

strengths that you have on your team.

498

:

But it also identifies the lowest

used styles on your team to help

499

:

you understand where you might

have A weakness or a blind spot.

500

:

So seeing these imbalances visually

can help name some dynamics that

501

:

might be playing out on your team

that you didn't fully understand

502

:

or couldn't put your finger on.

503

:

And the combination of all of this

knowledge starts to help us identify risks

504

:

associated with relying on our strengths.

505

:

Too much.

506

:

Or some of those blind spots so that

as you're planning your project, you

507

:

can mitigate those risks or plan to get

more data or to pull in more resources

508

:

depending on how risk averse you are

or what resources are available to you.

509

:

This is also where we use

Tuckman's stages of development

510

:

and overlay Enneagram styles.

511

:

So you can look at how your team

style shows up in each of those

512

:

stages of development that we

talked about in episode two.

513

:

And pinpoint specific interventions

that are going to help you accelerate

514

:

through those stages of development

faster so that you can get to high

515

:

performance as a team more efficiently.

516

:

Okay, so that's the second way.

517

:

We're identifying strengths, weaknesses,

and risks associated with your team style.

518

:

The third way that I use the

Enneagram to help teams increase their

519

:

potential is to build relationships.

520

:

And what I found is that you can

reduce conflict by increasing the

521

:

understanding that we have of each other.

522

:

There are four specific patterns that

the Enneagram can measure on your

523

:

team to help you identify friction

or inefficiencies that are there.

524

:

One of the patterns that are

identified in your team report

525

:

are the centers of expression.

526

:

Which are like preferences

in how you express yourself

527

:

or you relate to the world.

528

:

In the Action Center, you're

more focused on tasks.

529

:

So, like, the teams who rely on the

Task Center or Action Center the most

530

:

are asking questions like, what's

the goal and how can we get started?

531

:

They tend to get it done,

jump in, and focus on results.

532

:

The thinking center on a team is

associated more with process or how.

533

:

When you're operating from this center

more, you're asking questions like,

534

:

what's the best way to approach this?

535

:

You analyze, you think it through, and

you tend to stay a little more calm.

536

:

And the feeling center is more

focused on people or relationships.

537

:

When you rely on this center,

you're asking questions like how do

538

:

people feel about what's happening?

539

:

You check in more, you listen really

well, and you take care of each other.

540

:

And whether you over rely or

under use one of those centers of

541

:

expression can also create certain

patterns you can get fixated in,

542

:

ways that you might over rely on.

543

:

data or jump into action before you've

really gathered enough data, etc.

544

:

The second pattern we can look at with

the data is the instinctual preferences

545

:

that are present on your team.

546

:

We all have three basic instinctual drives

that are essential for human experience.

547

:

Think of these as primal,

body based forces that are

548

:

necessary for our survival.

549

:

They're separate from personality and

are behind a lot of our life strategies.

550

:

They're often unconscious and

running in the background, yet

551

:

they are powerfully directing a

fundamental way of being in the world.

552

:

One of these three tends to be more

dominant and is more easily accessed and

553

:

thus more easily used than the others.

554

:

Some people have two that are very

close, but one is always more sleepy, and

555

:

depending on which instinctual preference

is the most sleepy on your team, that

556

:

can color how you show up in the world,

and what makes you feel safe, and what

557

:

some of your preferences are around work.

558

:

The three instinctual preferences are

self preservation, which is concerned with

559

:

safety, finding a stable structure, having

enough resources, and feeling comfortable.

560

:

Then you've got the social

instinctual preference.

561

:

Which is more about healthy relationship

dynamics, belonging to the group,

562

:

maybe my relationship to the group

or my position within the group.

563

:

These folks are more focused

on group norms and rules and

564

:

creating a shared purpose.

565

:

And the last instinctual preference

is called one to one or sometimes

566

:

called the sexual instinct.

567

:

This is less about sex, per

se, and more about the intimacy

568

:

and, um, relationship dynamics.

569

:

Like, these folks are more

focused on creating really strong

570

:

relationships and feeling connected

and aligned with other people.

571

:

They prefer intense experiences and

are thinking about impact and legacy.

572

:

The next pattern we have are

social interaction styles.

573

:

Okay?

574

:

These three styles tend to

answer the question, how do we go

575

:

about trying to meet our needs?

576

:

How are we naturally

trying to get what we want?

577

:

And the team interaction style is

indicating your typical stance or

578

:

approach to engaging with the world.

579

:

And it also can give you clues to like

where your team gets energized or how you

580

:

might show up in everyday circumstances.

581

:

This gets reported as a stack.

582

:

of your highest, mid, and then lowest.

583

:

So the three social interaction styles

are assertive, compliant, and withdrawn.

584

:

Assertive folks tend to move against

the world in an independent and

585

:

energetic way, going out of their

way to get what they want and need.

586

:

They find challenges energizing

and they like to get to the

587

:

point and get things done.

588

:

Their response to resistance

is often to push harder rather

589

:

than to slow down or reflect.

590

:

Enneagram types 8, 3, and 7 are

the assertive social styles.

591

:

Then you have the compliant social style.

592

:

People with this style move towards

the world, going along with established

593

:

norms, rules, and ways of doing things.

594

:

They are dutiful and cooperative in their

efforts to get what they want and need.

595

:

They want to do what is expected of

them, within boundaries and limits, and

596

:

appreciate clear expectations from others.

597

:

Enneagram types 1, 2, and 6 are

the compliant social styles.

598

:

And then the withdrawn social style

has folks who are said to move away

599

:

from the world because they tend to

look inward and become contemplative

600

:

in their efforts to get what they want.

601

:

They may need time and space to

process and share their ideas

602

:

and prefer to disengage or deeply

consider issues before responding.

603

:

Enneagram types 4, 5, and 9 are

the withdrawn social styles.

604

:

So it should be noted that we all

use all of these social styles, but

605

:

our personality tends to resort or

default to one of them unconsciously.

606

:

And you can see that sometimes

friction or inefficiency or

607

:

misunderstandings can happen just

in the difference of social styles.

608

:

So exploring this as a

team can really help.

609

:

And then the team report reports

these as a stack where you can see.

610

:

Which one ranks the highest on your

team and which one's the lowest and

611

:

it shows you like a bar chart compared

with your leader so that you can start

612

:

to examine like power dynamics and

how the leader style may be similar or

613

:

different to the team style and what

that means for your team and how you guys

614

:

show up and interact with each other.

615

:

Okay, so the final pattern that we look

at as we're trying to understand each

616

:

other and build relationships and trust

on the team is the conflict styles.

617

:

Conflict styles describe how

we respond when we tend not

618

:

to get what we want, right?

619

:

So if the social styles are how do

we go about trying to get what we

620

:

want, the conflict styles are what

happens when we don't get what we want.

621

:

The team conflict style represents the

conflict response of the team overall

622

:

and indicates the team's likely focus

of attention during periods of conflict

623

:

or when they do not get what they want.

624

:

The three conflict styles are

avoidant, methodical, and reactive.

625

:

And again, we all tend to use these

three different styles, but one tends

626

:

to be used more than the others.

627

:

And your team overall may prefer,

like, one of these may be more

628

:

acceptable than the others too.

629

:

So the avoidant conflict style

is also sometimes known as

630

:

escapist or the positive outlook.

631

:

This style focuses on making the

conflict go away or escaping the impact.

632

:

People with this style tend to disengage

themselves from the situation, taking a

633

:

positive outlook, and moving on quickly.

634

:

Enneagram types 2, 7, and

9 are the avoidant types.

635

:

The methodical conflict styles are

also known as the competency style.

636

:

This emphasizes the need to put

personal feelings aside and focus on

637

:

addressing the situation or challenge

in an efficient and effective way.

638

:

Enneagram types 1, 3, and

5 are the methodical types.

639

:

And finally, you have the

reactive conflict styles.

640

:

Someone with this style is not necessarily

aggressive, but they do tend to react

641

:

strongly and passionately and demand

or provoke equally passionate responses

642

:

from others involved in the situation.

643

:

Enneagram types 4, 6, and 8 are

the more reactive conflict styles.

644

:

Okay, so that was the third way

that I use the Enneagram to help

645

:

teams reach their potential.

646

:

We reduce the conflict by increasing

the understanding we have of each

647

:

other and building relationships.

648

:

So the fourth way that I tend to use the

Enneagram to help teams is to help them

649

:

be more effective in how they communicate.

650

:

When we run the individual report, you

get a lot of information about your

651

:

style and how you tend to communicate,

and this can draw your attention to

652

:

some unconscious patterns or ways that

you tend to show up in conversation

653

:

that may or may not be helping you.

654

:

I use an iceberg analogy to talk about

the different elements of personality,

655

:

that there are behaviors or thoughts

or feeling patterns that are visible

656

:

on the surface, but there are these

other elements that are invisible

657

:

and live in your subconscious.

658

:

That are driving those visible patterns,

things like mental fixation, emotional

659

:

patterns, your sense of self, core

beliefs about the world, or your default

660

:

coping strategy for getting what you want

that's driven by some unconscious fears.

661

:

Once you understand these different

elements of type and how your ego

662

:

creates filters on reality based

in a worldview that you've adopted.

663

:

You can see more clearly how

you contribute to each situation

664

:

and open up to different ways of

interpreting what's happening.

665

:

That's a key stance for resilient

and visionary leaders, being open to

666

:

learning, entertaining the possibility

that I might be wrong about something.

667

:

See, each Enneagram type is driven

by a different motivation, and

668

:

communication and trust will break

down when we interpret the actions of

669

:

others through our own type filters.

670

:

I'll walk you through the motivation

of each type really quick now.

671

:

I always start with type 8 because

it's the first in the body center, and

672

:

then I work my way clockwise around

the circle of the Enneagram symbol.

673

:

So 8s have a need to be in

control and to be strong.

674

:

9s have a need to keep the balance.

675

:

1s have a need to do

the right or good thing.

676

:

2s have a need to be

liked and appreciated.

677

:

Threes have a need to outshine the rest.

678

:

Fours have to be unique and authentic.

679

:

Fives have to understand.

680

:

Sixes have to be safe and

belong, and sevens have to

681

:

experience it all and avoid pain.

682

:

Conscious leaders are the ones that

know when they're operating from

683

:

that constricted ego defensiveness,

and when they are able to be more

684

:

intentional and present because they're

staying open and curious and can let

685

:

those defenses down a little bit.

686

:

Communication is so much easier

when you can see things clearly.

687

:

And as you work with the patterns of

type, you can understand where others

688

:

are coming from and how they might

see things a little bit differently.

689

:

Which helps you not to take

things so personally when they

690

:

do come up in conversation.

691

:

It also helps you to name things

more clearly and have more efficient

692

:

conversations because you can

get to the heart of the matter.

693

:

One of the things I teach my clients

are the three layers to a conversation.

694

:

Most people stay on the surface of what

happened, but when you know that the

695

:

feelings about what happened are really

what create these points of friction

696

:

in relationships, You can talk about

that instead of circling around the

697

:

same set of facts or interpretation

about what happened over and over again.

698

:

Or playing the blame game where you're

trying to figure out who's, who's

699

:

responsible for, for the mistake or the

misstep and what happens when you play

700

:

the blame game is that shame is your

constant companion for someone and it's

701

:

obscuring your vision and preventing

you from seeing things more clearly.

702

:

Your individual report that

comes with the test has feedback

703

:

tips for each of the types.

704

:

So you can adjust your style

to help your message land.

705

:

See, conscious leaders aren't just

intentional about what they say.

706

:

They're very aware that how

they deliver it, the context, is

707

:

more important than the content.

708

:

And this information can be

used in sales conversations too.

709

:

Knowing what might be an unconscious

need or motivation for a client, or

710

:

what their sensitivities are, can help

you be more intentional about how you

711

:

pitch or engage with your clients.

712

:

Working with the Enneagram can really

develop your intuition around people

713

:

in a way that isn't manipulative.

714

:

It is an opening up to learning about why

people do the things that they do and what

715

:

helps them to feel safe or get excited.

716

:

Gosh, what I wouldn't do to have

this information early in my career

717

:

when I was working at Amazon in

account management and business

718

:

development and doing negotiations.

719

:

Negotiation, or getting to yes,

feels very different when you

720

:

have this intuitive understanding

about those unconscious drivers.

721

:

You can speak to something that's

more real and more true for people and

722

:

find better compromises and help them

genuinely meet their needs in a way that

723

:

feels like a win-win because there's

depth and real authentic connection.

724

:

When you think about being a more

effective communicator, a lot of times

725

:

we go to like tactics of articulating

and posture and commanding the room.

726

:

But the cool thing about working with

the Enneagram types is that there's this

727

:

whole other layer to communication that

is happening at an unconscious level.

728

:

And if you are blind to your own

patterns and the ways that your ego

729

:

is trying to protect you by limiting

what you see, then you can't own

730

:

your contribution to a situation.

731

:

You can't see clearly why things

are the way they are and how to

732

:

get out of this mess or how to

get to a better feeling state.

733

:

But when you have the self awareness

and emotional intelligence to

734

:

understand yourself and the other

people on your team or your clients,

735

:

Or even your family members.

736

:

Communicating when things come up feels

less like a high stakes game where

737

:

I have to win, or be seen, or heard.

738

:

Instead, it's an opportunity

to connect, to get better data.

739

:

And even to heal, to find ways to meet

the real underlying needs in a way where

740

:

we hopefully both get what we want, but

even if it's not possible for both of us

741

:

to get what we want, we're understanding

what those trade offs are and making

742

:

the best decision we can for the team.

743

:

With compassion and empathy for what

this means for all the parties involved.

744

:

And that, my friend, is magic.

745

:

When a team can engage in

communication at this level, they

746

:

are fully invested in each other.

747

:

And when we're fully invested

in each other, we can move with

748

:

lightning speed to get the result

that we want and need as a team.

749

:

So here's how it works.

750

:

Each person on the team

takes the IEQ 9 test.

751

:

And when they finish the test,

they get like a 42 page report

752

:

that details everything you

need to know about your type.

753

:

This allows people to start to work with

the system immediately without having

754

:

to understand all the other types.

755

:

It's a very targeted reference

document that you'll use and go

756

:

back to again and again and again.

757

:

Then I do a debrief with each

person to make sure that this lands

758

:

for them and makes sense, answer

any questions, and make sure that

759

:

their type resonates for them.

760

:

The IEQ 9 has a 95 percent accuracy

rating, which is significantly better

761

:

than any other test on the market.

762

:

And that's in part because it

measures your Enneagram type from

763

:

lots of different dimensions.

764

:

So this is the only report that

I'm using professionally right now.

765

:

Mainly because it's just efficient

way to get to the data quickly.

766

:

And because it allows us

to run the team report.

767

:

So that's the second thing that I'll do.

768

:

After everybody's taken the test and

received the report and we've had a

769

:

conversation about how it lands for them

and making sure that that type feels right

770

:

to them, then we'll run the team report.

771

:

And what the team report does is it

will overlay all of your information

772

:

and then compare the team style

with your leaders and all of the

773

:

illustrations and bar charts are

helping you to visualize this data.

774

:

It makes it.

775

:

feel more visceral and real, and then

we tend to do like a team workshop to

776

:

explore the results, either virtually

or in person, or I work with the

777

:

manager to understand these more

deeply so that they can start to work

778

:

with these dynamics on the team and

manage their team more effectively.

779

:

So I've been able to help entrepreneurs

who are just building out their team

780

:

for the first time understand their own

unconscious styles and articulate their

781

:

needs a little bit more deeply, but also

understand how the people that they're

782

:

hiring look at the world a little bit

differently or show up for work in a

783

:

different way and that those differences

aren't necessarily problems once you

784

:

can name them and understand them.

785

:

And I've worked with new managers

who are increasing the scope of

786

:

their responsibility, like doubling

the size of their team, taking on

787

:

increasingly bigger responsibilities,

being able to measure the Enneagram

788

:

type of each person on the team.

789

:

Provides invaluable insight into what

work might they best be suited for.

790

:

How can I understand them better when

conflict or friction tends to show up?

791

:

How can I phrase what I need to say in a

way that they can will really understand

792

:

me the first time to avoid unnecessary

friction and misunderstandings?

793

:

But also, how do I develop

my own leadership style?

794

:

How can I learn to trust myself more?

795

:

A lot of the work that I'm doing with

women who are in management positions

796

:

is kind of an up leveling of their

self worth and feeling safe enough to

797

:

let down some of those ego defenses.

798

:

Because it's not that your ego is bad

in and of itself, it's just some places

799

:

it's not safe to let down your defenses,

and you want to be able to discern

800

:

when it is safe and when it isn't, and

when that defensiveness is getting in

801

:

your way, and when it's serving you.

802

:

Okay, hopefully that gives you a sense

of all the different ways that you can

803

:

start to use the Enneagram at work.

804

:

Now, I don't do all of this all at

once, but usually there's like one

805

:

particular thing that a manager or a

team will come to me with where they

806

:

need the most help and will start

working very deeply in one area.

807

:

If you are interested in working with

me or getting this data for your team,

808

:

go to michellekanderson.com/contact

and fill out the form and let me know

809

:

what's going on with your team and what

you're most interested in working on.

810

:

You can go to uplevelingwork.com/4 to

see the show notes for this episode.

811

:

There you'll find the concentric

circle model and the quadrant graph

812

:

that I was describing, so you can

visualize that a little bit more.

813

:

And I'll include a link to reach out to me

if you're interested in working together.

814

:

Working with the Enneagram has

been transformative for a lot of

815

:

the teams that I work with, and I

cannot wait to get this in the hands

816

:

of as many leaders as possible.

817

:

Till next time!

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