Enneagram

Enneagram: it’s a model of a human psyche – a typology of nine interconnected personality types. Sometimes called ‘enneatypes’. It’s a centries-old framework that will help you better understand others, foster self-discovery, and serve as a roadmap to achieving your full potential.

Knowing what makes you and the people around you tick and conversely, stall it’s an invisible superpower that can boost trust, morale, productivity, and profit. The Enneagram provides a springboard for cultivating that awareness. What it won’t do is try to fix you. In fact,the Enneagram’s underlying message is that you are fine just as you are. While enneegram won’t try to alter your core, it’ll review your behavioral patterns and help you build on the strengths that benefit you while demonstrating how to release those patterns that don’t.

That said, change won’t come easy. If you like most people, you’re probably very attached to your behavioural patterns, they’re comfortable and familiar, even when they are hurting you.

By gaining a comprehensive understanding of who you truly are, what motivates you and how you connect with your peers you will grow and evolve. Self acceptance it’s key- acknowledging that this is where I am and committing to this is what I’m working toward. Practicing patience is also essential. By taking things slow and being open about your process with yourself and those around you, you will have a better chance at achieving the behavioural metamorphosis you are striving toward.

1. The Strict Perfectionist

The first enneagram personality type is the strict Perfectionist this comprises people who are driven by what should be done. Perfectionists have high ethical standards and can be very critical both of themselves and others.

2. The Considered Helper

Helpers are happy to sacrifice their own needs in order to support others. In the belief that this will going to garner love and devotion.

3. The Competitive Achiever

Competitive achiever someone who foregoes feelings in favour of professional success and for whom goals and status of paramount.

4. The Intense Creative

These individuals want to feel special. They’re very emotional, crave deep personal connection, and they’re drawn to dramatic situations.

5. The Quiet Specialists

They prize logic and intellectual reasoning – and can be emotionally detached. Specialist to thrive in peaceful environments where they can process the world’s demands.

6. Loyal Skeptics

They are the worriers: they doubt their own power and that of others and are always ready for the worst case scenario.

7. Enthusiastic Visionaries

Charming upbeat and adventurous, their fear of being limited by commitment drives them to see Life as a string of infinite possibilities.

8. Boss

Someone who likes being in control. Assertive and straightforward. Boss types respect skilled mental or physical sparring but sometimes neglect to notice others’ feelings.

9. Adaptive Peacemaker

A diplomat by nature who can see all sides of the equation. For peacemakers, decision – making is difficult – every option has its merits. Saying no it’s also a challenge going with the flow is easier than charting their own course.

Your type might not be immediately obvious – people are complex often we’re a little of this and a little of that. But take a moment to calmly reflect. Ask yourself which description resonates with you the most and you’ll discover your true essence. From here the possibilities for growth are endless.

Five Enneagram – inspired leadership principles

Principal 1

Self-awareness

Self-awareness one of the most overlooked aspects in leadership. Research shows that confidence and creativity come from seeing ourselves clearly. We build stronger relationships, perform better and lead more effectively – which in turn leads to more profitable companies.

Being self-aware means not allowing your patterns to function on autopilot; instead, it’s seeing your mind as a muscle you can direct and focus.

Principle 2

Be Curious

By starting each day with the aim of learning something, and ending with a reflection on what you learned. You’ll build personal growth into your daily routine.

Principle 3

Honour Your Commitments

This is doing what you say you are going to do. This proves you are reliable, trustworthy and remember, honouring commitments is also knowing when to say no.

Principle 4

Choose Your Team Carefully

Once you understand yourself and how you work, you can bring together people who complement you.

Principle 5

Pay Attention

Practice being present. (Meditation will help)

The Enneagram circle lies a triangle – this triangle presents the three centres of intelligence – logic,action and emotion. Those with personality types in action triad rely on their instincts, while those in the logic triad experience of the word in a mindful way. Emotion types perceive the world through feelings. You might associate the brain with the logic, but in fact, we have action and emotion brains too. When they are functioning at their best, our head brain makes us observant and creative; our gut brain makes us feel alive and grounded; and our heart brain makes us authentic and receptive. Balance your three centres of intelligence to activate your core and access your best self.

Four Steps Feedback Model

With the four steps feedback model you can ground yourself and objectively respond to any situation rather than having a subconscious, emotional outburst.

First, observe the behaviour you wish to address. These should be stated as a straightforward fact: “John, I noticed you were late today.”

Second, interpret. In any situation, but especially as a leader is crucial to give the person the benefit of a doubt: ” John I noticed you were late today. Maybe it’s because Subway was delayed?”

Third,feel. We all process anxiety differently but try to be as direct as possible while still being sensitive to the other person.” I noticed you were late. Maybe it’s because the subway was delayed. However, I’m feeling frustrated.”

Fourth,need. That is, tell the other person what you need – taking care to keep the inflection of your voice in check. “John I noticed you were late today. Maybe it’s because the subway was delayed. However, I’m feeling frustrated. I need to know what it’ll take for you to be on time.”

Mentoring is the noblest thing you can do as a leader. Not only does it reep you good karma, ensure organizational cohesion and bring satisfaction – it also strengthens your core. In mentoring other person, you have to focus on and hone your own three centres of intelligence. You might not fully understand your mentee’s Enneagram at first, but your mutual awareness of each other’s type will lay the foundation for productive conversations that, in turn, will result in a more authentic and a fruitful working relationship.

Dealing with Fear and Failure

Tap into humour, self-areness and other Enneagram types to manage fear and failure.

First, identify your fear, then direct your attention to the issue and the quietly say:” ridiculous” until you’ve cracked a smile.

When you fail, which is in itself a subjective term, rejuvenation should be your priority. The best way to fire up this process is by tapping into your three centres of intelligence: practice compassion in your heart brain, use your head brain to rationally contemplate what happened, and gear up your gut brain to move forward.

Each of the nine types provides tools you can take advantage of. Trying on different type, even for short while, can help you rise from ashes and reorient your yourself.

Conflicts

Conflict happens daily and it can be real even the most well-intentioned leaders. It has infinite potential causes, including contrasting value systems, differing competitiveness levels, and mismatched opinions over the quality of a deliverable.

Before attempting to mediate others, you need to comprehend how you are self-managing. And this starts with taking a detached look at your own behaviour patterns.

Each of us has a good and bad self. Different personality types instinctually manager discord in various ways – but regardless of the approach, there is a higher and lower expression for each type.

For example, in a stressful situation, a type four- intense creative will express their good self as being self-aware and calm; their bad self, on the other hand, will be exasperated, dramatic, and withdrawn.

We all possess an inner observer. During a tense moment, practice tuning into these impartial set of eyes to identify when you are slipping into your bad self and shift the course in real time.

Just as it can help you express your best self, the Enneagram can help bring out the best in collaborative teams. The key to effective, fun teamwork is to acknowledge another’s point of view, voicing your own, and then solving the obstacle together.

There are three Enneagram subtypes, or instincts that can help you gain more nuanced understanding of others’ positions: self preservation-which entails a sense of security; social-wanting to belong within a group; and one-to-one needs like partner intimacy or close friendships. We each naturally gravitate toward one of three.

Last, walk the walk in order to talk the talk. You can’t effectively lead others until you’ve walked in their shoe. You’re never too senior or highly ranked to do the unglamorous dirty work. Having such a mindset will foster a team culture of mutual awareness, trust and respect.