SPEAKER_00 0:02

If you are listening to the Enneagram MVP, the show of understanding people at work, including yourself, usually talking about the Enneagram, sometimes talking about other resources and methods, but always bringing value and having fun along the way. I'm your host, Sarah Wallace, certified Enneagram coach and speaker, and workshop facilitator. And I cannot wait to see you inside. Well, welcome back to our personality assessment at work series here on the Enneagram MBA podcast. This week we are getting into episode five of the series and really starting to wrap it up. I have a special um interview to close out the series next week. So come back for that. But today is going to be really fun because we're talking about an assessment that I don't think most of us are familiar with. And that is the fascinate assessment. And we're gonna, I'm gonna learn how to say it right and we're gonna learn what to call all the types. Um and to help us do that, I'm joined by our fascinate guide today, Madeline Ridgway. Madeline is the diversity director at a financial company called CBE. And she also has her own company, company, Madeline Ridgway Consulting, as a personal branding strategist. So I'm excited to hear her perspective from both a corporate employee and as a business owner. So Madeline, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Well, thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

I will also say, I almost forgot to mention this probably isn't in your LinkedIn profile, but Madeline had mentioned she identifies most as the Enneagram type six wing five.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

So I'm curious what about the six made you think, oh, this is me. This is my Enneagram type.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

So um I my need to overprepare and always thinking about worst-case scenarios, anything that I go into, I'm always thinking about what could happen and how I need to plan to avert what could happen. In my um former job, I I've planned a lot of events. I actually, my my first company was an event planning company. And actually, my six and five um Enneagram actually really helped me in that because think about all of the things that you pre you can't that can happen with events, large and small, and how being a six-wing five actually prepared me for that. So after I took Enneagram, I just thought, this is me. It felt like it it nailed me completely.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Okay. And then I mentioned before we hit recording that I have several six friends, most of them or acquaintances, most of them identify with that seven wing. And so I was like, oh, I love that you identify with the five wing. What about that versus the seven really stood out to you or resonated with your personality?

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Well, I I love figuring out problems. I'm a problem solver. I uh that those actually excite me, like having a big problem and the opportunity to figure them out and dig in. Um, and the the aspect of a five of being around people, I'm I'm a strong introvert. So when you look at Myers Briggs, and I think that really that correlates to that five in me as well. So I am not a seven at all.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Well, you know what? I just this morning, um my project was I'm I'm putting some Enneagram mugs on my website and I was changing some of the sayings. And for the five, I switched it out to problem solving as my love language. And so just hearing you say that makes me feel like, okay, I think that's where that's where we're gonna land here.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Yeah, yeah. I love a good problem to solve. I love my my mind. I I tend to go inside. So when we talk about that, why I land, where I land, and thinking about and anticipating all of those problems, figuring them out. Um, and it is a fear of mine of being unprepared somewhere. So I am typically overprepared for whatever I do.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Uh well, I I need some of that energy in my life. So I will just think, how can I channel some of this, the six wing, wing five energy at times? Because I am very much a seven. Um, so the those like I want to have an event, but the details overwhelm me. So yes, it's a good blend to have all kinds of people in the world to be able to do all different kinds of things and bring different gifts. Um, speaking of different gifts, I am really curious. I didn't do a ton of research because I wanted to kind of hear it from you. And I thought that would make this conversation more authentic and genuine. Um, I actually had a friend, one of my old college friends, we reconnected in the last couple of months, and I mentioned I was doing this series and she sent me a link to this thing called the Fascinate assessment. And I was like, what is this? How did it be more fascinating? I'm fascinated by this topic. So just right off the bat, Madeline, would you fill us in? What is this? What is Fascinate?

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Okay, so fascinate is an assessment based on a book by Sally Hogshead. So Sally um wrote this book and is the founder of our company, and it it talks about how the world sees you. It originally started Sally's background is in marketing and advertising. And so she did all of this research on what makes brands fascinating, what makes them stand out, or the word fascinate, I think in Latin means like bewitching. So you kind of captivate someone and fascinate is all about how you communicate to fascinate and captivate your audiences. So what really makes fascinate different is that most other assessments are really more inward focused. Enneagram, you know, when you talk about your um your inward focus or what your motivation is for Enneagram or strengths is, what um what what you're strong at and how you can use that. And Fascinate is one of the only ones that we know that actually focuses on how what other how other people view you and how you show up in the world.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

I absolutely love that. And there was some tagline that stood out to me on the website about exactly what you just said, that there's so many assessments where it's more self-awareness. And then even with the Enneagram, it can be very much others' awareness, like how are others seeing the world. But this is really fun because it's how others are seeing you. Um, so just one more dimension to that. And then I love the idea of putting that spin on, you know, being influential, being fascinating. So what I know that like the Enneagram, like so many of these other assessments, there's different styles, types. It sounds like Fascinate has archetypes. What are those archetypes? And would you be willing to give us just a quick overview? I know we're only be scratching the surface. It's when people ask me to do this with the Enneagram, I'm like, oh, there's so much to say. But the best that you can, give us a quick summary. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

So Fascinate is based around seven different advantages, and each advantage has its own language. And so what you get when you make the assessment is you get your archetype, and your archetype is comprised of your top two advantages. So we, it's your primary and secondary advantages. So just to give you an overview. So the first one of the first ones is innovation. That's one of the advantages. Innovation is the language of creativity. So um I'll go through them real quick and we can go into them a little bit. Okay, yeah. So then we have passion. That's the second one. Passion is the language of relationships. Then we have power, and it's the language of confidence. It's you you'll see a lot of leaders have power. I think that was one of your top two as well. Um, prestige is the language of excellence. And then number um five is trust, and trust is the language of stability. Then we have mystique, which is a language of listening, and alert, which is the language of details. And so when you get your fascinate assessment, they we show you your archetype, and then we show you also what your dormant is, and we can talk more about that. But basically, your dormant is the way you are least likely to add to a team or add um value to a team. So fascinate says to you, um, you have these advantages, and these are these languages of the advantage. And when you show up with these, this is the most natural way that you show up, and this is the way you really shine and you stand out. So one of our one of our taglines is different is better than better. Yes, different is better than better. You know, it being being diff better means that you're competing against someone in the same arena. But when you're different, you're taking something like your advantages and you're leaning into what those are and you stand out because nobody else can compete with you when you're different, but you're competing with someone else when you're trying to be better. So we we really lean into that, particularly when we're talking about leadership and teams and personal branding and being influential in whatever you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

I'm so glad you said that because I know that there can be, there are certain stereotypes as a business owner, as a leader in a company. And we think, okay, we have to mold into that stereotype. But it sounds like what you're saying, and and what all of these assessments, including the Enneagram, um, shine light on is are those unique strengths to lean more into to leverage your unique personality, not trying to be somebody else, which can be really difficult and exhausting and eventually you burn out.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Exactly. And you think about the most successful businesses, let's say an Apple. I'm a huge, I'm an Apple fanatic. I am too. We buy any, you are, you know, we buy anything that they they put out. I just ordered the new Midnight Blue MacBook Ayer, even though I just have one. And you know, I just bought one a couple of years ago. But it's about the fact that they stand out. They have something that really stands out from, say, a Microsoft or Lenova or whatever other computer company it is, because it's because they fascinate with the things that they stand out. Um, you know, a lot of people buy Apple phones, even though research, I think, has shown that Samsung actually has better technology and they submit their, they put their technology out there quicker, but people buy into the fascinating part of Apple. And that's really where where Sally's um research started was with branding, was with business branding. And so this can be used for personal branding, for leadership, for just your if if you're you're in your career and you really want to advance, leaning into what makes you stand out and be different is really where you want to lean into.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

Yeah, and I like that it specifically shows too, like that, what did you call it, the dormant um advantage? And like, okay, well, maybe that's not the place for you to focus on. Um, and I will say I was laughing. I didn't see that in my initial report, which um Madeline was so kind. She's like, here, take this link real quick. So I I got to end up taking my own fascinate assessment before this. We'll talk about how you can do the same at the end. Madeline will give us some guidance on that. But um, my dormant advantage was alert, which you said was the language of details. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

And I'm just happy seven, and you don't want the details. I started saying, yeah, it showed me that immediately I saw that.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

That is hilarious. And then I was just like, I'd love to plan an event, but I get overwhelmed with the details. That is so funny. Um, I whenever I was writing, I know you said you were a mystic, was in one of your yeah, what was that the language of? I missed that one.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

So mystique was a is a language of listening.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Listening. Okay. Okay. Um, and just so so listeners know, so yours was Mystique and what was the other one?

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Prestige is my secondary. And my archetype is the royal guard. So one of the things that you get each one of your um when you take an assessment is our founder, Sally, you actually get a short clip of a video telling you how you show up the best and give giving you pointers on how to use your archetype, how to really step into your archetype and whatever you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Okay. Now I'm kind of putting you on the spot with this. So no worries, we can cut it or we can we'll just work our way through. But do you see any similarities between the royal guard and that type six energy?

SPEAKER_01 12:59

I do, particularly in Mystique. So the language of listening. So Mystique, we are people who when we talk, people listen because they know that we've already considered all of the all of the plans, the choices and the options. And then we've come down to say this is the best one. So when I think about a six and how we prepare for things and we want things to be safe, a lot of that that's strong in mystique. We listen for all of the details and we consider all of the possibilities before we speak about something because we want to make sure we're giving you the right information. So I do see a lot of a lot of correlation with Enneagram and Fascinate. My husband is an eight and he is he has a language of power. And so power, it's confidence, but power is also the people that we want to move on, we they want to get something done, they want to make a decision and get it over with. They don't want to get into the details, and they're typically the ones, like you said, as I like I mentioned, as leaders, um power people, they get in there, they make a decision, they want to lead the team, they're the first to speak up and they want to move on. And I very much see that correlation and in a lot of eights and that power detail from Um Fascinate.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

I I can absolutely see that. Yeah. Um, and then I do love that it gives you that archetype. So let's see, mine was the people's champion.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Yes. What passion. Um, I let's see. What was your your secondary? I know your primary was passion.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Okay, passion and then power. I don't know that I would have guessed that, but talking about like moving on, that does feel very true for me.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

So passion people, they are really about forging relationships. They react, you you are people who build wide networks. You think about people socially and how people on your team are feeling. So if you think about on a group that you might have, the passion people are the people they're your social butterflies typically. So that if that doesn't correlate with a seven, what does right?

SPEAKER_00 15:12

Well, and you know, oh, I'm sorry, go ahead. No, go ahead. Um, you know, also I'm thinking, are you familiar with the Enneagram subtypes? The like, okay, I'm even thinking, like, okay, that makes sense because I identify as mostly a social subtype seven. So that that right there, I'm like, okay, yep, I can see that.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Yep. So passion people um communicate there, you're the language of emotion. So when you're you're sort of the opposite of, say, a power person, you have power, but typically you don't see you don't see those a lot together because passion people are really thinking about people and the emotional state of people and social. So let's think about if you have a project, the passion people are the people that you want to get your team on board, to bring everybody in and to really and to really get them involved and make those connections.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

I love that. Okay. So I'm curious if if we can maybe go through each one in just a little more detail about how somebody might apply this in the workplace or even as an entrepreneur starting their own personal brand, getting out there online more. Um, because again, I think people feel and I even feel this sometimes. So I understand where it's like, oh, I need to be, I need to be super confident, I need to be bubbly, I need to have strong opinions. Otherwise, like let's not even try. But I love this because it's showing all different ways to be influential and fascinating to others.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

It does. And I want to add real quick. Yeah, please do. So with our advantages, we all possess all seven, but the reason we give you your top two that we really want you to focus on your top two is because that those are the ones that you have to exert the least energy to use. They come most naturally to you. So you might I think your dormant was alert. You can use alert when you need to. So what happens is we get into what we call um, you get into your dormant because you're using too much of that dormant, that dormant advantage. And that's not where you you flow the best. That's not where you fascinate the most. So that's why we put that in there is because we um we want you to flow, we want you to fascinate, and we want you to be naturally who you are. And there's some other pieces in there. As you said, we're just scratching the surface, but there's some other things in there that your report talks about. For instance, one of them being um, as I go through these, I want you to think about this um double trouble, which is where you use too much of your primary advantages. And there's some um, we actually have archetypes for those too. So let's say as a mystique, when I'm in double trouble, is typically when I'm stressed or I have a lot of something going on and I'm using a lot of mystique. And so what happens is it's almost too much of a good thing. I get really aloof, so I take listening too far. And so I get really aloof. I go inside a lot, that introverted side of me really comes out, and I'm not being fascinating to people because I'm being aloof and I'm not talking. So I've taken that mystique that's typically a really great advantage for me and gone too far. And so our goal is how do we keep you in the middle where you are the most fascinating? You're not going to your dormant, but you're not going into double trouble either. You they we want to make sure, much like Enneagram, when you're, you know, when you're healthy and you're focused and you're in your six for me, a six-wing five, and you know, they they can go to that negative side of it. And that's what fascinate has at as well, where we don't want you to go into your dormant, but we also don't want you to use too much of what your primary is and be in double trouble.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Yeah, I'm glad that you mentioned that because, and like you said, there's not that we can't be any of these things or all of these things, it's just the energy level and then using them with intention and not overusing them at times. Um, so somebody who is in the workplace, either maybe as a leader or stepping into a leadership position or maybe becoming a leader, you know, uh in their online business or whatever type of practice they're starting, how might an innovation archetype you be become more fascinating or what should they lean into?

SPEAKER_01 19:55

So innovation is a language creativity. So these are the people that you want in on your brainstorming sessions because they're always thinking about how can we create something new for this problem? They love experimenting, um, they love to solve problems with new um with new solutions.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Okay. I and I I love a good brainstorm session too. So I'll fill that a little bit. Um, what about what how can we use our passion archetype if that is one of our top ones, which I guess we talked a little bit about that um because I mentioned that was mine, but anything else to add to that for anybody else?

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Yeah, so those are the people that are gonna help your team forge relationships. So if it's something that you need the team to buy in on, look for a passion person on your team. They're gonna, they're the social butterflies, they're gonna react with more warmth to other people, they're gonna pull people in because that's where you land. You you love people and you love that whole the whole process of pulling people in and loving on them, um, and just being that that passion person.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Yes. Okay, and then we had power, which we had talked about. Um, but anything to add to that one with the love or language of confidence?

SPEAKER_01 21:11

Yeah. So, you know, power people is the language of confidence, and power people have really big goals. They have they typically have stronger opinions, they come into something knowing what they want, which is why you see um in our research, Sally's research actually showed that I was really high up. I forget the percentage. Maybe 80 or 90 percent of people with in in leadership and organization CEOs have that power language as part of their um fascinate assessment. So they're really they're usually really decisive and self assured about themselves as well. So think about when you need a decision made with on a on a team, you want to use that power and really let them step in.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Okay. And then if somebody happens to be dormant and because I think that is like you. said a lot of leaders are that I I do I see that in my Enneagram trainings threes eights um tend to be in those in those executive level um positions but somebody who's thinking or might come back as power as dormant what should they be thinking about to maybe tap into that when they need to or when would they need to?

SPEAKER_01 22:21

You just lead in a different way. I am dormant in power and what I lead with is more of asking questions of my team. So because I'm a mystique that is what I'm leading more with. I don't lead with very this is what we're gonna do. I thought about it I've decided that is not the way I lead um it's much like you know with um Quiet in the book um Susan I can't remember her last name when she talks about introverts being leaders it's you lead in a different way. So you might not be the decisive leader that comes in really self-assured and leading the charge right away you might lead with questions or you might lead with more warmth as a passion person.

SPEAKER_00 23:05

Okay I just quickly googled Susan Kane Quiet that is a great book for introverts yeah and really all people to understand one another um okay what about prestige and that language of excellence when how do we use that in the workplace?

SPEAKER_01 23:24

So that is my secondary advantage and prestige people are always thinking about how do we get better and exceed the expectations so prestige people they they're also into details but one of the things that we're always thinking about is we don't necessarily come up with new ideas, but how can we make something better? How can we improve something we have a great attention to details and so typically we're the ones that you want looking over a proposal if you're about to submit something because we're going to catch it and we want it to be just the way it should be. We we want that perfection. So for instance as an event planner that came in handy for me at that prestige because my attention to detail and wanting to make sure every I was dotted and every T was crossed for an event and every flower was in place or every centerpiece was just right. It that was what my clients really hired me for. It was my attention to that detail and to really have this event that was one of excellence.

SPEAKER_00 24:28

Okay. And just as you're saying that I do find that person like fascinating who can think of all those little details and like it's a it's impressive and it absolutely stands out. So you know just as we're going through these, I think I had like an image of like oh this fascinating person on a stage with like confidence and how you know how are we going to talk about this but you what I I'm loving these categories and just the different ways to kind of see this and and bring attention to ways that yes we can fascinate outside of maybe the the stereotypical ways.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

What about okay the fifth one was the trust the language of stability how do we use that in the workplace so trust people are the people that they like consistency.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

When you look at the research it shows that a lot of financial people in the financial industry are trusts. So their consistency gives them an edge they like systems that have already been proven so um they get things done they're steady they're focused because they are focused on what has been proven and let's stick with that. So let's think about in your sales and presentations meeting those are the people that you want to they keep you on point on how a product has been proven to work for you in your company they say well this works it why do we need to do something else while you might have that innovation side to say let's just scrap it all and let's do something it's like oh no no we need we're bringing those people bring in those stability people yeah the trust people they keep the ship steady you know when you have a team particularly one that might be going through change those trust people are going to keep the ship steady because they know what you need to stay focused and keep moving and we need that balance of a team right oh absolutely absolutely need some of that in my own life um okay now we talked about the um mystique the listening anything else to add to that um for workplace application yeah so I one of the things I would say about mystiques is so our research shows that passion and power people often overcommunicate. Prestige I'm sorry mystique people are gonna undercommunicate because often what you'll find is we're listening and we're processing in the background. And so it's quite out sometimes quite often you're gonna have to pull it out or wait because that immediate decision or thought on on a project or whatever you're working on within your group, you're not gonna get that immediately often from a mystique because we are thinking about the details and we're analyzing everything that might go into the details of that.

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Yeah and you know I I don't know if this is like a six thing or or what but I have another good friend who identifies as an Enneagram six and I will say I'm constantly uh um I don't know impressed I maybe fascinated is the word by her ability to observe and listen to you know what some guru said about this and then like distill it down and like really put this unique spin and opinion on it. I'm like wow I I didn't hear that at first but like now that you say that that's really interesting.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

And so I've I'm always telling her I was like you have this superpower I don't hear these things yes and the other thing that I think is you know if you thinking about a team for a mystique if you if you want a good negotiator we typically have really good poker faces because we're not reacting you know whereas a passion person or a power person might give you their reaction right away. Mystiques are listening and we have really good poker faces. So you typically don't know what we're thinking. And so you think about that coworker who they're they do good work but you don't know a lot about them because we don't share a lot. We're typically very much in our heads in that listening mode. And that is how we sort of boil stuff down to what's really underlying what the underlying issue is. So I use it a lot in my work as a strategist listening and really guiding my clients because I I use that strong mystique language with my work there.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

Yeah I think this is a great reminder not just for ourselves but whether we're leading a team or leading clients, customers to be aware of these different styles Enneagram types, different fascinate archetypes to tap into their strengths because some of these are um incredibly all of them you know are incredibly valuable in their own way but can like you're saying sometimes be overlooked unless you're asking the right questions and noticing those things and know what to look for.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

Which means why having those balances is really good on a team, right? We know that the most diverse workforces are the most profitable the most diverse companies are the most profitable. So let's think about diversity in a really broad span and say even the most diverse groups have the most diverse Enneagram or fascinating types. So because the more thought different thought processes you can get in those groups are on your teams then the better off you're going to be because you've considered all angles of it.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

I love that that is such a good point. Such such a good point um and then our last one is that alert archetype where the language is details what are they bringing to the team how can they apply that in the workplace yeah so alert is actually my tertiary and so that's my third highest and we'll go I'll tell you I want to mention that in just a second of that but alert people are they they look at the fact that details really matter.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

So they we people who have strong alert you're the ones that you want on your team to implement something so let's say you have a power CEO that comes in and makes a decision and they put a plan into place alert are the people alerts are the people that you want implementing that so they're the ones that have the spreadsheets the detail spreadsheets they keep track of the details and the deadlines and all the tasks and they keep everybody else on on um on point with those okay yes we need all all the people we need the vision and then help us bring that vision to life um you had mentioned that there are maybe other um pieces or uh parts of our results that we should also pay attention to yes so on page 12 if you take the um the assessment and you get your full assessment so there's like a a smaller summarized version that gives you your archetype and then your dormit but the full assessment which you took it's I think it's 16 pages long and on page 12 it shows you the intensity of your advantages. So some people are really balanced and there the formula that was used to build the assessment actually goes down to I think like the 0.10 or 0.100% so some of them may look close and so there's the questions are weighted so that if your answers are close and they and the results look close it goes deeper to really pull out what your top two or three are. Okay and look at that. So you'll see what the intensity of your advantages are so for instance you'll see you might be really low and let's see I'll pull yours up here real quick.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:25

So for instance I am I'm pretty even in say my top three and then once you get to my bottom that's where I start you start to really see a difference in in what I am in in my advantages.

SPEAKER_00 32:41

Okay okay interesting interesting I know I I was looking at that advantage pages which I love I love that they they have this um it's a really fun colorful report anything else that we should know about the report or like one of your favorite parts of it so one of the things that we actually encourage people to do is um and I love this because of my my work with personal branding is we encourage you to create an anthem and an anthem is really your way of of sharing what it is you bring to a team and you can use this as a team so what we do is once you let's say you have your entire team to take the fascinate assessment we can put together a heat map and then we calculate your team advantages.

SPEAKER_01 33:29

So as a team how do you show up how do you fascinate as a team we we know we people take it individually but you can also create fascinate reports for your team so that your team can lead with that you can create a brand an anthem for your team and each individual on your team so for instance mine is graceful guidance because of my work my Mystique advantage and my work as a strategist what I say is when you work with me you can expect graceful guidance through whatever issue we're working through and so that's the other thing that's sort of that next step after you've gone through and you've learned about your assessment is what is your anthem and how do you lead with what you fascinate with I absolutely love that.

SPEAKER_00 34:14

I'm I'm looking at that page right now but it's um it said instead of focusing on your strengths describe how you are different. And so the fact that you said graceful guidance like I have a really good idea of your style of leadership of what it would be like to work with you. And so simple and also I think it requires a lot of reflection though to get down to those few words.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

It does it does and so we say two to three words some people go longer but it it it's comprised of an adjective and a noun that really describes who you are and what you bring um as to as an advantage to whatever group you're working with.

SPEAKER_00 34:55

Okay I'm I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna do that and maybe I'll follow up with you Madeline and give you my and hold me accountable. Yeah I'm that's so fun. I'm just curious so I know that you have your diversity work with CBE and then you also have your own company what is that like to juggle two things and I mentioned before we started this I there's several people that I know listening are in a similar situation either they're doing it right now or thinking about starting some sort of side hustle or get their own business going while working.

SPEAKER_01 35:33

How do you do both so I'm very fortunate in that because of Fascinate and how beneficial it can be to teams and leaders I am able to use it in my job as well. So in the in the beginning I did not um I really kept it separate and then we we bought a consulting firm in that also used Fascinate and our company loved it and found out that I was actually certified in it and and saw the benefit in it. So we use it I use it a lot with leaders but outside of that being able to really combine that work outside of it it really is for me my mystique comes into play in that that tertiary advantage of alert looking at what is most important and really I don't know that there's a balance ever but it really is about deciding what you're focused on and staying in your lane focusing on that lane that you're that you're called to for that time and that's what I really focus on. And I try to do the best to everything else that's not in that lane, I don't focus on it. And that's really where I find what I why I find I really thrive in in finding that focus on because that changes right that changes from even one year or to the next or even one month. But staying focused on that lane is what I really find helps me find some sort of similarity of balance. Yeah. And it makes me feel better because I know I'm not doing something I'm not supposed to do at this moment.

SPEAKER_00 37:08

Yeah it it may seem like they're unrelated but like what you're saying that that graceful guidance it's like gosh that energy is being applied to both of those roles it seems like and then even with your certification your professional expertise with the fascinate um applying it to both of those that's really interesting. Are there any um are there any sort of like pairings that you have to be extra aware of or could be I don't want to say in conflict with one another but might have a more difficult time understanding one another on a team?

SPEAKER_01 37:45

I don't know if there's any particular but I do think you have to be aware of them. So I'll give you an example let's say you have someone in in um an organization who has power I'm thinking about a situation in an organization I was working with um for my business and you have uh the executive who has is very strong in power when you look at their fascinated assessment they're very strong in power but yet they have a lot of um influence over the people portion of their company and so that passion is not necessarily coming through they're actually dormant in passion and so you actually need that pairing if you're working with people having that someone with that passion that at least works with you that reminds you of that. So I don't know that there's any two that you know you want to be aware of but it is it's more about making sure you have that balance in your team because if not if you have a strong let's say if we lean into the fact that most CEOs or most executives have power somewhere in their fascinate advantage and you and that's really heavy. You have an executive management team that might be really strong in power. What is missing from that what about the passion piece and what about those details that need to go into whatever you do if that's missing from the team inevitably you have something that you're lacking in as a team because you don't have a more balanced team great point.

SPEAKER_00 39:16

Great point and you probably wouldn't it'd be difficult to notice that without some sort of tool like this to kind of bring some light to it. As we start to wrap up I'm I'd love to hear just a little bit more about your personal branding work and what type of clients you work with how you help them and where can we learn more because I know we have a lot of people either professionally or for their own business looking to kind of grow their personal brand.

SPEAKER_01 39:44

Yes. So my personal branding work is it's really twofold. And so I like to say that we talk about presence a lot. So I like to help people show up in the best way that they can and that's twofold first part of it is actually fascinate. So we figure out what helps you what drives you and what helps you show up as your best person and what helps you fascinate. And the other part of that is I'm also a certified etiquette instructor instructor. So the other part of that is increasing your presence and really helping you show up as the most authentic and relaxed and present person that you can be. Because we've seen it happen two people are up for a promotion or they're up for a contract if you're a business person. They they have similar qualifications they both might qualify for it. But what happens is the person who has a strong presence and knows who they are and they really walk fully into that is usually the one that gets the chance. They get the contract they get the job because they show up with that strong presence. And so that's what I really work with entrepreneurs or career or career women on um is how do you show up how in your presence how do you show up in that most authentic presence that you can okay I love what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 41:06

And I think that this is kind of unique from a lot of other personal branding strategist that I've seen because a lot of it is I don't know it's it's all different kinds of things but a lot of it's kind of like oh your colors your message and yes all that's important but I I'm really loving how you're tapping into the personality and kind of harnessing what you have um so powerful so important.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Where can people find out more about your services and and how to work with you if they feel like they're needing some help with this yes my website is madelynridgeway.com so that's www made e l y n just spell a little different Ridgeway r-I-D-G-E-W A Y dot com.

SPEAKER_00 41:53

Okay and we'll absolutely link that in the show notes here. I have a couple of rapid fire questions for you that I like to ask they don't have to be rapid fire answers necessarily but um the first one is we love a good book recommendation even though most of us here listening have an Amazon wish list that's longer than we'll ever get through in our lifetime but let's add one on each week. What is a book that has impacted you um professionally or personally around maybe understanding yourself, being a better leader being a better business owner that you might recommend?

SPEAKER_01 42:31

Oh I had to choose one.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

I know this is always hard.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

Yeah because there's two that are really coming strong but I will tell you I think the one that I use the most right now is probably um building a story brand by Donald Miller. Oh okay yes building a story brand yes completely changed the way I looked at business and even how I work with clients because when you when you look at that and you realize how important a story is and how helpful it is having something that's simple for clients to um to understand it changes it changes everything and how you apply it to your life.

SPEAKER_00 43:17

So good okay what about a tool that you use in your professional life your personal life to make life easier better more productive um the full focus planner okay love the full focus planner it is not digital but I like being able to check things off in the way it helps you focus.

SPEAKER_01 43:43

So when we talk about when I talked about staying in that lane that is probably the main tool that I use to help me um it's very in depth and it's robust but I love it.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

Yes and I will say it also has like weekend to do's too right So it's like have a personal life outside of just work.

SPEAKER_01 44:03

Yes. And it's about identifying, you know, what your top three things are for that day and what your goals are for each quarter. So you have you actually use a planner for each quarter. So you have goals that you're working on for each quarter. It has steps, and then each one of those days, your daily to-dos are meant to link into what those goals are for each quarter.

SPEAKER_00 44:25

Oh, so good. Okay. And then last one, there's so much talk these days about living your best life and being your best self and having success. What does that mean to you though? What does being successful look like for you, Madeline Ridgway?

SPEAKER_01 44:45

It means leaning into who I am and being okay with that. That that really is because for me, there's so many in the world that we live in now, there's so many ways to be inauthentic and to show up in ways that are not authentic for you. And so success for me is am I living fully in who I am? You know, am I leaning into being an Enneagram wing six or that royal guard? Because it's tiring not living that way for me. And so being fully who I am is probably the most success highest level of success and allowing others around me to do that. I love authentic people, right? Like inauthenticity is just the biggest turnoff for me. So the way I feel like I'm successful is am I being who I was created to be? Am I living that out? And that that's it. I mean, because that's where success for me really lies.

SPEAKER_00 45:47

I love that. Thank you for sharing that. Um as we wrap this up, there's uh this is so this is so fascinating. Um it's been really fun to meet you. I will say, I forgot to mention, I usually mention how we met, but Madeline and I we just met like less than a week ago over email. So this happened quick. Um, and I'm appreciative of her willing just to kind of jump right into it. Um, so last question I forgot to ask um about on my interview question list is where where do we go if we want to know our fascinate test? Like how do we get connected with you on that, whether it's for ourselves or for our entire team?

SPEAKER_01 46:27

Yep. So if you go to howtofascinate.com, it's all one sentence, a word, um, that will take you to being able to take the assessment and it will also show you FCAs. So that's a fascinate certified advisor that's in your area. If you have someone that you want to work with locally in person, I do work with teams virtually as well, and as well as a lot of FCAs. So that'll show you your where I am, your local FCA if you if there's one in your area, but it'll also allow you to take the exam the assessment online.

SPEAKER_00 47:02

Okay. Okay. And we'll get your um certification page linked up with that as well, just so people can find you first. Um, well, this has been really fun, and there can be so many more questions that I have about this, but I think this has been a great overview. And I appreciate you taking the time and being willing to jump in and do this. Um, is there anything else that you would like to share with us today about understanding ourselves, the fascinate assessment in general, um, that I haven't asked you yet that you would like to share in order to make this episode feel complete?

SPEAKER_01 47:39

I don't think so. I think a good closing statement for me is to always remember that different is really better than better. It really is. And that when we lean into that, I mean, if the whole world was the same, how boring would that be? Right? So let's really lean into um, oh, I will add, I just looked at my my picture here and it reminded me becoming more of who you already are. Like your advantages are already there. You're already a fascinating person. So lean into becoming more of who you already are instead of trying to be what someone else is saying you are, you should be.

SPEAKER_00 48:18

Such a great way to close. Um, Madeline, I appreciate you so much. Definitely get connected with her. Um, we'll share her LinkedIn profile, her website, and then um how to take that fascinate test and get connected with her on that as well. Um, I appreciate it, Madeline. Thank you so much. You're welcome.