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You're listening to the Enneagram NVA podcast skills 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, server Enneagram coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. And I cannot wait to see you inside. Would you be interested? Would you be curious to know how people from all over the world are using and benefiting from the Enneagram? I know I definitely was, and I'm guessing if you're here listening to a show called the Enneagram and VA podcast, you probably would be as well. And so that's what we are going to get into inside this solo episode today, are diving into some of the results from a new report that came out recently called the Enneagram and Organizations Global 2022 survey. The survey was put on by a woman named Ginger Lapid Bagda. She is one of my favorite Enneagram authors. I have several of her books. One is on my desk right now. I'm holding it in my hands, called The Art of Typing. I really appreciate her take and application of the Enneagram. Her company is called the Enneagram and Business. So as somebody who works with corporations and small businesses and professional development teams, the work that she does is very inspiring and helpful. I just really appreciate her take on it. She led a team called the Enneagram and Business Network of surveyors from all over the world and put together this incredible survey of people from over 49 countries, 796 people to be exact, from over 49 countries. It was translated into 22 different languages, and its focus is on two things. One is the most common applications of the Enneagram inside organizations. And two is what are the key benefits using the Enneagram in organizations? The results shared 72 benefits. And then they came back with 25 applications of how the Enneagram was being used inside of organizations. I will tell you, we talked about those benefits in depth, specifically when it comes to organizational benefits of the Enneagram inside last week's Understanding People newsletter. If you're not already in our insider community, you can join over at Enneagramba.com forward slash newsletter. Easy peasy, straightforward, nothing clever there. And uh get on the newsletter for future issues and then also just reply back to the welcome email and say, hey Sarah, will you send me the benefits of Enneagram and organization survey issue or something about the survey issue? And I'll know what you're talking about and make sure you get that past issue. Um if you're a visual person, I had the graphics included in there that talk about the organizational success, leadership category, the team category, and then the um individual development category, the benefits that make up each of those. And uh we'll talk here and there today about some of those. We'll be pulling out key pieces as it relates to being a manager, being a leader. Um, but we're not gonna go into the depth and look at every single one that the newsletter did. So if that's of interest to you, you want to dive more into that, get get on the list, let me know that you want that issue. Um, today, though, what we're gonna look at is how managers and leaders can use this tool. And thought this would be a good episode to record and just have out there because this is a conversation that I have on a regular basis inside my own business with managers and leaders who are interested in bringing an Enneagram workshop into their team or organization and they're interested, they're curious, somebody on the team has recommended it. But the question at some point comes up, rightly so, is yeah, this sounds fun, or I've I've heard a lot about this, but how are we going to be able to use this? What can we expect to be different after we spend the time, the money, the effort to put together this Enneagram workshop? What are me and the team going to walk away with? Such a great question. And I loved that this survey added just some validity to what I've already been talking about and maybe how you've also already been using the Enneagram in your own journey and your own team, potentially. Um, and then also some new ideas for potentially how to apply it or how to think about using it that maybe you hadn't thought of before. So um, like I said, this is a conversation I have a lot. And then this I'm guessing is a question that maybe you've thought about or questioned or um are looking for okay, how do I take this information and turn it into a transformation? How do I actually use the information so it's not just floating around, taking up space, something fun to know, but actually something that is bettering my life, my team's life, my company's life. And what I what I think I'm gonna do is I have another episode already outlined for um Enneagram for Entrepreneurs using some of the survey data and then looking at specific applications for entrepreneurs to use the Enneagram. I also have one that I started to outline for uh high-achieving employees looking to grow in their career, maybe bring some clarity to their strengths, clarity to a potential change that maybe they've been thinking about and how to use the Enneagram in that journey. But today we're really gonna look at how can a manager or leader benefit and use the Enneagram. And I have nine different ways that are inspired from different pieces of the survey that we'll get into. I will just give you a quick picture. Um, the nine most frequently used Enneagram applications include personal growth, which was 81% of people said they used the Enneagram in their organization for that, emotional intelligence was 68%. Um, 67% said they used it in some sort of leadership capacity, 65% said they used it in communication, 62% said they used it in coaching, 59% said they use it in conflict situations, 56% said teams, 54% said career development, and then another 54% said they see it used um with employee development. So those are that's helpful and I think insightful, but I also think that they're that those are also kind of general and still leave some questioning about how to actually use it. So it's like, okay, we're applying it to communication, but what do we actually do there? Like, how do we actually do that? And so we're gonna get a little bit more practical in this conversation. So we're not just diving into the results here, but we're taking in some of the results, we're taking in some of my experience, some of the things I've read, um, some of the things that I've seen be work really well, I've heard maybe from my own Enneagram coaching peers, teachers. Um, so just bringing that all together to give you a list of nine, hopefully really tangible ways that as a manager or leader you can apply the Enneagram. So, shall we get into it? Um, the first one that I have on the list is onboarding. And the survey talked about, you know, 54% use it for career development, use it for employee development, um, use it to help with communication. It also talked about how organizations um are using it to attract and retain employees. They're using it for employee satisfaction. And I thought, gosh, you know, right away, bringing the Enneagram to that new hire, what a great way to make someone feel seen and understood and really valued and cared about. That someone's gonna spend the time to learn about them as a person, not just as an employee and their strengths, potential challenges, what makes them tick, their preferences, their strategies, um, all kinds of things. Getting to know that person can immediately increase that employee satisfaction, um, immediately increased respect and trust on a team, which was one of the benefits that survey surveyors said that they experienced. So, um, okay, onboarding, great. What exactly how do we do that in the onboarding process? Um, there's three kind of subcategories that I listed here to consider. Maybe you use one of them, maybe you use all of them. The first one was that that new higher individual themselves. Maybe you give them an Enneagram assessment, maybe they work with an Enneagram consultant that you have on retainer, maybe you have an Enneagram enthusiast on the team that can help guide them through their initial Enneagram journey to start to uncover their type, what resonates, what doesn't, what that means for them, how they see that show up in the workplace, just some sort of starting point and guidance for that individual themselves, so that you, as their leader, as their manager, also have an understanding of their strategies, their preferences, um, some additional insight about their personality. You'll probably figure out a lot of this as time goes on, but some sort of, you know, kickoff to the Enneagram, deep dive into their personality just kind of helps that process move quicker and hopefully avoid some unnecessary conflict or miscommunication right out of the gate. The second way to look at using it in the onboarding process is maybe you have a weekly or a monthly team meeting, whether it's in person or virtual, where this new person can come in and you set aside some time for each team member to go around. You know, maybe it's a minute, maybe it's three minutes, whatever you have time for, um, where each person shares a little bit about their Enneagram type and what resonates most with them. So that that new person is, you know, the rest of the team can learn a little bit about them. And then that new person can learn a little bit about their teammates. Not to say that you'll cover everything about everybody, you know, in that initial sit down, but I think that gives a pretty good um starting point. And it also, I think, welcomes and encourages that type of conversation and dialogue in the future. The third way I see this being used in onboarding is as their leader, as their manager, um, that they understand you as well as you understand them. And so maybe you share, you know, your Enneagram type, what really resonates most with you, what type of feedback uh, you know, you you get typically, some things that you're working on, um, your your go-to communication style. You know, if you send uh an email that doesn't have a how are you or a just a yes or no, it doesn't mean that you're mad. That just tends to be your preferred communication style. And so they get to know you a little bit as well. And again, avoid potential um conflict or miscommunication that could have been avoided. Not to say that the Enneagram will avoid you'll avoid all conflict, absolutely not. You'll just be in a better place to kind of navigate through that, hopefully in a more productive way. So, number one, you can use it in your onboarding process. The second way that I have here as a manager or leader is providing feedback. So there was a Harvard Business Review article that I read about the lack of un the lack of helpful feedback many women face in the workplace. They get things like kind of generic uh feedback, and we all can probably do this, but things like either be more confident or great job or nice work, you know, just kind of generic that's not really helpful. Like that that's not gonna do a whole lot for your growth path if you're getting that sort of sort of feedback. Who doesn't like to be told nice job? But specifically, what uh was a great job? Like what about my strengths um are you talking about? And um, what specifically do you see me needing to work on outside of be more confident? What does that actually mean? What are you looking for? What does that look like to you? And so one of the benefits of the Enneagram in general is that it is bringing almost a new language to our vocabulary. Um, you know, it's it's helping us understand each other a little bit more quickly. We understand, okay, what drives a three. We understand what drives an eight, what drives a one. Not to say that everybody is the same, that everything, that you know, all ones are going to be the same, but just a little bit more insight. And so we have some common language that we start to use. And I think the same that language can be applied in the feedback process where you as a manager may, may not necessarily without the Enneagram, you know, have that specific language that that person really needs to hear. But by understanding their type, by understanding your type, by understanding maybe some of their strengths, their common challenges, what you see showing up, you not only are giving them more specific and helpful feedback, but you're also maybe having a more productive conversation in those review or evaluation periods rather than just telling them what you're seeing, you can say, you know, I noticed that, you know, Enneagram sevens, you know, tend to struggle with XYZ. Um, do you see any of these show up for you? Or what do what resonates with you out of this? Or looking at your strengths, what do you see here in yourself? And just again, to have kind of a guided conversation rather than just uh, you know, just a wide open space, which sometimes is is unhelpful because there's so much space. But with the Enneagram, it can provide some some guidance, some rails, potentially, a path for giving some really specific and helpful feedback. The other way that it can help potentially that managers can use it is in the hiring process. And here's what I mean by that. Um, I don't know that you necessarily actually I do know I would not recommend saying, you know, all right, team, we need a type five on the team. Let's go out and hire for a type five and put that anywhere in the description or be searching necessarily for a quote unquote type five. But what you can use it for is to identify what your team looks like now. So this is something, this is another exercise we'll do um inside um Enneagram workshops that I get to host for teams and groups is we'll do um a map of the team. So we'll have kind of a visual of, you know, how many sixes do we have, how many twos, nines, eights, kind of where what the team looks like as a whole, and what strength strengths that makeup brings to the team, to the goals, to the company initiative as a whole. And then also maybe what are some gaps or some areas that you might need some help with, some additional um attention to. And then by kind of understanding where your team is now, you might understand and have a better idea of the type of person specifically that you're looking for, not just the role itself, but what do we need from that person? And then a lot of times too, you'll just see like this laundry list again of kind of generic characteristics, hard worker, you know, integrity, um, team player, uh, goal-oriented, task-oriented, multitasker. It's just it's almost impossible for someone to be all of those things anyway. Um, but when you kind of have an idea of these different archetypes and the type of energy or qualities that you're you're needing for that specific role, you can use some of the language from the Enneagram. Again, using it as the benefit of adding some more helpful and productive language to what it is you're looking for. So rather than saying, you know, all these generic terms, it's you know, we're looking for a new salesperson, but you know, we already have some really enthusiastic salespeople. So maybe we're looking for a salesperson that is going to bring um some focus, some data, some analyst to to the role and to be able to make our team that much more successful by bringing that energy. So, not to say that that is a real life example or that you would necessarily be looking for that, but hopefully that gives you an idea of how to think about using it in the hiring process and using it too, the some of the language, some of the qualities that you're actually looking for. Um, going back to feedback, um, specifically the growth path, um, you could extend to the Enneagram application here. So, in addition to just saying, hey, these are some things I think you need to work on, um, looking at someone's Enneagram type and then the Enneagram will give us a specific growth path. Not to say that this is 100% accurate, 100% of the time, um, but it gets close a lot of the times based on where we're starting from and where where we are right now inside that that archetype. And then what are some things that we may need to work on and how do we get there? And the Enneagram gives us some clarity on how to do that. So, for example, um, someone with type seven energy like myself, you know, the feed my the feedback I get might be around, you know, the enthusiasm I bring, the positive outlook I bring to the team, um, the energy, the the quick start action. Um, but then there might also be some places where I need to slow down and be more thoughtful. Um, there might be some times when I need to focus. I may be coming across as scattered to clients or my other teammates. Um, and I need to bring some of that focus of the five and um, you know, some some stillness and um just some of that that that five energy, and not to say someone's in a in a in in a review is gonna say, Sarah, you need to start acting like a five, but again, it just help you as the manager, as the leader, um, bring some specific, relevant feedback. And you can even ask, does this feel helpful? Does this feel, you know, does this resonate? Um, and you can ask them, right? You can open up and have that conversation. So that was something else that I meant to say, but that's point four. Um the other point that I have on here is empathy. Um, in in the report, it said that 80% of people experienced empathy as an Enneagram benefit, um, both in interpersonal relationships and leadership, observed it in others, observed it in teams, as people having more empathy and understanding for one another. And I think as a leader or a manager of a team, bringing in the Enneagram and then helping people see this is how I see the world, this is how you see the world, which means there are different ways of seeing the world. And so let's bring some understanding, some curiosity, um, some empathy to understanding how people, others are viewing the world, are experiencing things, or taking in feedback. And that was something else I almost forgot is actually how you even deliver the feedback. Knowing someone's type can help you deliver it in a way that um they're able to take it in. So some people just want you to give it to them straight. You don't need the same much, they just want to know, you know, give me that direct feedback, brutal honesty, you know, of the type eight. Whereas some might need to soften the blow a little bit, right? Ones are already going to be critical of themselves enough. You may not even need to bring it up. You just might need to ask the question. Um, so understanding people's types can also help you not just deliver the actual feedback, but how you give that feedback. Almost forgot about that. Um, the sixth way of using the Enneagram was around maybe your team's sales style, their communication style with clients, customers, um, and how their interactions are going to be and what they are going to really excel at when it comes to servicing the client, selling to the client, and then also where their potential struggles might be in that specific area. So sales or customer service. Um, another one will also be helping you and the team better understand your buyer. The Enneagram listed vendor or the Enneagram survey listed vendor relationships. Uh, 53% of people saw a benefit in better vendor relationships from using the Enneagram. So vendors, customers, buyers, better understanding people outside of your organization better, having better relationships with them as well. Maybe you don't know their type, but again, you're understanding the different ways that people are viewing the world. So that was seven. Um, number eight way that a manager or leader can use the Enneagram is ethically influencing more effectively. So if you're trying to get everybody on board with a new software change, a new system change, a new um goal, the, you know, we got 2023 coming up. You know, maybe there's a new initiative, um, whatever it might be that you as a leader or manager are needing to get people on board with. You know, there may be some people that uh there will absolutely be some people who you they just need to hear it fine, they don't care, you know, they're they're on board. There are other people who may be less trusting and want to know the facts and may need to think about it more. They may need to, you know, have it communicated in a way that um that new initiative, how does that align with their values? How does that align with their um their motives in in life and in work? And so, yes, will that take a little bit of extra time to better understand your team? Absolutely. Um, but that buy-in is going to be so much stronger and deeper if you're able to connect with the individual, connecting with their motive. How what do they need? How can I influence them ethically, not manipulate them, but influence with integrity and ethics and speak their language, speak to what they care about, not just what I care about or what the company cares about, but how can I tie that into what they care about as well? And then the last one I have on here as a manager is you know, we are managing leading human beings. Human beings have emotions, they have feelings. Um, you know, Brene Brown talks a lot about being a human being at work and not being a robot and you know, not necessarily, you know, sharing your diary and your deepest, darkest secrets with with everybody on the team, but having specific people at work that you can open up with and share when you're having a tough time, when you're when you're going through something really makes you feel connected with that, with with your work, with your team, with your coworkers, with the company. And so um, you know, managing stress was something that came up in the Enneagram survey as a way that they both apply the Enneagram and the results that they have seen. So when it comes to individual development, um, the the surveyors were asked to share the level of improvement you've observed in others in your organization. And stress reduction, a better work-life balance was listed as 54%, 52% work-life balance. So stress reduction, 54%, 52% reported seeing their coworkers have a better work-life balance from bringing in the Enneagram. Um, six 76% of people said that their relationships with their colleagues improved. Um, relationships with higher management improved. 70% of um surveyors said that. And so you can kind of see how maybe not directly we're looking at stress management, but how all of these things kind of play into dealing with being a human being at work, helping um your team member manage a stressful situation, whether it is a stressor at work, a project, a client is causing that stress, or something outside that they share with you is causing stress. You can start to notice um what stress looks like, depending on the different types. And you know that, you know, okay, uh Travis is getting quiet. Uh, that doesn't mean he's disengaged. That actually means he's stressed. Or, you know, uh Tracy is just all over the place. She's really taking on a bunch of stuff, she's raising her hand all the time, leading the way on all these things. But, you know, that's a little out of character for her, wondering what is going on. Maybe she's staying busy to stay distracted in something. Is something going on under that? And just start to ask the question. Even if they're not maybe ready to talk about it, noticing that in your team members, those you lead, can mean so much. Just to feel, you know, okay, they're paying attention to me as a human being, not just as an employee. So to recap, we talked about nine different ways that managers and leaders inside a company can use the Enneagram. One in their onboarding process, two, giving feedback, both maybe what to say, and then also how to deliver that feedback. The third one was around hiring, um, who identifying maybe the type of qualities you even need, and then using the Enneagram to give you some um language in the hiring process and the interview questions and the job description itself. What are you looking for? What questions to ask? Number four was identifying a specific growth path. So as you're giving feedback, what are specific things that maybe that person needs to focus on, or maybe you it helps, you know, give you the questions to ask them, what they see as the them them wanting to work on themselves. Um, the sixth one was around, you know, what is their sales style or customer service style? How are they interacting with clients, with customers, what strengths are they bringing? Um, where might they run into some obstacles? Seven was then understanding your buyers, your customers, even your vendors better. The eighth way to use the Enneagram was around influencing with effectiveness, influencing a change in the company by identifying the motives, the values, what's most important to each of your team members is going to be different. And then number nine was helping your um team identify stress and better manage and navigate through it. And, you know, picking up on things before they even say something, before they burn out. Are there things that you can notice because you have a better understanding of them and their personality that triggers you to kind of think, hmm, this seems maybe unusual behavior. Maybe they're under stress. Let me just ask the question. And then you can open it up for the conversation, the dialogue, just you know, letting them know, hey, you know, I've noticed something is off. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe you're not ready to talk about it. When if you are, I'm here. And so giving you some additional things to look for in your different team members can go a long way in helping them feel seen, heard, taken care of, really supported, trusted, respected. All right. So we have covered nine ways for managers and leaders to use the Enneagram. Keep an eye out for how entrepreneurs can use the Enneagram and high-achieving employees in future episodes. I do want to let you know that because of some of these post-workshop conversations that I've had with leaders and managers of teams and even in preparation for different events, I've added a new Enneagram consulting opportunity to the menu. This is the level up leadership package. It comes with either three or eight sessions, depending on how deep you want to dive. But it's specifically for managers and leaders who are interested in bringing the Enneagram kind of in the day-to-day, not necessarily a workshop. That's absolutely an opportunity, but to kind of weave in the Enneagram and to their coaching, mentorship, leadership style, where we will take a look at your own leadership style with your how your Enneagram type impacts that, how your subtype impacts that, what that looks like for you. But then also looking at how to take that information and use it on your team, strategize with individuals on their effective growth path, identify their strengths, getting them in the right role, helping them on their grow in their career path, helping them navigate some difficult situations, some challenges, recognize maybe why they keep running into the same issues, maybe why you keep running into the same issues, helping them land that promotion, maybe helping yourself land a new leadership role or promotion. But we we talk about um using the Enneagram as a leader in that level up consulting opportunity. And you can learn more about that at Enneagramba.com forward slash Enneagram dash coaching. I'm wishing you all the best as you apply the Enneagram in whatever context, whatever role that you are using the Enneagram in at work or at home and friendships and life in general. Um, I love this tool and I'm looking forward to sharing more uh real life experiences with our interviews coming up, as well as some um more real life application episodes and some of the solo episodes coming up. So, with that, have a great one, and I will see you back here soon.

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Thank you for listening to the Enneagram MBA podcast. Sarah offers Enneagram assessments for employees and entrepreneurs and workshops for company teams and women's groups. To learn more about how Sarah can help you or your organization better understand people at work, visit EnneagramNBA.com.