SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to the Enneagram at Work Podcast, a show about understanding people at work, including yourself. I'm your host, Sarah Wallace, and I'm looking forward to diving into this week's episode with you. If you happen to be your organization's in-house Enneagram champion, whether officially or unofficially, this episode is for you. This episode is for you if you have already brought the Enneagram to your team, or maybe are thinking about bringing the Enneagram to your team, or maybe there's just a handful of you or a group of you at the at work that love the Enneagram, that want to talk about the Enneagram, and I'm going to give you some specific things to talk about. So after every single one of my workshops, I ask for feedback. And time and time and time again, the number one type of feedback that I get has to do with something along the lines that they wish they had more time. Now, this happens when we do a two-hour workshop, but it also happens when we do a full-day workshop. People want more time to talk, no matter how much time uh they have to talk, they always are interested in learning more. What else can I learn? What else can I share about myself and learn about my teammates? So I have 10 questions that you can use within your own organization or or in your own team. Uh, if you are if you have your team is into the Enneagram, maybe haven't taken it, you know, officially yet. Um, this may also spark some ideas if you're using the Enneagram at home and tailoring it towards those relationships a bit. So you're gonna get some inspiration for that. I will say, if you happen to be an Enneagram enthusiast in the workplace and you have not yet brought the Enneagram officially to your team, Enneagram MBA does have a DIY workshop kit for you to take and present. You get all the materials, you get the slide deck that's ready to use, you get a recorded video of me going through the slides so you can take notes and have an idea of what you want to say and what you might want to change up or add in. Um, you get a workshop experience checklist so that you make sure that you know you're sending out assessments, you are you know prepping before, during, after, so you get the checklist for all of that. You don't have to think much about it, and then you get all kinds of type-specific guidebooks, you get workshops or worksheets, and then exercise ideas, including a team map template and some conversation starters around that. So if that is of interest to you, um we have it on the website enneagrammba.com forward slash Enneagram-workshop dot kit. So also I'll uh include the link in the show notes here. Um, but you can you can check that out, you can grab that for yourself. Um, obviously, we do uh guided Enneagram trainings here at Enneagram MBA, anywhere from two hours to a full day. And so um, if you're looking for some additional support uh to bring in someone to guide you through that process, uh please reach out over at EnneagramNBA.com as well. So, with that, here are some questions to either take as is. I have 10 of them for you to take as is, or to use them for inspiration and using your own wording and adding to this list as you go, but hopefully this will give you some inspiration to get started. And so these are questions that um either come from the breakout group discussions that we do in one of our workshops, um, or they come from we do a how to work with me blueprint. Um, some some groups will do we'll have some fun work before a workshop. And so we'll we'll use that as uh some some facilitated conversation for us going into a workshop experience. So that's where these questions come from. Um use them however makes sense for you. Uh the first question is asking your teammates. So maybe it's just another coworker that is also into the Enneagram, or again, maybe you all have been through an Enneagram training in the past or looking to bring one back. A conversation starter could be what resonates with you most about your type. And there can be a lot of discussion just within that. Um, typically we'll have to limit it to sharing, you know, just one thing or your top two things, depending on our time frame. Um, but you can you can ask this question, and what's really interesting is to hear what about that type, what about those qualities, what about that motive, does your teammates specifically see in themselves? And I always say, you know, the goal isn't to make people Enneagram experts with these Enneagram workshops, it's to help them be experts in themselves and then start to become maybe not expert level, but more knowledgeable about their teammates. And so these types of questions can help you using the Enneagram inspire some some deep dive conversation with your teammate. Okay, so what resonates with you most about your type, number one. Number two, what doesn't fit? What doesn't resonate? And this can be helpful in the typing process, but it can also be helpful in understanding, um, you know, just be reminding our ourselves that, you know, we're not just qualities, all these qualities on a checklist about a type seven. It's also you can get to know your teammate by knowing what about that type doesn't fit with you. There are some, there are some stereotypes in my case with the type seven um that don't necessarily ring true for me, um, or most of the time don't ring true. And so that would be really helpful and that would be a really interesting conversation to have with someone. The third question is what feels most true with your types tendencies around your workplace preferences and your pet peeves. Now, during a workshop, we'll go through a type's typical tendencies around what they prefer at work, and then what pet peeves do they have, kind of what triggers them. And when when somebody realizes their type um or feels pretty confident they've nailed their type, they that those tend to hit pretty hard, and they'll say, Yep, that's me. Or occasionally they'll say, you know, this this one I don't mind, or this one doesn't bother me either way. Um, and again, the intention isn't to know everything there is to know about the Enneagram or specific type, it's to really understand your teammate. And so that's a really great question. And you're using the Enneagram to help give you insight and language to both you know share about yourself and to help you kind of take in what your teammate or teammates are sharing. The fourth question is what's a work style strength of that dominant type that you resonate with that you see show up for you? And sometimes this is harder for some than others to call out a strength and then to call out specifically how you see it show up for you in the workplace. But this is really insightful and and we'll will actually come. The other question here is what's a strength you see in your teammate? So, you know, your teammates will have a chance to also share what strengths they see in you that maybe you don't even think are strengths. It's just like, oh, I, you know, I didn't realize everybody didn't see this or didn't do this because it comes so naturally to you. So that's a really fun exercise or conversation to have is to, I think, take the time, yes, to share. Hey, I this is ringing true for me as a type, I'll just say seven. Um, you know, as a type seven, they tend to focus on the possibilities and and have some optimism about the future and what's next, what's exciting, and you know, that can be beneficial in my case, uh, you know, as a business owner, planning for what's next, um, you know, coming up with creative uh ideas for the workshop or different ways to connect with new people, new clients. So that could be a strength. Um, you know, using that question, and then kind of on the other side of that, using that question to share with your teammates what strengths they see or you see in them. So that is number five and six. What is a um, let's see, what's a strength you see in yourself, and then having others share what is a strength that they see in you. Um, the next one, number six, is what does it look like when you overuse your strength and or strengths rather? And um, I like this wording. I've been using this wording more this year around versus weakness or opportunities for growth, which I I don't mind that, but what does it look like when you dial, you when you have dialed up the strength, maybe to level 10, and really the situation calls for a level two. So, what what does it look like when you're overusing your strength? And so another example um for my for myself, or let's say, let's say we have a type one, um, they have this ability, the superpower to be incredibly precise, very detail-oriented. They are striving to feel perfect, and so they have this drive for excellence. And what an incredible teammate, what an incredible leader to work next to with somebody with that mentality, right? With that drive. However, when that dial gets, you know, cranked up all the way, maybe overusing it too often, um, it could look like controlling, it could look critical, it could look um, you know, more task-focused than looking at the person. And so, what does that look like for you and and your type? What what are those situations where you you do kind of dial up your strengths a little too much, or what is it, what does it look like to have it dialed up too much? So that's something to reflect on for yourself, but to use that question to start a conversation. Um, is there a specific the next question is is there a specific situation where you might need to use one of the other strategies? So kind of on the same line. So um as a type seven, you know, I just kind of talked about some of the a strength that I see is maybe that optimism and that kind of what's possible for the future energy, um, ability to, you know, have these new ideas, creative ideas, um, come up with, oh, you know, this is an exciting, exciting new opportunity we have, um, which has a place. But sometimes when I'm overusing that strength, it can come across as scattered. I know it can come across as uh, you know, having a lack of follow-through, of being um not being able to commit and see an idea through. So, what are some other strategies rather than my seven striving to feel excited that I might need to bring in so that those ideas can come to life? Um always we've talked about this before, a good place to look is in your your arrows or your resource points. Um, but depending on what specific it what specifically is going on with a workplace challenge that you might have, um, I think you know, thinking about, oh, you know, I might need to bring in some of that structure and organization that the one tends to do really well, or in my case, the five tends to be really focused. Um, I need to bring in some of that that focus uh to to my uh project here. So whatever that is for you, just kind of reflecting and having a conversation, and that might also spur a conversation of okay, well, you know, how can I be a supportive teammate if that's something you're working on? Or what do I need as a teammate from you uh to help me, you know, to be a supportive teammate to me? So I really like that question. Um, another question could be what specific quality of another type do you see as being more difficult to understand or work with? And what makes that challenging? Um, and then what might you need to do to navigate those challenges more productively? So I I just heard this example last week. Uh, we were going through the types. We had a had a one and a three in the room, and we got to the type seven, and they said, uh, this is a hard type for me. This is a challenging, this is a challenging energy for me. And um, you know, I get it. Uh especially, you know, threes focused on efficiency, um, focused on, you know, getting getting from point A to point B in the in the quickest way possible. Sevens and threes have some similarities, uh, but there's also some some pretty significant differences. And you know, the one being a little bit more structured, uh, you know, process-oriented. Sevens tend to be, you know, kind of spontaneous, may not follow the rules, may not follow the directions, you know, A, B, C, D, they might skip around. Um, and so you can kind of see already how um there might be some challenges in those relationships. But the follow-up question to that might also be well, what are some synergies of working with somebody like that? What what might they, what gaps might they be filling for you, or what might the strengths of that coworker dynamic or that team dynamic look like? Um, and so that's a really interesting question. And again, it it it we're using the Enneagram to help us spur a conversation to give us insight and language, um, but really it comes down to the individuals and in that work relationship or on that team. Um, what are the possible you know triggers for each other or potential challenges? And then what can you do to navigate those? And I I say navigate um more productively rather than avoid because maybe you minimize how much conflict or how much how you know the challenges of working together, but we won't ever avoid it a hundred percent. And and you know, we shouldn't expect that from ourselves, but what we what we can do is kind of have more awareness of of when we might get triggered uh by somebody else or what difficult situ or what challenging situations what situations challenge us. There we go. Um and so we kind of know going into it, oh, oh, I'm I'm in, I'm in this situation, but then sometimes we don't realize until afterwards that we've been in a challenging situation, maybe we had a difficult conversation that didn't go well, but then you can kind of go back and and reflect, okay, this is why that didn't work. Let's go back and maybe have a repair conversation, knowing what I know about myself, knowing what you know about yourself. Uh, let's see. Okay, so that is question eight. Um, question nine. Uh let's see, what synergies are possible? Okay, so I kind of did, I kind of did um eight and nine together about potential conflicts or what makes a teammate challenging, but then also what makes that relationship um work really well together. What parts of that, what how do you complement each other? Um, and then the last one I have here is what's one specific person or situation, specific situation that you can use this insight um uh to you know help that relationship, help yourself in that situation, help yourself grow at work. And uh this is this is again kind of just stopping and thinking, okay, so I've learned what I've learned about the Enneagram. This is really interesting, this is really fun. Now, where are some specific places or who is a specific person I can have these conversations with to help move me forward or or get me out of a challenging place at work? So I hope these questions were helpful. I'm gonna copy and and paste them um in the show notes so you'll have them if you want to uh just just read through them. But hopefully you also got some additional context with with the audio here. I'll also give you a couple of bonus questions for listening to the audio. And uh these aren't necessarily specific questions, but just kind of topics that might generate some conversation with your teammates. And one of those is around your recognition preferences. How do you like to be recognized? And this might be a great one if you happen to be a leader, because one thing that I have learned this year, it kind of came up um and it happened to be uh, you know, kind of type specific, but I I wouldn't obviously put a put a blanket that all threes like to be recognized in the same way or all nines like to be recognized in the same way. But the conversation was around um how do you prefer to be recognized? How how how what makes you what makes it feel good? Um if you've done a great job, how do you want your your teammate or your boss to let you know? And there were some people that said, yeah, I want to be called out, I want to, you know, I I'm okay if you share my name at a meeting or present me with an award or you know, put my name in in the the company newsletter with my with my headshot. I I like that, I'm good with that. Um, there was another type, it happened to be a type nine, but you know, I I don't know that this is true for all nines, um, that said, you know, I absolutely want to be recognized, but I I don't want you to do it in front of anybody. If we could do it privately, I would really prefer that. Like when you have me on the spotlight, you're you're complimenting me. I know you think you're doing me a favor, but it's making my skin crawl. I'm feeling incredibly um uncomfortable. I can't wait for it to be over. And so if there was something more private we could do, that would feel better. What what great insight to know about the different people on your team, right? How they prefer to be recognized. So that could be a question, and the Enneagram can give some language to helping us, but you know, again, this is going to be different for for each person, not the same for each type necessarily. Um, another question might have to do around what uh sharing feedback. You know, I might if if I have some critical feedback or or some maybe um challenging feedback, how do you want to to get that? You know, some people will say, just tell me like it is, just give it to me, just give it to me directly. Other people will say, you know, um you might need to come in a little softer, you know, just remind me of the things that I am doing well before you slide that in there. Um, other people will talk about how important it is to be building trust before that conversation can even happen, before they're even able to listen. So it'll it would just be interesting to hear what your teammates say. Um, when just yeah, kind of just you know, general kind of one lighter, how what's the best way to share feedback with you? Kind of what comes from that. Um, another question, kind of similar, I guess, and is how to prepare for a difficult conversation. So maybe this isn't feedback necessarily, but it's just, you know, I got some I got some hard news for the team, there's gonna be some changes, or there's gonna be some changes with your role, or whatever that difficult conversation might be. Um how how do you want it, how do you want it to be delivered? Um, and here's what I mean by that, and we'll see what comes up for your team specifically. But some people will say, I just want you to call me in your office and again, just kind of tell me tell me like it is, give it to me straight. Um I'm I'm good with that. Other people will say, you know, um, if you could share it, maybe share it in writing, and then I'll probably have some questions, or that will give me some time to think about it, and then maybe we can schedule a meeting the next day. So I have some time to process because if you were to dump something, you know, significant like that on me, I you know, I don't know. I don't know how I would react at first. And so having a little bit of heads up and writing gives me time to process. So there's there's hundreds of different ways, right, to to go about that. But those are some examples of some things I've heard for navigating a difficult conversation. And then the last kind of bonus conversation starter has to do with what is needed to start a project. So what is your teammate or what does your team need uh to start a project? And is it I hey, I need to know exactly what the goal is, um, which you know tends to be common for our type threes. Like, what are we trying to get out of this project? Um, other times it's okay, who are we helping? Who will be affected by this? How will they be affected? I want to know, you know, what is the the human impact of this project? Other people say, I need the details. I need, I need like what we're doing, I need where we're going, uh, who who else is gonna be a part of this? Uh, where did the data come from? You know, just any details you have, like please give them to me. So all different kinds, and you can kind of hear um some of the the stereotypical types. But again, this is okay, the Enneagram might say that a six, for example, prefers a lot of detail, um, but your teammate identifies with a six. Is that true for them? Or what else would they add to that that they need uh to start a new project? So just some other conversation starters some some things to start thinking about. Um, because I I even think that asking those kind of questions just reminds you that there are many different ways to start a project, many different ways to be recognized. Um, because we have our preferences and we have kind of our default, but this is a reminder that there may be other people who prefer something completely different. Um, so there you go. There's some some questions, some conversation starters for how to start having um hopefully some some meaningful, maybe some funny, but hopefully some meaningful conversations with your team. Um, as a reminder, um, the Enneagram DIY workshop kit is available. You can uh download all the guides, all your icebreaker question exercises, your team map exercises. Um, and with the DIY kit, you do get a bonus call with me to kind of pre-plan to run through your ideas, to run through your questions prior to you presenting your workshop with your team. So that is available and the link will be in there. And then, of course, I absolutely love doing workshops myself. And so if you're looking for a guided experience, those options are on the website as well. Thanks so much for being here, and I'll see you in the next one.