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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. As many of us wrap up one year and start to look ahead at another year, I'm hoping that many of us are getting some time to also kind of rest, recharge, maybe reset in between that transition. So I thought this episode would be a great time to give you kind of a just a little heads up, uh little update episode rather than teaching something new. Um there will be just some high-level explaining, but you know, this isn't an episode necessarily where you need to take notes or think about how can I apply this. This is just more of a, hey, here's here's what we've been doing in the background behind the scenes. And here's how we're going to continue kind of working behind the scenes, but how this work behind the scenes might influence our workshops, our trainings, and the topics that we cover here on the podcast. So that's why I also wanted to share them with you here over at the Enneagram at Work Podcast. Um just a quick win and it kind of kind of leads the conversation is that this week I actually completed my level one certification with the Enneagram Awareness to Action uh framework. This is uh awareness to action is uh is a company led by Mario Secora and Maria Jose Monita. Um and they teach the Enneagram a little bit different. They call things differently than you than you might hear them. And so uh, you know, some people may have never heard of them, and then some people uh, you know, it's kind of oh, I love it, or couldn't couldn't disagree more kind of thing. Um, but for a lot of reasons, I have really been drawn to the way that they talk and teach about the Enneagram. And for me, the biggest thing has been, yes, you know, I want our clients and the organizations that that want to partner and work with Enneagram MBA to have, you know, a fun and entertaining experience. And I want their experience to also be something useful, to be something, even if it's even if it's one thing, one tangible thing that they can leave that training with or that day and walk away, and and it ends up impacting something within their professional growth or one of their relationships at work or the way that they lead or the way that they better understand their boss, something that they can can actually use and work. So we want it to be fun and entertaining, but we also want it to be useful and applicable. And so their this awareness to action methodology has been the most uh kind of useful and applicable way of talking and teaching about the Enneagram that I have come across. And um, we all know that once you get into the Enneagram, you dive deep, deep, deep. You kind of get a little obsessed. Um, so you learn and are looking at all the books, all the podcasts, all the Instagram uh graphics out there. And so I have done the same over the course of my Enneagram uh learning experience as well, and have just found this way of talking about the Enneagram to be the most aligned with the work that we do. That's not to say that there aren't also other great teachers or other ways of talking about the Enneagram that can also be helpful. Um but in these environments, um in kind of the expectations that managers, that leaders who are paying, not only paying to have an Enneagram experience, but also paying in kind of the the time off. You know, sales professionals aren't making their sales calls when they're in an Enneagram training. Um, you know, customers aren't necessarily being serviced when their employees are in an Enneagram training. You know, the project stops momentarily. The goals, working towards the goals is on pause. So there is, you know, a sacrifice and a cost to just taking that time away, right? And so um, you know, managers and leaders want to make sure that, yes, this was fun, people got some awareness, but like, how can we continue to use this beyond just the day so that we're really, you know, this truly was an investment that goes beyond this two hours, this, this, this day, whatever it might be. Um, and so I have found that the more that I learn about the awareness to action enneagram and teach it and provide guidance on how to use it, it just it works. It it works. And um let's see, I wrote it down. Uh, it was April, April 2022. I heard Mario on a podcast. The podcast was called uh the practical Enneagram. I'll link that particular episode. Um, it was about the connecting points. So the arrows, the stress and growth arrows, the deintegration, integration lines, whatever terminology you want to use. The way that he talked about it was different than anything that I had heard before. He was using these terms called neglected strategy and supporting strategy. And it was, I was like, wait a minute, hold on, I'm confused. What is this happening? What's what's he saying? I listened to it again and again, and I thought, oh my goodness, this is making so much sense. And so I've I Googled his name on uh, or I shouldn't say Googled, I searched his name up on podcasts and listened to other episodes that he had been on, and he has his own podcast out there. I found his company website, ordered all of his books, and so for a little over a year and a half now, I have really been learning and and diving deep into this awareness to action Enneagram philosophy. And um, they opened up a certification that they were kind of revamping. They've offered it in the past, um, and they they kind of revamped it. And uh I got to go through this round, and it was so fun to be connected and meet uh people in all stages of their own Enneagram journey. Some have been studying the Enneagram for years, some just learned about it right before the program started. Um, some have been using the Enneagram in their own coaching practices, their own uh training businesses, and then others are a part of larger organizations where their company maybe paid for them to go through this so that they could bring the Enneagram back as kind of an internal facilitator. So it was just really fun to meet all different kinds of people and different ways that they're using the Enneagram. So personally, I really enjoyed uh that that certification program was about four months. Uh we met every other week, which those weeks went by fast. And then learning all this new content and and ways of talking about the Enneagram. So it was, it was um a lot of time. Um, but I really, I really enjoyed it and I really felt like, okay, we are the this this is definitely the approach that we want to take here at Enneagram MBA as well. So moving forward, whether it's me or um another trainer or two as we add them, um, they will be going through this awareness to action methodology so that we're all kind of teaching from the same principles, using the same language, um, and you know, ensuring that our clients are getting that entertainment and the fun that goes with the Enneagram and learning about ourselves and others, but also that that practical application, that usefulness as well. And so I thought there is a lot um to share, and we will not be covering it in this episode. So I thought, let me pick out a couple of key things. I think I have three for you that uh stood out to me as something that I've already changed or that I'm looking forward to changing the way to just to make the Enneagram more applicable. Because what what I'll always say is that um our job here at Enneagram MBA is not to come in and teach the Enneagram so that your employees, your team are leaving as Enneagram experts. That is not the point. And I have definitely made the mistake of approaching these Enneagram workshops and trainings in that way. Um maybe not intentionally meaning to, but that's kind of how the way that I was teaching that's kind of, you know, well, you know, I'm I'm teaching you all these terminologies, all these things about the Enneagram, and forgetting that it also needs to be useful. And so what I say now is we are and we're not going to make you Enneagram experts. That's not our intention. The intention is to help you to become experts on yourself so that you know what you know what to advocate for yourself on, what you need, what um you want to try to avoid, how to navigate situations, what your blind spots might be, opening yourself up to those, working through those, and then also becoming experts or at least students of your coworkers, of of your of your relationships with those coworkers. And so again, this awareness to action enneagram framework really just lends itself so well to doing all of those things. I remember um in the beginning, um, and this is kind of point one of things, we'll kind of I guess start with things that this awareness to action Enneagram framework does not talk about. And that is wings, that's centers of intelligence, that's stances, that's other groupings or triads that they're called on the Enneagram. And for those of you who are newer to the Enneagram or um yeah, haven't haven't dove deep into other resources, this probably doesn't even make sense to you. Maybe you've heard about the wings. I know that those are pretty popular. Um, so this isn't usually an issue for people who are newer to the Enneagram. It's people who have maybe personally been studying the Enneagram and have learned about all these things. And this is not to say that these groupings, that these wings, that these other parts of the Enneagram can't be helpful. It's just that the way that really the amount of time, the setting that we have, um, it it it's kind of like we're not getting the biggest bang for our buck when let's see, am I saying that right? The biggest, uh, yeah, when we're talking about it or when we're talking about these things. Um, because it it's more, oh hey, this is awareness. Um, and what I found and what really kind of made me open to the way that um this awareness to Enneagram approach is that I used to spend a lot of time in the beginning introducing what's known as the centers of intelligence, head, heart, body, um, and then the stances, which is another grouping based on which uh center of intelligence you're repressed in. And it just got to, I was confusing myself. Like I I knew it, but the way when you kind of teach it to a group of people who don't know a lot about the Enneagram, um, one particular uh conversation I've I found kept coming up over and over, and that was where um type ones who are according to the Enneagram theory in the body center would always say, I don't think that that's true. I see myself as thinking a lot and actually overthinking. And so then I, you know, would have to say, Well, um, yeah, you really think this way, you you do think that way, but it's a repressed way of thinking. And really you're leading with your body. And here I am telling somebody, you know, caffeine to almost convince them kind of what their head, heart, body order is. And, you know, there's maybe some value diving into that, maybe in in a different context. Um, and maybe when you have more time, maybe when you've been studying the Enneagram for for a lot longer than than a four-hour training. However, it just got to be really confusing and not useful. And so then we weren't either we weren't able to get to the application part because I've spent so much time kind of trying to convince or explain why somebody's repressed in thinking, right? We have our sixes who, according to this, um, are repressed in thinking, but they would say, Oh, I I think all the time, but oh, but right, but it's not a useful way of thinking. I mean, it just um it just got to be a lot. It just got to be a lot. And so um I kind of scrapped, kind of scrapped that and because of what I had learned in my own just kind of, you know, my own uh education into the awareness to action um Enneagram and found that the workshops got a lot smoother. Uh people had a lot less questions about Enneagram concepts and terminology, and had more questions about how it applied to them as an individual or how it applied to a particular uh coworker dynamic. And then we also had a lot more time for exercises, activities, discussions, group discussions, partner discussions. Um, and it just allowed for a much more meaningful experience. And so I kind of cut those out um based on this awareness to action Enneagram approach. So that's one change that I've already made is kind of letting go of some um, you know, some pretty common um Enneagram language and concepts um in lieu of keeping things simple and useful, both in the workshop and then beyond. So that's one uh kind of what what I let go of talking about and and we've talked about it here on the podcast wings and centers of intelligence. We've talked about it, but moving forward, um we're going to be really just focused on three key concepts, and that comes from this awareness to action enneagram philosophy. And that is one, the nine types, right? And I will say this is kind of, I guess, two two A and two B here, but um two A, lesson two A from the awareness to action Enneagram is that I really have liked the way that they talk about the types as strategies, as a tool. And that's something else that we've already incorporated into our explanation of the nine types, um, is that you know, this isn't necessarily your personality, you don't necessarily have all like nine types inside of you, like we'll hear a lot. It's more you're able to reach for all nine strategies, but because we've found one that really works for us, and we we tend to kind of use that on autopilot. We use it, you know, without necessarily thinking, am I overusing it? Is there another tool or strategy that I need to be reaching for instead? And so we'll talk about the nine types as kind of nine strategies. So, as a seven, I have a I have a tendency to rely on a strategy for how can this make me feel excited? So that's kind of my strategy for approaching problems, life in general, um, and and determines kind of what I might avoid as well, because I'm reaching for that strategy nine times out of ten. Um, our sixes have the strategy of striving to feel safe and secure. So that's kind of their go-to strategy. You know, how will this make me feel safe and secure? I want to feel safe and secure. So they reach for that strategy in their approach to life, to relationships, to challenges. Um, when there may be another strategy to reach for, or that may be the strategy, they just may need to dial it down a little bit. So we'll the language that we use has changed from like this is who you are as a person, which I also think is a little bit more freeing as far as, oh my gosh, this is who I am. Um that's hard to change. Not that it's not possible, but think it's a little more freeing and a little more um, I don't know, maybe a little bit more doable if we're framing it, hey, it's not you. You don't necessarily need to change, but it's what strategies might you need to take a look at and tweak. And changing the strategy feels a lot more doable, at least to me, than like changing an entire personality. So there's that. And then 2B of this, I guess, is kind of the the three pieces of the Enneagram that we really um talk about and really only talk about. But within those three pieces, there is so, so much deep, deep, deep, or you can keep it high level and still get actionable takeaways. And so the three pieces that we teach based on the awareness to action um Enneagram, our approach here at Enneagram MBA is teaching the nine types and then teaching the three instinctual biases, which are kind of those subtypes, or sometimes they'll say, you know, the flavors of the Enneagram type. Um, and those really impact how we show up more than maybe wings or the centers of intelligence. Um, and that's one of the things, and there's several podcasts on the Awareness to Action podcast that you can dive into more about why they don't talk about certain things. It's because, you know, it's kind of covered either in the type or the instinctual bias. And then you only have two things to get into rather than over-explaining or introducing another concept that kind of says the same thing, but with maybe less direction of how to take action on that. And so that's why um we're also only going to be focusing on the nine types, the instinctual biases, the three instinctual biases, um, which it does explain. And so an example of that is, and I I don't want to, I don't necessarily want to turn this into a teaching episode. Um, we'll get into that next year for sure. Um, there used to be something, or there is something called the preserving self-preservation subtype. There's the um social subtype, and then there's something called the sexual subtype. As you can imagine, you know, you can't say that word. You can't write that word, you can't really say that word in a work environment. And I started to have um companies request like these uh handouts, they were saying, Can you delete that? So the word that they they'll use sometimes is one-to-one. Well, um, what I've learned is that those aren't really representative of these different subtypes, and it ends up being really confusing. So, again, the way that this awareness to action Enneagram approach talks about these three different types of each type is so makes so much more sense, is so much more clear, and gives you so much more guidance for what to do about it. Okay. Um, so we'll we'll be talking more about that, but that is kind of the second piece um of this. And then within the nine types, the other thing that I really love is the the movement, the fluidity that the Enneagram has with those lines. And you you can call them resource points. Um, the awareness to action does call them a supporting or your neglected strategy, but within each each of those, um, there's There's again more guidance, yes, awareness, but also guidance for growth and awareness on where what are our obstacles and and what might our blind spots be and how can we navigate around those? So we have our nine types, our our arrows, our resource points within those nine types. Um, we each kind of have two other types when you when you get into that. And then the third part of that is understanding which subtype you are. So I I I this may be more confusing without necessarily going into detail, but just know that there are many more things, many more concepts and groupings and and things that you will hear talked about with the Enneagram that may or may not be helpful for you. If they're helpful, by all means continue to dive into them, continue to learn about them. Um, I do find some things for me personally helpful that I'm not a hundred percent just throwing out the window when it comes to things like stances. Like I do find um some things with the Enneagram stances, um, maybe even with the centers of intelligence, occasionally here and there just gives me some things to think about and reflect on in my own Enneagram growth journey. So, so keep what parts do resonate and feel helpful to you. Don't throw everything away. But the way that we're we'll be teaching it and you'll be hearing it from us um really is just those simple three topics types, those the the lines within each type, um, and then the subtypes. That's kind of it. But there is so much to continue to learn and and practice within those three areas. So there, there is that. And then um I think my third, my third point kind of got mixed in in that conversation, and that was just around that turn, some of the terminology um, around that, that especially that sexual subtype or that one-to-one subtype that you might hear, and uh just kind of the way that they talk about their three top subtypes, they're called preserving, navigating, and transmitting. And so navigating is kind of kind of similar to the social, and then that transmitting is similar to the sexual or the one-on-one. Um, but the way that they talk about them is uh a little, I would say much more in-depth and a little different. And so you might think, oh, I'm I'm I'm this one-on-one type, but then when you dive in to their three categories, you might realize, oh, I might actually be navigating, a navigating seven. And what it what the heck does that mean? What am I supposed to do about it? Well, there's a lot of direction for what to do about it with their framework. And so um moving into the new year here on the podcast, uh, we'll be we'll be introducing some of those new concepts. And um, it's for you as the listener, and then it will also be for the benefit of those who are going to be going through a workshop with us, who have already gone through a workshop and and want to dive deeper um into this particular way of talking and teaching about the Enneagram. So that is what to look forward to in 2024. And I really hope um I didn't make it more confusing, but if you have questions or um, yeah, if you have questions, please reach out Enneagramba.com forward slash contact. There's a um a box where you can type your question. We'll get back to you. Um, and that may be a great episode for a future podcast. It might be just a video that we record and send to you and gives us some insight on on maybe some tweaks that we need to make to make it more um digestible or easier to understand, whatever it might be. Um please share your feedback, share your questions, enneagramba.com forward slash contact. Let us know what's coming up for you. Um, but I will also give a um, I was gonna call it a shameless plug, but I'm I mean it's just a it's just a a proud plug, I guess. I don't get anything for it um for mentioning that the awareness to action um group, Mario, uh Mario and uh Maria Jose will be running another level one certification. Um, I think starting that second or third week in January 2024. So depending on when you're listening to this, um, if you're listening to this not in real time or you know, it's 2025, you're listening to this, I'm glad you're here. Um, check out awareness uh to action uh Enneagram, and uh you'll be able to kind of see what they're offering. I plan on continuing on to their level two certification, um, which will talk more about um kind of train the trainer kind of thing. So making sure that uh we're continuing to stay um educated and um, you know, continue our own uh, you know, I yeah, education here over at Enneagram MBA. It's easy to think, oh, I know everything about the Enneagram, but um, this was something very important um for me personally to go through to make sure that I'm kind of staying current and staying um up to, you know, what what is making sense, what's working, and particularly what's working in the groups and organizations and environments that we're bringing the Enneagram to. And for us, by far, the awareness to action approach um is kind of the way and what I will be uh working with future Enneagram MBA trainers to also go through. But if you happen to be listening to this and you work uh with the Enneagram and your own business, or you want to bring the Enneagram uh to your company or just personally want to have a starting point for how to how to start learning more about the Enneagram, um I can't recommend the Awareness to Action Level One certification enough. Um it was such a great blend of of kind of self-paced videos, of group learning, of uh deeper dives with these live calls. And I will say uh Mario and Maria Jose could not be more generous with their time and with their knowledge. There's nothing that they're necessarily holding back, uh, that they're keeping secret. Like they were just a complete open book as far as any questions that we wanted to ask for how they explain something, how they do something. Um, so I really, I really loved them as instructors as well. So I encourage you to check out that uh Enneagram uh certification if that is a goal for yours in 2024 or in beyond. It sounds like they're gonna be offering this um in different rounds throughout, you know, next year and and into the future. So um it may be a little bit different how they do that. I think they're gonna have uh a self-paced only, and then uh a live component will be required if you do want to get the certification. But if you're just wanting the information, um it sounds like that'll be a possibility as well. So check that out for your certification needs. Um and then I look forward to talking with you more about kind of this new way of thinking and approaching the Enneagram, whether it's over here on the podcast or uh potentially inside your organization uh in 2024 and and and beyond. So thanks for being here, and uh I look forward to seeing you back here again soon.