Enneagram at Work
Welcome to Enneagram at Work, your Saturday leadership download. We're bringing you insights for your weekend so you're ready for Monday.
This is a podcast about understanding people at work and navigating professional relationships. We spend so much of our time at work, why not make it more enjoyable by working on creating more enjoyable relationships with our teammates?
Listen in each week to gain self-awareness, relationship management, leadership development, personal growth insights, and real-life application ideas through the lens of the Enneagram inside educational episodes and interview conversations.
Learn about bringing the Enneagram to your organization or group and view the current workshop menu at: enneagrammba.com
Enneagram at Work
215. Leading Through Uncertainty: How Each Instinctual Bias Builds Resilience [Part 2]
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When the world feels uncertain, your personality patterns get louder, but so do your instincts.
In the Enneagram, your type explains how you react to stress.
Your instinctual bias explains where your attention goes when things feel unstable.
Some people focus on safety and stability.
Some focus on relationships and belonging.
Some feel driven to act, influence, or create change.
In this episode, we explore the three instinctual biases—Preserving, Navigating, and Transmitting—and how each one can build resilience at work during uncertain times.
Because each instinct doesn’t just have a stress reaction.
It also brings a strength your team may need right now.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The difference between type and instinctual bias
- How each instinct responds to uncertainty
- The core gift of each instinct in stressful times
- One practical action you can take this week
The Three Instinctual Biases (Quick Overview)
Preserving Instinct
Focus: Safety, resources, and day-to-day stability.
- Under stress: Worry about finances, health, or job security.
- Resilience move: Create practical stability through routines and boundaries.
- Gift to the team: Grounded realism and steadiness.
- Practical action:
Do a short “stability check” with your team—clarify top priorities, remove one unnecessary task, or confirm needed resources.
Navigating Instinct
Focus: Relationships, alliances, and group dynamics.
- Under stress: Heightened concern about belonging, morale, or social tension.
- Resilience move: Strengthen key relationships and build trust.
- Gift to the team: Social awareness and connection.
- Practical action:
Schedule two short check-ins this week—one with a team member and one with a peer—to ask how they’re doing and what support they need.
Transmitting Instinct
Focus: Impact, expression, vision, and influence.
- Under stress: Urgency to act, speak out, or drive change.
- Resilience move: Channel energy into meaningful, constructive action.
- Gift to the team: Inspiration and momentum.
- Practical action:
Share a short LinkedIn post or internal message highlighting something positive your team is doing to navigate the current moment.
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✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
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