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Welcome back to another episode here on the Enneagram at Work podcast. I am your host, Sarah Wallace, founder and managing director here at Enneagram MBA, a team training company. And today you are listening or maybe watching one of our newer segments that we've added to the podcast called Starting Monday. And the reason why it's called Starting Monday is because ideally we're talking about a specific type in a specific situation that you can ideally take and run with as soon as Monday, depending on when you're listening to it. So with that, we have been doing a series on giving feedback. Later, we're going to talk about receiving feedback as a particular type. But right now we're talking about some things to make sure that you do or continue doing as the specific type, or um, and I should say some things to consider avoiding or stop doing, or maybe do less of when you are giving feedback, because then everybody is seeing the world the same way you are, is appreciating the same things that you are. Sometimes it is, in fact, the very opposite. So rather than this being specific feedback that you must do, all of these, these are just some things to consider depending on who is in front of you. So today we're gonna look at the type one giving feedback. Our type ones are known as the administrator, according to the awareness to action uh Enneagram leadership style. And this person really does care deeply about doing things right. They're known as um having the strategy that they use most often of striving to feel perfect, focused on right or wrong, good or bad, kind of black and white thinking, and not a lot of context goes into that. Um, and they want the person who is receiving the feedback to genuinely improve, not just feel good. Okay. So this is a little bit different than I think some of the types that we have covered more recently. I think we just covered the type two in a previous episode, um, the type four, where there's they are a little bit more concerned about that person feeling good about the feedback that is being said. A type one doesn't necessarily want to make anybody feel bad, but their priority is really making sure that the feedback is a conveyed in a way that inspires and is clear about improving, not necessarily just feeling good. So before a conversation uh where feedback is going to be had, ones also may need just to check in with their inner critic, which we all have an inner critic, our type ones, though, that their inner critic tends to be just a little bit louder, just a little bit more harsh, and just a little bit more relentless. And so sometimes on the receiving end of anything, especially feedback that a one will give someone else, it can come across as a little harsh, as a little, oh gosh, that kind of stings, um, as overly critical. Oh, they always have something to correct. It's never good enough. And that's fair sometimes. And the other side of that is what's happening internally for the type one a lot of times. And usually, man, that that whatever they're telling you is typically 10 times worse and more, more harsh um with that inner critic kind of berating them. So as a type one, just want to check in with that, you know, have uh this feedback that I'm about to give, um, is my inner critic influencing it here because the goal is to be honest and helpful, right? But but we don't want it to start to bleed into being perfect and and almost harsh. So just check in with yourself to kind of set the tone before going in with this conversation. Um, and then some things to consider doing or maybe to keep doing, uh, depending on on what you're already what you're already doing, um, is to lead with positive intent behind the feedback. Now, uh a one might be tempted to skip this because it seems like common sense, like it's obvious that there is a positive intent behind what I'm about to tell you. Um, but I think it will land better if the other person clearly and right in that moment understands that you're coming from a place of care with this feedback that you're about to live to deliver and not necessarily criticism. Another thing you want to do or to keep doing, consider doing anyway, is to be very specific and factual. And that's gonna be different than being like you're evaluating them. And what this might look like in a feedback context is you saying something like the report was missing the Q3 numbers, projections, whatever that might be. Um, the report was missing this particular thing rather than just saying the report wasn't good enough. Okay. And I and again, I think most ones have a natural tendency to add in those specifics, but that that criticism can easily start to seep in where it's not specific or factual, it's just this isn't good enough. And that might be true, but what exactly wasn't good enough and what what was the expectation? And then lastly, something to consider doing or to continue doing is giving that person a very clear path forward. Um ones tend to just naturally see what should be, they just they can also be extreme uh visionaries, which can be such a gift. Um, we talk about how their book would be the good to great book. It's like this is good, but it it could be even better. And they just have this ability to kind of see the way they believe it it should be, and so use that gift to offer a specific next step rather than just talking about the problem. Use that that should insight to inspire forward momentum rather than kind of wallowing on what went wrong. Now, of course, you might have to address that, but make sure that you're offering that concrete next step. Some things to consider avoiding or doing less of is letting that should energy kind of leak into your tone in the delivery of the feedback. Because when we're giving feedback, there's a couple things going on, right? It's not just what is being said, but it's how it's being said. And so as a one, just want to make sure that even when your words are measured, and I know that you are very thoughtful as a one about what comes out of your mouth. You are not just willy-nilly thinking something and then it immediately comes out. You're very thoughtful about what comes out, you're very calculated, measured, strategic. Um, but I should say, and sometimes ones can communicate with frustration that they're feeling through their voice and their body language without realizing it. And I don't know if he's listening or not, but we had a um a leader a couple months ago who identified as an Enneagram type one, kind of laugh at himself about how his team will say he has the resting B face. You know what I'm talking about? You know what that B word is. Um and he said, I I don't mean it at all. It just, it just kind of happened. So I I'm constantly having to like recognize what my face, my facial expressions might be doing as someone's talking to me or as I'm talking to them. Um and I might need to to kind of soften it a little bit. I might need to be like, oh yeah, remember to smile, which I thought was such a great real world example. And it is, it is fun, kind of funny to laugh at yourself like that. And I'm I'm glad that he he was able to. Um, and I do, I love that about the Enneagram, that it gives you this language, it kind of softens some of the things, like the the things that we might overdo at times. Um, and and so that we can kind of kindly um in good in good fun kind of laugh at ourselves and and one another while still using it to make meaningful change. So that's one to be aware of. Another one might, another one to avoid might be, um, and this can be tempting, but do what you can to to avoid it or lessen it, is to stack all of the things that are wrong and all the things that need to be fixed right in that moment. And you're giving all of that feedback at one time. Your standards are high, and there is probably a lot for you to say, a lot that needs to be corrected or that could be done better or more right. Um, but it's hard and can feel overwhelming on the receiving end of that, not to feel totally beat up, not to um, it can be hard to know what to prioritize when when there's so many things wrong that you need to fix. And it can also feel a little hopeless on the receiving end, like, well, gosh, I just can't do anything right. Why even try? So, as a one, you want to be careful that you're not stacking on all the things that need to be fixed at one time. Um, but instead looking to prioritize the most important thing and do what you can. I it's not gonna be easy. I didn't say it was gonna be easy, but do what you can to let the rest of it go for now and then come back to it when, you know, after that first priority has been addressed and is being corrected. Um I I say this with all of our episodes. If you happen to be a type one and would add anything to things that have helped you deliver feedback, either things that you have started doing or stopped doing or try to avoid doing, I would love to hear from you. It's always fun to hear real world examples like the resting bee face that I mentioned earlier. Um, feel free to share those insights, those real world examples over at EnneagramMBA.com forward slash contact. If you happen to work for one and really appreciate something about the way that they give feedback, the way that they support you and lead you, I'd also love to hear about that real world story. So feel free to share again over at EnneagramMBA.com forward slash contact. And then overall, as a type one, just a kind of a phrase to keep in mind. Maybe you say it before, maybe you say it after, maybe you weave it in somewhere. I know you're gonna take this and make it your own. But saying something like, I know I'm I'm bringing this up because I know that you are capable of excellence. I know that you are capable of getting this right. I know that you are capable of meeting the standard, meeting the goal. And I'm I'm here to help you get there. This feedback is so that you can get there. And again, uh a type one might think, well, obviously, you know, I'm giving feedback so that you can get better. Uh, but sometimes it just helps to be reminded and helps to kind of lead with that reminder. Um, because I know feedback is I think none of us love, you know, getting getting feedback. Um, maybe some of us appreciate it, but I don't I I think a lot of times it can feel um a little hard to receive. Um, so as a one giving feedback to someone, just just keeping that in mind, you know, that the intention behind this feedback is because I know what you are capable of. You are capable of excellence, you are capable of this standard, and this feedback is here to help you do that. So with that, uh, I appreciate you being here as a reminder. Enneagram MBA is a team training company where we bring these types of type-specific insights, coworker chemistry insights to company retreats, team building workshops, industry, conference events. And if this is something that you feel like would be a beneficial addition to your team trainings or event topics, I would love to learn more about your team, share a little bit more about our specific options. And you can check out those initial options over at enneagramba.com. With that, thank you so much for being here. And I look forward to seeing you in the next one.