The Transforming Power Of The Enneagram

Do you ever wonder why others perceive you differently than how you view yourself? Have you been misunderstood or misinterpreted – and can’t understand how that happened? Are there some people you just can’t connect with—and some who never seem to understand your point of view?

The answers to these questions can be found in a powerful and dynamic personality system called the Enneagram, which describes nine distinct patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. The Enneagram is an effective tool that helps us discover what motivates us, what drives us toward or away from personal and organizational success and what causes our relationships to flourish or flounder. The Enneagram is like no other system on the market today – it is profound and it works!

The Enneagram Explained

The term Enneagram comes from Greek origins: ennea, meaning nine, and gram, meaning model. The Enneagram is a nine-pointed model that helps us discover our core motivations, habits of mind, hidden agendas, and unconscious beliefs that can support or sabotage human and organizational potential.

There are many personality systems on the market today, such as Myers-Briggs, DISC, The Big Five, just to name a few. While often insightful, these systems describe or predict behavior, but the Enneagram takes us one step further--revealing the motivation behind behavior, that is, why we do what we do. Once we understand the ‘why’ behind our behavior, change is possible.

The Enneagram shatters our individual perceptions of other’s intentions and reasons for acting. With the Enneagram, there are nine different “lenses”—or ways of interpreting the world in which we live. Through our own lens, we interpret situations, events, encounters, and experiences, but we only “see” one-ninth of the truth. There are eight other ways to view the same situation. Once we open our minds to other points of view, we can communicate and interact more effectively with others. We can also examine our own individual barriers to success and work toward achieving our full potential, personally and professionally.

Used in the workplace, the Enneagram creates deeper, more results-oriented communication in the following areas:n • Leadership
• Coaching and Learning
• Sales and Sales Management
• Customer Service
• Time Management
• Conflict Resolutio

• Problem-Solving Skills
• Negotiations
• Stress Management

The Enneagram’s Most Important Lesson

Individuals and organizations consistently find that when the Enneagram is used effectively, the results are extraordinary. They learn how to understand and work effectively with each other, which results in:n • Meaningful and productive dialogue that quickly gets to the n issues at hand in a non-threatening, non-defensive manner.n • Skills that help team members ask questions rather than n ‘assume’ another’s position or intention.n • Increased accountability and personal responsibility as each n individual takes responsibility for his/her point of view, n reactions, and actions.n • Improved relationships, morale and commitment to each other and n the organization.

Proven time and time again, the Enneagram used in the workplace transforms how employees interact and work together, increasing bottom-line performance results and creating a positive work environment that attracts and retains highly motivated employees. nn