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November 1, 2022
Using the Enneagram with Teams
  • Posted By : TrishD/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : coaching , Enneagram , leadership development , Team Building

Over the last few months I have had the pleasure of working with an incredible team made up of 16 leaders. We have worked on individual and team leadership development through the lens of the Enneagram. 

Starting from the belief that all great leaders have a keen self-awareness of how they are perceived by others, how they show up in the world; their world view, motivations and strengths; the culture they are creating, their openness to listen, be challenged and change.

When leaders are honest about their strengths and their ‘weaknesses’, they demonstrate the capacity to be open and authentic and model what real self-awareness looks like.

Self-awareness, the ability to be mindful, ‘conscious’ about what, how and why you do what you do, is the starting point to develop a growing insight of the same in others – those you lead. It’s also the starting point in developing an emotional intelligence, the ability to recognise, understand and manage your own emotions AND the capacity to recognise, understand and empathise with the emotions of others.

Simply put, if you don’t know yourself, how can you begin to know others?

We started the process with a day learning to understand the Enneagram as a system and tool and getting conversant with the 9 types and what this means for individuals, and teams in general and specifically for this team.

In between this and the second leadership development day, we started the work on self-awareness. All leaders did the Integrative Enneagram questionnaire (iEQ9) and had a 1:1 coaching feedback session. This was significantly impactful for each leader with many ‘Ah ha!’ moments as they learn so much about their personality and how this serves them well or not, their habitual patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. Yet much more importantly, how they develop and grow, how this tool provides a roadmap to conscious and better leadership and relationships.

Day 2 consisted of each leader communicating their strengths and growth path to the whole team. To enable this, we worked on how to make everyone feel psychologically safe, how everyone could feel vulnerable yet supported. This was crucial to making progress with how they are together as a team. This process shifted the focus from our ‘self’ awareness to ‘awareness of others’. The team is also enhancing their emotional intelligence of others.

Then, who are we as a team? How do our personalities, our leadership strengths help us improve our team dynamic and cohesion? How do we apply what we know to different aspects of working relationships like communication, giving feedback, and our overall team performance. How do we deal with conflict & challenge, how do we work under stress and strain, how can we move from ‘forming’ to ‘performing’ as one?

Team Enneagram Types

We ended the day making commitments to ourselves and the team. Asking what each team member needed, they were invited to stand and request it. They then asked for someone to help them keep that commitment making themselves accountable for the change they were wanting.

I’m already excited about Day 3 where we move to the next level in our team dynamic work, looking at the gaps and how we use the expertise in the team to fill these.

“Because teams are complex and dynamic, they cannot be understood from a single perspective or at only one moment in time” Ginger Lapid-Bogda


August 29, 2019
Why Leadership Matters (even on holiday)
  • Posted By : TrishD/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : confidence , Leadership , resilience , Team Building

I have spent two weeks this summer cycling from the north of Vietnam to Hoi Chi Minh City in the south – a long and potentially arduous journey, made more difficult with temperatures exceeding 350C on some days. That said, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in terms of personal and team resilience, commitment and achievement, all made possible by the incredible leadership of our group leader. I witnessed all aspects of what makes a great leader unfold over the fortnight all of which can be applied to leadership in all we do.

Clarity of Purpose

During our welcome meeting, we were re-introduced to the values of the cycling company and indeed, that of the leader. Why responsible travel was fundamental to our holiday choice, why getting to know the country, it’s culture, history, language was key to our experience and, why enjoyment, fulfilment and achievement was his and our intention. There was absolute clarity in what would be expected from us on a daily basis and an unshakeable belief that all were physically capable of the cycling journey ahead.

Team Spirit

The group members were from Europe, US, Australia, New Zealand with an age range of 18-67, all from diverse backgrounds. Some had experienced long bike rides while for others, it was their first; some were focussed on their personal goals while others were ‘just doing it’; some were anxious about their fitness levels while others tackled each day with an awe inspiring confidence. Despite these differences, there was a commitment to a common goal – all were to complete each day with a sense of pride in ourselves and in our team. There was a collaborative spirt fostered by our leader. He created a supportive camaraderie regardless of difference – ‘high fiving’became routine at the end of each day.

Positivity and Reality

Everyone can do this!The leader’s motto regularly heard over breakfast, during our morning briefings, as we mounted our bikes. Always accompanied by the reality of the day – the distance, the terrain, the gradient, the beauty of the landscape, the breaks. We knew exactly what was ahead of us with very few surprises. His experience of the journey fostered a sense of trust and assurance in the team.

Fear and Laughter

Cycling into and out of busy Vietnamese cities was something we just could not imagine – it looked terrifying. The number of possible calamities was too great to count. Our leader’s calm and protective approach soon diminished these fears, so much so, we often found the funny side, screeching hysterically as hundreds of mopeds came towards us. We laughed a lot – even climbing an unrelenting 10km mountain pass, gradient of 8-10%, we laughed. We found humour in extreme situations, each other, with

him and with people we met along the way. The good natured group dynamic enabled us to feel comfortable in laughing at ourselves and each other.

Endings

We made it! The sense of achievement was incredible both from an individual and team perspective. As well as organising moments to celebrate, our leader ensured we were able to have opportunities to reflect and share our highs and lows with each other. He was also incredibly keen to hear what he could do better on his future trips. This was one question where we had little to say – he was the best leader we could have possibly hoped for. He made our trip and for that we thank him. As to us……we’re planning to go away together next year – that’s team spirit!


Recent Posts
  • Using the Enneagram with Teams
  • Leadership and Enneagram Types 7-9
  • Leadership and Enneagram Types 4-6
  • Leadership and Enneagram Types 1-3
  • Becoming an Enneagram practitioner – what I’ve learned about me
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