Self-Awareness and Applying the Ennegram Takes Courage

I introduced the Enneagram in last week’s blog posting. The Enneagram is spiritually and psychologically based and just one tool available in the workplace. There are many helpful instruments human resource groups and corporate trainers can utilize to improve and advance self-awareness as a means to enhance their employees’ performance—at all levels. Choosing to draw on more than one assessment method in the workplace uncovers a richer understanding of an individual’s leadership strengths and challenges. For example, to more accurately target the individuals’ behaviors, you can overlay the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (four preferences with sixteen personality types) as the longitudinal perspective with the Enneagram pinpointing the latitude point of view. Invaluable components are revealed when skilled presenters overlay several indicators. Diverse organizations, such as lawyers, engineers, non-profits, government agencies, psychologists, executive coaches, and Fortune 500 companies look to the Enneagram to:

• improve and deepen communication
• reveal leadership tendencies
• expedite strategic planning processes
• expose group dynamics
• recognize a client’s viewpoint
• enable coaching techniques
• solve problems
• remove preconceived notions

The Enneagram system does not compete with other indicators, so it is not necessary to discard other tools. You can expect to genuinely enhance your understanding of behaviors and attitudes by incorporating the Enneagram into your toolbox. Keep in mind, personality instruments are not to put you in a box, but rather to help you recognize the box you are in. Knowing your Enneagram filter allows you to diminish your habitual patterns of perceiving and create a space for discerning the value of others. Are you stuck in your worldview? It takes everyday courage to move out of one’s habit of attention.

Join me this month to learn more about courage and self-awareness using the Enneagram—a tool that changed my life! I would love for you to share your courage comments by posting them below. 

Sandra Ford Walston is known as The Courage Expert and originator of StuckThinking™. She is an organizational effectiveness consultant, speaker, internationally published author of bestseller COURAGE, trainer and courage coach. She is certified in the Enneagram and MBTI®. www.walstoncourage.com.