The Enneagram in Organisations 

If you want to understand the complexities of human behaviour, then the Enneagram is a decisive and powerful tool. If it's used in the right way it promotes rapid growth for individuals and teams. The more an individual develops, the more the team self-actualises, which creates greater success for the organisation overall. An organisation which invests in their people, invests in the success of the business. But it runs deeper than this... The Enneagram is a blueprint for self-observation. With the Enneagram, you observe where you and others are focusing your attention and expending your energy, where you are demonstrating and making best use of individual gifts and talents, and where you may have potential blindspots in your organisation based upon the dynamics of the people in your team. The Enneagram allows you to apply sharp focus so your teams become more productive, proactive, and responsive.

The Enneagram describes nine different personality types. Being that, it encompasses 9 distinct worldviews and how they interact with each other. If you would like to learn more, read our blog The Enneagram of Personality. Unlike other typing systems, the Enneagram encourages guided self-discovery to identify your type. It's not used to categorise people or box them in. On the contrary, it's used to promote self-awareness, self-regulation and self-empowerment. A key benefit is the common language it provides for organisations to use in their communication to promote understanding and deeper and more connected relationships.

To clarify, the Enneagram doesn't help an organisation create a list of which types of people to hire. It cannot be used to pick the right leader for the organisation. In fact, we don't recommend using the Enneagram in this way. Because personality models don't account for every skill or talent a person has. For instance, they don't measure the different kinds of intelligence such as EQ, and IQ. And they alone can't tell you the life experience or internal resources a person has access to.

For the reasons explained above, we use the Enneagram in organisations in an ethical way. To sum up, we use it as a tool for observation and further exploration of ourselves and others. In other words, the Enneagram helps us understand;

If you would like to learn more, read our blog Applications of the Enneagram. 

There are many applications for the Enneagram in organisations. At this point, some are widely used, and others are still being explored. Here is a list of the top 5 ways in which most organisations apply the wisdom of the Enneagram.

Communication 

All 9 types have different strategies to filter information. Each of the types have their own way of expressing their ideas. The Enneagram shows us how to minimise the distortions we create. It teaches us the language of all 9 types which can lead to more effective, productive and conflict free communication in the workplace. 

Leadership

The goal here is for the leader to understand the strengths and limitations of their own point of view. This will increase their own capacity to see multiple perceptions and perspectives. Leaders can benefit from knowing how their leadership style comes across to others. They may learn how to effectively influence, train and support the different types of people they are leading. Want to learn more about Enneagram and Leadership Styles. 

Team Dynamics

The Enneagram encourages people to notice how they interact and engage within a team. It builds awareness, team cohesion and trust as the team learns how to anticipate each other's worldviews. The team begins to tune into what's important to each team member. Also, it highlights how each team member prefers to make decisions. Gaining this insight is enough to drastically change the way your team is relating. Building a more cohesive and effective team.

Developing Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

We now know that EQ is as important as other types of intelligence. So leaders must be able to grow their EQ to sustain effective leadership in this modern age. The Enneagram promotes self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-management. In essence, this promotes EQ growth at a rapid rate.

Coaching

The Enneagram is an valuable tool to bring to all kinds of coaching. It provides an effective strategy for each type to pursue self-mastery. When coaching with Modo, we provide individuals with distinct practices for their type. These practices assist people in managing their challenges in the workplace. Some practices focus on modifying ineffective behaviours. Other practices invite them to practice using their strengths in their role. Want to learn more about Coaching with the Enneagram. 

There are many advantages to working with the Enneagram in organisations. Firstly, it highlights how you, your peers and your employees - think, feel, and sort information. It also highlights that no matter how open minded we are, we all have habits in the way we think. And so we are often prevented from seeing other points of view.

In 2011, The Enneagram in Business Network completed a a study of 'lessons learned'. This study included 72 companies worldwide using the Enneagram in their organisation. The study concluded that businesses are reporting powerful increases in employee engagement, communication and collaboration. Plus they are seeing a rise in sales and they are able to retain their key leaders. Results also showed that leaders who use the Enneagram for their professional development, score higher on their 360 surveys. What's more, those individuals are being promoted 2-3 levels higher within shorter time frames.

The most interesting find of this survey was the reported high enthusiasm of employees. After they learned the Enneagram, they seemed to want more. This survey reports...

Employees are sharing their new skills with family and friends and taking it with them to new organisations even. Our employee's spouses talk about the Enneagram and how it has helped their family at our company events.

No one ever says that about a finance class! In light of this, wouldn't you want these results too?

Would you like to learn more about how the Enneagram can assist you in your organisation? Or take your leadership and your team to its next level?

Contact Modo without delay. Find out how we can bring the Enneagram in organisations to your people.