Susan Drumm explains the nine Enneagram personality types and how leaders can use them to understand themselves and their teams. The system maps core motivations and fears across nine distinct types, helping you recognize patterns in how people work and what drives them.
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Hi, I'm Susan Drumm, and welcome to this Leadership Insights episode of the Enlightened Executive, where your personal evolution sparks your leadership evolution. What is the Enneagram and how do we use it in leadership development for individuals and teams? In this episode, we're going to cover five things. Number one, we're going to talk about what is the Enneagram? And number two, what makes it one of the best tools for leadership development? Number three, what are the motivations of the nine types of leadership? Number four, how does using Enneagram help you grow as a leader? And number five, why it's so useful to improve team performance. So let's dive in. So what is the Enneagram? Well, it's a model of nine different personality styles, or how we use it in business is to refer to it as your leadership style. So what is your leadership style? Have you noticed that leaders lead in different ways? I mean, think about the best leader you've ever worked for, and if you just try to emulate them, you have very different styles. You might struggle in your own growth because you're just not the same type. Understanding your own leadership style can help pave the specific path of development for you. And we use the model of the Enneagram to help us understand our individual leadership styles. Why use it? Well, you need a higher level of loyalty and engagement in today's environment. Yet studies show employees increasingly feel disconnected at work. The pandemic has caused isolation and feelings of loneliness. And solutions like, we're just going to get the team together for a happy hour are good at first, but they're often just too shallow and not really effective in really building trust. What makes it one of the best tools for leadership development? Well, it's my favorite. I've worked with a lot of other tools, and unlike other personality assessments, let's say like Myers Briggs or disc, the Enneagram isn't focused on behavior, but motivation. So the other tools tend to predict behavior or what you do. But the Enneagram answers a different question, which is, why would you do that? And the reason that matters is because when you get to the level of motivation, you get a much deeper and richer identification of what your individual growth path may be. And if I'm in the field of leadership development, that's what I want to be working on. Also, the archetypes can be easily remembered for team discussion. And you really get it when you work with it after a while and you understand and remember who else on the team is what type. Whereas Myers Briggs, for example, you're an entj and what does that mean? And how do I relate to you? And you're an istp and therefore what do I do? From what I found is the Enneagram is far richer and deeper for team based work. The Enneagram doesn't pigeonhole you. There are three different subtypes for each main type that add a lot of variation and capture more of your personality and leadership style. So what are the motivations of each of the nine styles or types? Well, let me walk you through them. So Type one is the principled reformer or sometimes called the perfectionist. And the motivation here is the need to be right or really good. Type 2 is the strategic supporter or sometimes called the considerate helper. This type usually needs to be liked or appreciated or accepted. So driven by the need to belong to the group. Type 3 is the productive performer or often called the competitive achiever. This type needs to win or be better than the rest. Type 4 is the authentic creative. This type, the motivation is to be unique and authentic. Type 5 is the analytical specialist. The motivation here is to understand and be in the know. Type 6 is the skeptical troubleshooter. And the motivation here is to be safe and part of a tribe. Type 7 is the Enthusiastic visionary. The focus here is to avoid pain and experience all the good in life. Type 8 is the powerful Challenger or sometimes called the Controller. And they're motivated by the need to be strong and in control. Type 9 is the modest Mediator or Peacemaker. And they're motivated by a need to avoid conflict and help everyone get along. So how does using the Enneagram help you grow as a leader? So this is not just about who you are, it's about where you're growing. And what makes the Enneagram so powerful is it's a system of growth that tells you not only where your path of development lies, but also who can best support you in that growth. The Enneagram diagram itself can serve as a powerful growth map by providing customized and meaningful direction of growth for each leadership style. Each style is connected to four other types, two on each side which are called your wing styles or wing points, and two arrow line points. These in the center of the diagram and they're connected to the main type by internal arrow lines. So these four types offer very specific growth stretches. The wing points provide a more gentle development steps and the arrow lines connected points provide a more radical development path. In each case, the healthy qualities associated with these four types suggest actionable growth areas for each to achieve more balance and wholeness. So the idea is you grow within your type by learning from those other types that you're connected to through your wing styles and arrow lines. Now, why is the Enneagram so useful in team development? Well, I already said that the archetypes are easily remembered for team discussion, but you're going to have more information for why people do the things they do. And this helps build empathy. It helps you realize that people don't see the world the way you do. And that's actually a good thing, even though you might initially think it should be different. It's a good thing because we want cognitive diversity. For more information on that, see my other episode on this very topic, the Benefits of Cognitive Diversity. The Enneagram doesn't only tell you where your path of growth is, it also tells you who on the team can best support your growth. And those are the people that are your wing styles and arrow lines. After facilitating a workshop with the Enneagram, team members have a better understanding of the value of the different types and the different perspectives that they bring. They also realize why they might be getting triggered by certain team members and are able to turn this conflict on its head. Understanding why that person who annoys you is actually your best friend. And in terms of your path of growth, that is, you have something to learn from them and they have something to learn from you. And that builds a deeper level of trust and connectivity. When you get that. If you're interested in learning more about how to bring the power of the Enneagram to your leaders and teams, get in touch with us@susandrum.com we'd love to help you. And if you like this episode and want more leadership insights like these, hit the subscribe button and the like button and we always appreciate our five star reviews. Let's lead the way. Hope you enjoyed today's episode and I'd like to point you to the next important step. Hit the subscribe button and the bell to get notified when we release new content. I'll see you on the next episode of the Enlightened Executive. It.
