EP363: Enneagram 101 - Why the enneagram is the holy grail of personal development tools.

Maybe you are someone that is so into personal development you have a bunch of podcasts that you subscribe to. If you're like me, you have books upon books upon books that are personal development related. Or maybe you're somebody who loves just digging into the information or you're into something like human design, astrology, Myers Briggs just disc. I'm into all of it. Everything that I just listed, I am here for it. But all of that is a lot of how and a lot of what and doesn't necessarily facilitate transformation in your life. You have to understand the why behind everything you do to really have that transformation in your life. And this is why I love the Enneagram. This is why I teach the Enneagram. And if you want to know why you need the Enneagram in your life and why it is the holy grail of self development, personal development, personal growth tools, then dive right in.

Okay, I know you may have heard about the Enneagram or someone told you you need to to know all about it. So here you are. But what the hell do you do with it? Great news. You are in the right place. Lead with the Enneagram is the show where you will actually learn how to use this incredible growth tool and apply it in all areas of your life, personally and professionally. Hi, I'm Tracy and to be honest with you, I was a skeptic of the Enneagram before I started to actually integrate it into my life. In fact, in true enneagram 8 style, I told my therapist to f off when she wanted me to dive into it or well over a decade ago. Now that I have more than a decade of experience using the Enneagram and working on myself in my family with those closest to me, building my own bulletproof leadership, sales teams with one on one clients, couples, leading workshops for top Fortune 100 executives, and speaking to large audiences all across the globe about this powerful tool. I've got the proof and deep understanding of how to help you implement this into your life.

Instead of it just being some fun.

Thing you heard about. The Enneagram can be a complex model, but with me as your guide, I will show you how to first lead yourself in a powerful, effective and compassionate way and then help you lead others that way in your life as well. This podcast will have powerful conversations with guests, live typing sessions, as well as solo episodes of breaking down dynamics of the Enneagram and how they impact your life, career and relationships. So now let's dive in.

So I get asked a lot about why the Enneagram how is it different from disc, Myers, Briggs, Human design, astrology, all sorts of different things. And while there are many personality assessment tools available, most look at only the what behind the behavior or what, what the behavior is. And you know, we can switch up behavior at any moment, especially when we are having challenges or conflict or issues or a pain point. Right? Like just think about the diet industry. You know, when our pants are getting a little tight, we know how to switch up the behavior. But if we don't get to the root of what's behind the behavior, that's when the cycle continues. And so what I love about the Enneagram is that it kind of dives deeper into the why behind the behavior and inspiring new ways to develop yourself. Leaders, teams, families, organizations. It's much more than just a personality profile. And in these enneagram101 episodes that I'm bringing to you, I really want to just give you the nuts and bolts of this. So it's going to be a nice and short sweet episode of why the Enneagram is like this deep sense making tools. The Enneagram highlights the underlying motivations, defense mechanisms, the fears buried in your subconscious layers of your psyche. And it reveals the why behind the what of your thinking, feeling and actions. And you know, I, I wasn't introduced to the Enneagram until I was 40 years old. And when I understood this system and this framework and understood that the why behind everything that I did was narrowed down very simply to one main thing, it allowed me to not only meet myself with compassion and empathy and understanding, but also I was able to course correct and transform and not repeat the cycles that tripped me up and made me so frustrating. And I know there's so many of you as you explore entrepreneurship and more supportive relationships or if you're a parent, you know how to navigate raising kids and kids that are different than you, that when we can understand the why behind what we do and what other people do, we can find true understanding. And when people are seen, heard, understood and valued for who they are, including ourselves, anything is possible. So what typical personality assessments kind of focus on. I kind of want to give you a little rundown of why I love the Enneagram versus other things. And, and I want to say like I know I have people listening that specialize in human design, specialize in disc and all the other things and I'm all for anything that helps us become more self aware. But where the Enneagram is different is it really gets in the, in the roots and the guts of who we are. So the typical personality assessments, they typically have linear measurement focusing on masks or self image. They focus more on what you're doing. Predictive behavior models, they often emphasize managing others.

They often are quick to complete and debrief and simplify. When we are very complex beings, they focus on the behaviors and often results in short term behavior change. This is my main thing is like information doesn't equal transformation. The integration of it does. And why the Enneagram is so beautiful is because it is an adaptive multi directional measurement that results in higher accuracy. It focuses on why you do what you do. It gives you such beautiful insight and is an engagement model highlighting managing yourself. You know, I think when we're learning about the Enneagram, it's really great to have a guide, really teach you the ins and outs of what this tool is and how to use it and the framework that is attached to your Enneagram type. But once you really understand it, it is a lot easier to self coach, self manage because everything you have is already inside of you. It really, really is. This just reveals what it is, you know. And if you have a few decades, you might not know how to navigate that as effortlessly as you will over time.

The assessment that I give you is very rich and robust. You know those free online Enneagram assessments, I appreciate that they are helping bring more awareness to the Enneagram but honestly they are making it more confusing. My assessment that I give you takes about 30 minutes to do, but it kind of hits you at all these different angles and really takes what you've experienced in life into consideration and not just these blanket.

Questions for you. So my assessment is way more in depth and 95% accurate. Why the Enneagram as well as it, it gives you profound changes in self awareness from discovering those unconscious motivations and the self defeating behavior that is rooted in what you're most afraid of. By enabling you to understand, you know, the motivational patterns that drive you, the Enneagram unlocks potential and change from a deeper level that connects to your personal values and why you do what you do. This is best suited.

To coach yourself and working with others and it supports, you know yourself over a long period of time. When I think about, you know, the over a decade that I've used this in my own personal life and now gone on to help thousands of others of people with this tool.

These deep insights enable shifts in my own consciousness and the consciousness of clients and people that I've worked with and profound accelerated transformation. And when you can Accelerate your transformation. You get a lot more bang for your buck when you're working with somebody. So I like to say that the Enneagram is in a box. I know if you've listened to the podcast before and you heard heard about my early beginnings with the Enneagram. When I was asked by my therapist over a decade ago to take her online assessment, I basically told her to go F herself because I didn't want to be put in a box and I didn't want a label. And you know, she explained very directly that it isn't putting me in a box and it might actually help me get out of the box that not only I have put myself in, but the world had also put me in. And you might be one of those people that are resistant to personality profiling, believing that you will be oversimplified and put into a box. And I'm not gonna lie, there's a lot of Enneagram information and teachers out there that do simplify it and, and do kind of make it vanilla. But rather than telling you who you are, the Enneagram provides deep insight into your motivations, your limiting beliefs, your anxieties and hidden fears. And it shows you.

How your way of viewing the world can become distorted and limit your perspective and shifts you from autopilot to consciousness. Now, the cool thing about it is you also learn the eight other different perspectives in which people see the world. And when you can see that other people have different perspectives and none is greater or. Or better than the other and you are more open to understanding from that point of view and it doesn't have to feel so personal. This is when the magic of the Enneagram can really help trans.

Communication. And you can be a more effective leader, personally and professionally. Often, if you are like me, you have a narrow, self restricting view of yourself and the world and the people in your life. And you might tell yourself stories about how the world is and about how you must be. But these stories aren't the whole truth. Rather, they reflect. Reflect the limiting beliefs you have adopted and create a cage for you to live in. Instead of embracing the full richness of your humanity, the Enneagram invites you to look deep within, to explore why you might feel lost, stuck, unsatisfied, and how you can change those circumstances. It. It helps you ask, who am I really? And how can I create changes I dream of in myself and in my life and those that I love and those that I lead? And it really does offer a powerful lens into how you might keep yourself Trapped in your current reality and stuck in a limited problem centric state. As you become more aware of your limiting beliefs, you'll gain perspective and transform in a less limited, more authentic way of living in the world. So rather than putting you in a box, the Enneagram can show you how small or limited you have made your own box and invites you to be your free, authentic self. And I know firsthand for my own life that this is true. And every life that I've been blessed enough to guide through their Enneagram journey, it really, really, really does move mountains in a very rapid pace. When you are open, honest and willing and allow yourself to dive a little deeper into this journey. Now, having the right information is key and you can take a long journey into using the Enneagram. And that's fine. I'm all for that for you, if that works for you. But because I am a firm believer that this is the number one personal development growth tool I have ever used personally and professionally in my own life and obviously in the thousands of others that I have shown the way with, I know that if you are listening to this, you're very curious about the Enneagram and and want to accelerate growth in your life. So you have two options, or actually three. Go get your Enneagram blueprint. It is customized for you. You will get my assessment. Like I said, that is 95 accurate and that way you'll have the right information. So you can use the beautiful framework of this tool to accelerate that growth in your life. You can go to tracyomalley.com the work with me section to get your Enneagram blueprint. Like I said, you'll get my assessment and then your customized blueprint will be sent to you. If you know you want me to guide you through what that means, then just go do a one on one session, super easy. On that same website. You can just go, go do that. If you have a partner, a friend, business partner, a spouse, whatever. We do couples and partner sessions as well. Or if you know, like you want the full holy grail of guidance of this and this beautiful tool, fill out an application to be one of my VIP private clients. It's basically having me in your back pocket and on speed dial for three whole months every single day. If you want to explore not just your Enneagram typ and what that means for you, but we dive into the people in your life. We dive into your career, your parenting, if you're a parent, your relationships, your friendships, your support systems. Like that is the holy grail And I know as we're moving towards the end of the year, some stuff comes up. This is a time of year that it gets really, really busy up around here, so you can go to tracialmalley.com for all those things. But this is why I love the Enneagram. It really, really is. I had spent 40 years beating the shit out of myself emotionally, in my words and in my thoughts. And although on the outside I look tough and confident, inside, I could feel myself white knuckling and hanging on by a thread. You know, when we say and think the things about ourselves that are so not beautiful, we will keep the cycle going, even if we can achieve, even if we do have things on paper that look really good or whatnot. I know this to be true because not only have I lived it, I have watched and seen several clients over the decade do the same thing. And I know that you want that cycle to stop, and this is a great way to do that, to find compassion for yourself. Because when you have compassion for yourself, you're able to freely give that to other people. And honestly, compassion is the superpower that this world absolutely needs. And I know that you need in your life, personally and professionally. So go get your Enneagram blueprint today. I appreciate you. If you love this enneagram101 stuff, we got more to come. We have so many beautiful things about the Enneagram. It is not complicated, but it is complex. And the more that you get it there, you. You understand there's all these other kind of supplemental tools within the Enneagram that can help you accelerate that transformation in your life. So I look forward to bringing more and more of those to you. If you love this episode, share it with somebody that you know. If you share it on Instagram, you can tag me at Tracy Underscore o'. Malley. If you have questions or things you want to hear on the podcast, specifically in enneagram101, please drop a message to me. And later in the week you'll hear about integration. You know, this is the information aspect of it. And on the second episode of the week you get more of the integration, the how we actually use this in all areas of our lives. So stay tuned. I appreciate you spending your time here with me and I'm wishing you so much love and transformation in your life. We'll see you soon.

I'm so happy you enjoyed the leadership of Formula Podcast. Please help us spread the word about this show by sharing it with a friend and leaving a written Apple Podcast review. If you have any follow up questions to this episode, you can DM me directly on Instagram at traceyomalley. You can also find additional resources on my website@tracy omalley.com I'm excited to lead you into the next level.

Sam.