EP399: Investing in People: The Enneagram's Role and Gift in your Teams and Organizations

Okay, I know you may have heard about the Enneagram or someone told you.

You need 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 professional. 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 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, and 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.

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Lead with the Enneagram. And we are in team building season and I really. This subject comes up all the time. The power of building team culture and.

Really pouring into your teams. Like now more than ever, we have to be able to do more with less, right? Budgets.

Remote working. And so now more than ever, I am inundated with team off sites and workshops. Right now. It's my favorite, favorite, favorite work to do. And I think sometimes because I'm doing this all day long, I forget how. This is kind of new for a lot of you. And if you are an entrepreneur, a solopreneur, somebody building a team, you're in corporate America. This all applies. And honestly, this applies to your home team as well. And I think that finding true connection within a team environment is critical. It is everything. Culture is everything. It's not just part of it. It is everything. And I want you to understand the importance of the investment in these Teams in the workforce and why The Enneagram is an amazing shared language, a framework, a system, a methodology that you can use in building this up. You know, authentic engagement benefits are one of the best things that you get when you invest in your teams and in your, your workforce. Engaging them authentically leads to higher job satisfaction. You also get increased productivity and retention. Now more than ever, it is hard to find good, solid people who want to do a great job. You have to invest in them in order to keep good, solid people. And research shows that organizations with highly engaged employees outperform all their peers. Like I said, they see better customer satisfaction, revenue and sales go up, improved profitability, those profit margins increase. And the Enneagram can help you as a leader, understand your people on a deeper level, which will lead to more personalized engagement. And this resonates on an individual level. This also will carry into their home life and in this area of life where we are trying to find work, life, harmony, I mean, balance is almost unheard of. But if you can find a harmonious flow between the two and bringing something like this into your team and organization can help that. Some of the misses that I see in team building and team culture building, I think so much we focus on shit that does not matter. And I think we try to cookie cutter thing or take a one size fits all approach. And if you're doing that, you're going to miss the mark. And I used to do this too. And this is the cool thing also about the Enneagram, if you're like me, when you kind of delve into this world of the Enneagram and you drink the Kool Aid, you might have the aha moment that I did. Like, oh crap, I only speak this one language. And I only kind of look at the world and my business and my, my team through this perspective. You're missing the mark. And although you might be able to lead people or empower people like you, but you're gonna miss a whole huge area of people that not only you can empower, but that you actually freaking need in your team. And this will help you build credibility and trust with them. And like with the tool of the Enneagram, you can find what each individual might need and then be able to tailor some of the programs and the methods and the essay SOPs that will be able to touch the grander scale. But you first have to know what each individual in your organization.

Is motivated by. Kind of the fears kind of where things go sideways for them. You know, if you're just Fixated on numbers and results. Trust me, I'm a numbers person and I get the importance of this. But sometimes you'll do this at the expense of your team members, needs and well being. When you miss the signs of burnout and disengagement, especially when things are crazy, you are going to lose and all the sales in the world won't help you build a strong culture. Like I said, taking a one size fits all approach really won't work. It might give you short term gains. But when you can understand exactly who's in your team or who you need in your team from an individual level, you can do more with less.

How do you find your people's needs? Using the tool of the Enneagram. This is why companies bring me in all the time. All different kinds of companies and families too. Because you can really understand a personalized engagement. And the Enneagram can serve as the tool for understanding the core desires, fears and motivators. Motivators for each of the people within the team. This knowledge will allow you to tailor your engagement and support strategies, making each single team member feel seen, heard, valued and understood. And I'm telling you, I'll tell you this again. When you understand your people, your business will thrive and you'll understand everything. Also, understanding through the lens and the framework of the Enneagram, different communication styles. This was a big aha for me back over a decade ago when I was learning about this. And recognizing how different Enneagram types communicate can help in delivering feedback, doing reviews, managing workload discussions. The way that tasks are assigned to ensure that they align with each individual's intrinsic kind of gifts and motivations. Now like listen, I understand that sometimes we got to shoot do shit where we don't want to do. But the more that you can keep people in the things that they excel in, where their superpowers are, the happier they're going to be. The confidence will go up and all the productivity, profits and. And all of those things will follow. So you have to kind of understand when you're going to try to get somebody to do something that they resist. How do you communicate? That will be the game changer. And when I think back to all the people that employed me or tried to lead me, some did this really, really well and others really the bed on it, right? Strategies for connection and well being within your team also can come through the lens of the Enneagram. And understanding like flexible workload management. Using the Enneagram insights to recognize when to push for performance and when to give Space for rest. This is really, really important. Like obviously you might have three sevens and eights in your organization that you can push, push, push and get off on it. But if you have other people, people in your organization that aren't wired like that, you can create.

More chaos within the team. Now this doesn't mean you only hire three sevens and eights, y'. All, right? Because you need the harmony and the lens of all eight or all nine Enneagram types to really support the greatest good of your business development opportunities. Like, how do you come up with different opportunities that align with growth paths of the different Enneagram types? This is why I spend a lot of time when I do off sites and team workshops on not just the core Enneagram types, but the framework connected to each Enneagram type and understanding the growth number for yourself and your people. This is kind of like the target we're aiming for. And you have to understand like what carrot you're going to dangle in order to ensure this kind of growth for them and the business and the company at large. Now more than ever. I'm so thankful that we live in a time And I think 2020 had a lot to do with companies understanding the value in wellbeing programs for their teams and organizations. Because if they don't, they won't keep the good quality help. I think entrepreneurship went up like 30% since COVID where people were like scre this, I'm not going to work for anybody. There's no guarantees and I'm going to bet on myself. And a lot of people started entrepreneurship. So now more than ever, you know, corporate companies have to invest in well being programs. And on the other side of that, those people that entered into entrepreneurship but have never done it before, like although they can be good at it, they, they haven't built the muscles yet. And so whether you're a newer entrepreneur, a seasoned entrepreneur, a corporate leader, corporate management, building wellbeing programs into your.

Protocol with your teams is important. And tailoring them to meet the diverse needs of your team members according to the Enneagram can make a more enjoyable, well rounded.

Effective kind of team building program for them. And here's, here's the key with all of this is leaders must go first. Your teams, your people, your organizations, your families, your children. They do what you do, not what you say to do. And so you gotta set the tone. And this culture of understanding and respect, you play the most pivotal, crucial role in setting a company culture that values understanding, respect, humility, personal growth, accountability and by using the Enneagram and bringing somebody like me into that kind of organization, you have a guide, you know, and, and it makes it much easier to guide your people and have better interactions and compassion with your people. You as a leader can foster a culture where everyone feels valued for their unique contributions. There won't be all this comparison, you know, talking underneath their breath and gossip like this helps eliminate all of that. Because you are creating a culture where all different perspectives and all the different gifts that you bring to the table, not just the ones who cross finish lines first, are valuable, important, heard, understood, and all of that. This is why integrating the Enneagram into leadership and strategies in your businesses are more important now than ever. Creating connection and motivation and a well balanced or well harmonized workplace will help you do the things that you want to be doing within your business. I know for a lot of entrepreneurs having this energy management for yourself is key because, you know, just because we get to make our own hours doesn't mean that when we're running a business, it ever sleeps. Or if you're in charge of a lot of people, like we take this stuff home with us. And being able to not have emotional and energetic burnout is really, really important. And understanding this framework and really diving into it, it's more than just getting your Enneagram type. That's a first great step. Honestly, like having the right information is key, but then knowing what to do with it, this changes the game. Excuse me? This changes the game all across the board. And the stronger that you build this muscle and the more that you actually practice using this within your teams and organizations. It's why, you know, I come back sometimes and have some continuing continuing education and continue consulting after a workshop so that we can really get more comfortable with this new framework and this new methodology so that we can all be really proud of the work that we bring to the table, so we can be proud of our gifts and the things that we are here to contribute to businesses and teams and organizations. And you as the leader, your time can be spent doing the very thing that, that lights you up in your business instead of, you know, conflict resolution and, and all the things that are not the pretty parts of entrepreneurship which take up a lot of time, energy, resources, money, all the things, this kind of work within your business changes the game. And I would be honored to help you do that. If you have always wondered what this might look like, you can set up a call with me. You know, teams are three or more, right? And I do partner sessions if There's a team of two, right? And this could be your home team, your. Your professional team. But in choir, I can do team workshops for teams as little as three, and there are some affordable options. And then bringing me in to dive into your culture, real life and in person is like the holy Grail. And, and definitely some of the best work and the best gifts you'll give to your people. There are all different kinds of ways that we can customize this for you. But bringing the Enneagram into your teams and organizations is something that I think that is easier to understand. It isn't complicated, but it can get complex. And having a guide really show the way for you and help teach you what this looks like within that organization.

Can really help. It's my favorite, favorite work to do. It's why I love the Enneagram. It's like putting puzzle pieces together so that you know when all the right pieces fit together and it clicks, we can see the bigger picture of where we're going as a team and organization and have a lot more fun and fulfillment along the way.

Excuse me. If you haven't gotten your Enneagram blueprint. Like I said, it's a great way to start. You'll have the right information. You can go to Tracey o' Malley dot com. Go do that. If you want to inquire about bringing me into your team organization, whatever, go to the website as well. You can send an email from there. It's a gift that you give that carries through personally, professionally for you and your teams and beyond. As always, I am so grateful that you take your time to listen. I look forward to leading the way and guiding you through the lens of the enneagram through 2024 and beyond. If you love this episode, give it a share to somebody. If you are somebody that works in a company and you want your people to bring this in, like suggest it. Share this with them and maybe I'll see you in your business. I appreciate you. We'll see you soon.

I'm so happy you enjoyed the lead with the Enneagram podcast. Please help us spread the word about this show and the Enneagram 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 on Instagram at traceyomalley. You can also find additional resources on my website@traceyomalley.com I'm so excited to lead you into the next level of your life.