“This has rocked us!”
“We are having the best conversations we’ve ever had!”
“We’ve had massive breakthroughs!”
“I wish I would have known about this 20 years ago!”
These are the kind of unsolicited comments we’re starting to get after our Enneagram trainings. The tool and language of the Enneagram is unlocking something unique in businesses, marriages, churches and ministries. It’s taking over the world as the front-running personality type language.
Last year the Enneagram rocked us. As we both marinated it in individually, discussed it together and had conversations with others it shifted from “helpful” to “healing”. We realized we had been carrying things since our childhoods and it gave language to things we didn’t realize we still carry every day.
This Enneagram journey has helped us see our leadership, relationships, marriage, even the gospel more clearly than ever. We understand each other deeper and we know how to care for each other better. What a ride it’s been for us!
Integrating the Enneagram into groups, teams, businesses, couples and churches is one of our favorite things to do as a couple. There are so many helpful nuances about the Enneagram, but here are a few reasons we believe it is a total game changer.
It shares the good about us… and the bad. It names the gifts and challenges of our personality type better than we know how to talk about them. It’s not simply a feel good tool; understanding ourselves hurts a little too.
It helps us understand how others see us. We have all only lived inside one body and one mind. We tend to assume others should think, feel, and act like us. The Enneagram helps open our eyes to the inherent differences between us and those we interact with. We understand better how others see us and how we’ve been looking at other people through the wrong lens.
It invites us into deeper work. It isn’t about a few simple answers as to why we do what we do; it gives an invitation into working out the kinks of who we are and how we accidentally bring life and death to those around us.
It applies immediately…but requires steady work. Understanding your Enneagram type is a slow journey in some respects, but there are plenty of immediate AHA moments. It gives clarity and immediate areas to reexamine how we live, love, and lead with more takeaways weeks and months down the line. The more you dig at your type the more you find.
It exposes our motivations behind our actions. We can often feel like “human doings” in our culture, but we are human beings. The Enneagram is not about our actions (the WHAT); it’s about our motivations (the WHY). We rarely think about why we do what we do every day.
It changes your perspective on yourself. We think we know ourselves pretty well, then we encounter the Enneagram. There are things we think are bad or wrong about us that aren’t inherently bad. There are things we think are good about us that can become dangerous crutches.
What others are saying:
“My team is pulling harder and working together better than we ever have before. I’m seeing members of our team solve (and even avoid) more of their own conflicts and lead people we serve with more empathy and emotional intelligence. The best staff development money I’ve invested in a long, long time.” Chris, Lead Pastor
“Very helpful in my journey of self-discovery.” John, Personal Trainer
“This training helped me understand how to communicate with others who are different from me.” Niki, Business Owner
We’d love to hear your thoughts. Why has the Enneagram been a powerful tool for you?
Listen to our podcast; “An intro to the Enneagram”. Apple users (LINK: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/right-side-up-leadership-podcast/id1449683368?mt=2) and Android listeners (LINK: https://faithplay.com/episode/010-alan-julie-briggs-intro-to-the-enneagram-5c768ab2e6a3957c565f1e9f)
Visit our Stay Forth Enneagram page (LINK: stayforth.com/enneagram) to see the various Enneagram trainings we offer to groups, couples and teams.