Why leadership advice might not be working for you, and how you might be able to fix that
How the Enneagram can help you to access more actionable, high-ROI leadership advice targeted to someone like you
Untargeted leadership advice can miss the mark
Leadership advice is great, but it’s usually generalized, as though there is just one type of “leader” or only a few types. It’s common to hear advice and to think, “I could never do that,” or alternately “I already do that, maybe too much.”
You can come away from leadership books and podcasts thinking the advice sounds good, but it feels like it’s meant for someone else.
Something that has really helped me to become a better leader has been seeking out leadership advice meant for someone like me.
MBTI is a common personality typing system, but I find the Enneagram, embraced by the Conscious Leadership Group, to be even more powerful at “getting” me and capturing my strengths and weaknesses and leading me to extremely targeted leadership advice. What I’ve read on leadership for my Enneagram type have been more helpful to me than anything else I’d read on leadership.
Finding your Enneagram type
The hard part with the Enneagram is usually figuring out your personality type. It’s not just a matter of taking and scoring a simple test. You need to learn about the types and really ponder which descriptions best align with your true motivations.
The tests at the end of this post can help to identify your likely types, but only you know what really motivates you, and no one other than you can determine your type.
Maybe I just think it’s hard to find your type because I have an Enneagram type that often struggles with this task. I first thought I might be a Type 5 (Investigator or Observer, into understanding the world) but realized as I learned more that I’m actually a Type 9 (Peacemaker or Mediator).
Take your time to delve into each type you might be, since getting your type right is essential for the advice to actually fit you. There are books and videos that can help you to differentiate if you are tying to decide between two types. It can be a lengthy process to get beyond your stereotype of who you are to what actually drives you, but this is important for the next steps to work.
Seek out leadership advice tailored to your Enneagram type
Once you know your type, it becomes simple to find advice meant for someone like you. I’ve listed several recommended books on the Enneagram and the workplace below, but there are many other books and resources to explore.
See what resonates and helps you to improve as a leader and coworker. Enneagram type-specific leadership advice is often uncannily applicable and speaks to exactly the problems you often face or strengths you can lean on.
My experience as a Type 9
I learned that as an Enneagram Type 9, I can tend to decide things in isolation and then emerge with my decision, and I would do better to let people in on my process, advice which I’ve put into practice. I also learned that I have strengths in listening to all sides and making sure everyone feels heard in decisions.
My strengths as a Type 9 leader are in defusing conflict, making everyone feel valued, and eliminating problems. Knowing what strengths might come naturally to me given my personality type has helped me to augment them with more bang for the buck than when just trying to implement generic leadership advice.
Your Enneagram wing can provide further options as a leader
Another benefit of the Enneagram is that it can suggest alternate modes of being for times when you need to branch out from your typical pattern. The Enneagram types to either side of your type in the circular diagram (for me as a Type 9, it’s Type 1 and Type 8) can present accessible new patterns to try out. One of those “wings” as the types to either side are called can be your favorite or dominant wing.
For me, my “8-wing” is my favorite. I would as such describe myself as “9w8” or an Enneagram Type 9 with a dominant 8-wing. Type 8s are natural leaders and, as such, are powerful and decisive. When I need to be more authoritative or decisive or make things happen, I can “lean” on my 8-wing, as it’s called. It gives me another tool in my toolbox yet still feels comfortable, since I can see how it connects to my dominant type, like a latent side of my personality.
Use the Enneagram to empathize with others
The Enneagram can also help you to be a more empathetic leader by recognizing that people approach the world differently. Whenever someone seems “too much” of one thing or another, it can help to recognize this might be the expression of their Enneagram type. Reading about types other than your own can help you to embrace diversity of personality and sometimes helps to crack the code of how to relate better to a given person.
The Enneagram is a valuable leadership tool
If you’re a leader or aspiring leader, check out the Enneagram! I’m surprised it’s not more widely-used in engineering leadership circles. It’s been one of my most powerful tools for leadership growth. Once you figure out your type and wing, it’s pretty simple to find highly targeted, actionable, high-ROI leadership advice.
If you know or figure out your Enneagram type and/or wing, feel free to drop me a line or comment below about whether it’s helped you as a leader or aspiring leader.
Resources
Enneagram tests to help you get started discovering your type
Suggested books on the Enneagram, work, and leadership
The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding Your Intimate and Business Relationships (1995 classic book)
The 9 Types of Leadership: Mastering the Art of People in the 21st Century Workplace
This book has tons of actionable advice on how to lead as your given type as well as how to relate to and manage or be managed by other types
Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work: How to Use the Enneagram System for Success
The Enneagram at Work: Unlocking the Power of Type to Lead and Succeed
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