Enneagram for Team Development - FAQs
"The Enneagram workshop was
very powerful 
with meaningful 
take-aways. 
Kathy Eckles is
extremely professional
and insightful, yet fun
and very down to earth.  
 I loved our time together."
Beth Hallisy 
– Partner, Advertising, 
Marcus Thomas LLC Cleveland, OH 

"Linking the Enneagram and Love
 gave it a health and strength orientation
that flowed from
Kathy's authenticity.
She made it possible for
us to share openly with
no judgment.
There was much respect
for everything we shared; no wrong answers."
  Sandy Machson 
– Life /Career Coach, 
What's Next Coaching Cambridge, MA

"Thank You for the Enneagram workshop
for our CPE students! 
You gave a clear description of a
complex topic in a
short time - all with
great energy and
clarity of information. 
     Well done!" 
    Rev. John Pearson, 
D. Min.– Chaplaincy Director, Beverly Hospital
Beverly, MA
How can the Enneagram help my organization?
The Enneagram can help you and your organization:
  • Identify the personality strengths and challenges of your team
  • Create developmental tips for improved performance
  • Understand differences in leadership and communication styles of each of 
    nine core     personality types / points of view
  • Appreciate and utilize diversity effectively
  • Improve communication
  • Create balanced, highly effective teams
  • Maximize contribution 
  • Reduce conflict and stress
The Enneagram makes explicit the differences among people of nine core points of view. Understanding, appreciating and utilizing these differences effectively increases an organization's capacity to discover and execute highly effective solutions in even the most complex situations.

Each of the nine core types / points of view has their own set of values, perspectives, leadership and communication styles, behavioral strengths and challenges. They also
each have their own core motivations that drive their thinking and actions. Understanding ourselves and others - what we do and why we do it -  increases our capacity to be
receptive, responsive, resourceful, and inclusive. It assists us in more often leading and communicating effectively with people different from ourselves. It reduces the likelihood of mis-communication, conflict, boredom, wasted time and energy, and ultimately turnover. 
How can the Enneagram help us create greater social and environmental impact?

Solving some of life's most challenging issues often requires partnership across multiple sectors - foundations, corporations, school systems, nonprofits, and governments around the globe. Effective partnership requires people to offer their individual gifts and talents with non-attachment and to engage receptively with people of different values, perceptions, talents, leadership and communication styles.

Understanding ourselves and others from a place of core motivation, perception, and behavioral style:
  • Speeds our ability to join together and to communicate effectively with one another
  • Assists in constructing highly effective teams - a cross section of inherent talents and styles
  • Increases our capacity to contribute, and to welcome others' contributions
  • Reduces the temptation to engage defensively in the face of difference
What impact does mindfulness/ presence have on our ability to work as a team? 

Presence ('being here now' with body-based awareness, an open heart and mind) helps us witness and move through our natural fears and reactions to more of our inherent wisdom, and to the natural strengths of both our personality and the virtue / higher aspect of our Enneagram point. (Virtues: the non-egoic experience of Essence/Source/the Divine.
By point they are serenity, humility, authenticity, equanimity, non-attachment, courage, sobriety, mercy, engagement.)   

Presence helps us develop emotional maturity / integrity - our "willingness and ability to respond (not react) to what is, regardless of the situation or environment." It increases our ability to be curious, receptive, inclusive, flexible, generous, authentic, trustworthy, discerning; to listen and to contribute fully without judgment or attachment; to optimize what's working while creating from the emerging future rather than from the past. 

The higher the emotional maturity/integrity of the team members, and the team as a whole, the higher their ability to co-create with and for something larger than themselves. 

In his multiple award-winning book, The Leadership Integrity Challenge: How to Assess and Facilitate Emotional Maturity Edward Morler, MBA, Ph.D. outlines six levels of leadership / emotional maturity stating that only Leaders and Doers (Levels 5 and 6) ) create effective teams that communicate openly and work collaboratively and synergistically toward a common aligned goal. The higher the percentage of people in the organization (team) at these levels, the higher the probability of sustainable success. The top two levels levels of leadership demonstrate the following behaviors:

Level 6 – Leaders

·        Authentic, present, attentive

·        Secure, respects self and others, self confident

·        Seeks and considers different points of view

·        Sees the big picture without losing sight of the current picture

·        Has wisdom; can see beyond logic and reason without losing sight of logic and reason

·        Acknowledges and honors personal intuition and is willing to act upon it

·        Able to make decisions in a timely manner

·        Consistently delivers on his or her promises

·        Responsibly proactive

·        Strives for excellence versus perfection

·        Demonstrates, demands and rewards authenticity

·        Communicates concerns forthrightly

·        Candidly confronts limitations and problems and learns from them

·        Mentors responsibly and compassionately

·        Confronts irresponsible behavior

Level 5 – Doers

Exhibits many of the qualities of Leaders, but with a less developed sense of “I am enough.”
Even at this relatively high level, there is still some sense of insecurity, and compared to Level 6, a narrower and thus somewhat more conservative perspective, with a  sense of still trying to “make it.” This often manifests as being highly competitive though in a much more constructive manner than the underhanded and dishonest form of competition at Levels 2 and 3.

·        Open to positive ideas as long as they don’t disrupt what’s already working

·        Progressive and will move forward

·        Like things substantiated first

·        Pilots ideas before committing further


Morler has a second award-winning book, Finally Growing Up: Recognizing and Releasing Patters of Limitation in which he integrates the nine Enneagram points across the six levels of leadership. It's a great resource for seeing the potential of each of the nine points and includes developmental tips that can help leaders maximize their contribution. 
How is the Enneagram different from the Myers-Briggs?

The MBTI describes mental and perceptual styles, how people relate to the world, how they are likely to approach a situation. The Enneagram is a comprehensive framework that describes not only how a person is likely to approach a situation, but why. It helps us understand the core motivation of behavior for each of the nine Enneagram points, as well as how people of each point are likely to respond in security or react in stress. Knowing this helps a person and/or group address stuck places, places of reactive behavior. In doing so individuals and teams become higher functioning, more creative, productive and collaborative. 
In what specific areas can knowing the Enneagram be most useful?
 
Knowing the Enneagram can help: 
  • All organizations communicate and contribute more effectively
  • Multiple sectors discover shared values and work together synergistically
  • Executive search teams hire the right person for the job 
  • Human resource managers relate effectively to each associate
  • Executive coaches and team leaders assist people in developing to their full potential
  • Sales teams communicate in a way that resonates with their clients
  • Negotiators and mediators assist people in discovering a satisfying shared agreement
  • Teachers help their students learn and relate more effectively
How can I find my Enneagram type / point of view? 

Experiential in-person workshops coupled with reading and personal reflection will provide you the deepest resource for self-understanding and personal/professional growth. You'll see suggested reading resources on our site, along with links to take an online Enneagram type test (suggest those by either  Riso and Hudson or David Daniels, M.D.at the Enneagram Worldwide.) The online type tests are simply a starting point. We suggest you go beyond them to discover the bounty of understanding  available in using the Enneagram. 
What is your approach to utilizing the Enneagram in organizations?

We design experiential in-house sessions to help the organization and session participants achieve their stated goals. After a clear, comprehensive overview of the Enneagram system, participants are invited to share their experience of their Enneagram point. Learning through the direct experience of your colleagues is an ideal way for your group to self-identify your gifts, differences, challenges, and the changes you collectively decide to work more effectively together.     Our Vision, Mission, and Philosophy        Teaching Philosophy  
What programs do you offer using the Enneagram?

Leadership Retreats for Personal and Professional Development

Enneagram In-House Seminars - Half, One and Two Day Sessions
  • Introduction to the Enneagram
  • Leadership Training
            Emotional Intelligence and the Six Levels of Leadership
            Communication: Developing Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competence
            Team Building Across Sectors
  • Stress and Change Management
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Negotiating Skills (with Edward Morler, MBA, Ph.D.)
                                 © Copyright Kathy Eckles & Co., LLC  All rights reserved.  Last updated November 1, 2011