Nine Views of the World Bringing the Wisdom of the Enneagram to Facilitation

Transcription

1 Nine Views of the World Bringing the Wisdom of the Enneagram to Facilitation Featuring Valerie Atkin, founder of Wells Street Consulting Interviewed by Steve Davis on Thursday, November 16, 2006 About Valerie Atkin. Valerie's passion for training and consulting excellence requires that she tell the truth and refuse assignments that she feels are ill-fated or that others may be better able to address. She is known as annoyingly realistic and simple, which is to say she doesn't complicate unnecessarily. Before founding Wells Street, she held a variety of positions including Organizational Analyst at DuPont, Manager of Development at Stauffer Chemical, National Accounts Manager at Zenger Miller, and Regional Vice President at MOHR Development. She serves as Marketing Chair on the International Enneagram Association Board of Directors and is the immediate past President of the University of Michigan Museum of Art Friends Board. She has a degree in behavioral psychology from the University of Michigan and she has a great sense of humor about everything except Michigan football. Notes What is the Enneagram and where did it come from? The word is derived from the Greek Ennea meaning nine and gram meaning a model or form. Its roots can be traced to Pythagorian, Jewish and Sufi traditions. It is an international personality system, neutral and not bound by culture. It represents nine distinct ways of viewing the world. Each view results in patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. The Enneagram is easily categorized, but you can study it for years and still learn more. It is gaining popularity, due, in part, to its recent business application, which has helped spread the word about it.

2 What are the differences between the Enneagram and other instruments like the MBTI, DISC, etc.? Some say there is no correlation between the Enneagram and MBTI and some say there is a high correlation. There is a difference in what is reported. The MBTI focuses on observable behavior and you need to be well versed in it to use it effectively. The Enneagram explores internal motivations and identifies what drives people to behave the way they do. It has both an ease of use and a depth of exploration that is appealing. The problem with the DISC is the granularity of the results. It has four quadrants where the Enneagram has nine views. For example, a high D in the DISC means a highly assertive individual. In the Enneagram, this shows up in three different views. The Enneagram allows for a deep spiritual understanding of oneself and can also be used in a business setting. The MBTI, having a Jungian psychological basis, addresses our ego and personality development and hence does not deal with our essential spiritual nature. What are the advantages of learning the Enneagram? Emotional intelligence has been identified as the single best indicator of success. This includes the ability to be self-observational and have an understanding of one s own reactions and motivations. It also gives you the power to change and a compassion for oneself and others. The study and practice of the Enneagram encourages you to slow down and identify what the common trends and patterns in your life and act on that knowledge. In 2-4 hours with the Enneagram, you can discern whether roadblocks to success are personality issues or business issues. You are only one of the nine styles, forever. You don t change numbers. It is not situational. We all have evidence of all nine styles, but we live one throughout our life. Quality of the diagnostic tests for the Enneagram varies widely, so it s sometimes challenging to type people in a group. With a minute process, which is highly introspective, individuals can self-type. They are more likely to believe their own results and won t argue with their own data. With other techniques and tests, people can say, That isn t me. FacilitatorU.com 777 Erhart Rd. Arroyo Grande, CA (fax) contact@facilitatoru.com 2

3 The process of discovering your style is equally as valuable as knowing your style. How do you know you ve got the right number for yourself? The process is ongoing. Once you read through the style descriptions there are typically two reactions. One is the ick factor, where you react to the negative aspects of the style, which is probably an indicator that that is your type. Alternatively, you may experience the Duh factor, where you say, Of course that s how the world is and the fit seems natural for you. You can still use the Enneagram if you are uncertain about your number. Exploration is the real work, but if you know you re style, you can grow more easily. The number can represent the cage we live in and we can learn to break out of the cage. It s not about being a good 3 or a good 7. Defining the box you operate in is only useful to the extent that it helps you get out of it. What does the Enneagram bring to facilitation? It helps identify the impact you can have on a group; how you show up. Being neutral is impossible, so we have to understand how we impact the process. We need to be mindful to keep all nine styles safe and willing to participate fully. You can identify fairly easily which styles participants are not, then turn to what they are likely to be, and engage their strengths in the group. For example, Valerie is a 3. She is focused on efficiency, and is task oriented and willing to cut corners to get to the end result. When there are analytical participants, or when the details of the process are important, she can be seen as pushing too hard. The weakness in her design would be that she packs too much in, much more than the group can get through. Knowing this, she might decide to co-facilitate with someone of a different style. Or she may tell the group to alert her if she moves too quickly, so that they can keep her honest and true to the process intended. FacilitatorU.com 777 Erhart Rd. Arroyo Grande, CA (fax) contact@facilitatoru.com 3

4 What are the strengths and possible pitfalls of each Enneagram Style when facilitating? 1. Perfectionist wants to get it right, wants to know the steps in the process, and can be critical, but often more internally than externally. Won t miss steps, but believes there is one right way and may lack flexibility. 2. Supporter helpful, understands others very quickly. Is the most empathetic of the styles, but can subordinate own needs and can be pulled in different directions. May become resentful as a result. 3. Task Master action, efficiency. May cut corners to rush to result and be competitive. 4. Introspective wants to understand the deeper motivations of others. Often melancholy, but has wonderful aesthetics and seeks the comfort of the group. Appreciative of quality, and can be intolerant of mediocrity, focusing on what s missing rather than what s present. 5. Observer objective, detached, natural ability to be present and synthesize information. Don t like open-ended commitments and can appear standoffish. 6. Skeptic planning, vigilant, focused on what can go wrong. Highly imaginative, but mostly on the negative. Loyal team member that can anticipate problems and come alive during adversity. 7. Enthusiast future oriented, likes options and divergent thinking. Can get ahead of the group and keep options open longer than necessary. 8. Assertive strength and fairness, likes to get and keep power. Low tolerance for meetings because of wanting things done my way. May not hear others, and isn t afraid of disruptive behavior. FacilitatorU.com 777 Erhart Rd. Arroyo Grande, CA (fax) contact@facilitatoru.com 4

5 9. Mediator harmony, consensus. Draws people out, involves everyone. May take longer to get the same result because of making sure everyone is okay along the way and may be perceived as inactive or static. How can we use the Enneagram to as an aid to our growth? We have inclinations based on the numbers on each wing of our type. A 9 is affected by aspects of the 8 and the 1 and can incorporate these aspects more easily than those of other types. In times of stress, we revert to a certain style to cope, and in periods of security we are at out best and can make better use of other styles. Also, as we age, we learn to incorporate other styles into our life. There are different levels of healthy and unhealthy behavior for each style. We can recognize our own behavior and make decisions based on that knowledge. What are the implications of Enneagram style and our ability to respond to the group versus our own agenda, manage process, respond to group conflict, etc. As for an ability to respond to the group, 1 s want things done right, 3 s want it done efficiently, and 8 s want it done their way. Each has control aspects and the ability to be assertive. If you are one of these types, you should check in periodically to ask yourself if you are on your own agenda or that of the group. We can view the types as a continuum, with 1 s at one end (my way) and 9 s at the other end (their way). When conflict arises, some styles are better at responding than others. For example, 8 s may use too much strength and blow people out of the water if not mindful. 5 s can miss the conflict and not know it exists. 6 s have a good sense of conflict because of their ability to anticipate problems. 2 s and 9 s are good at responding because of their focus on the needs of others. 4 s have an innate respect for differences and allowing people to feel their feelings. Knowing the strengths and challenges presented by your style helps makes you a more informed facilitator. FacilitatorU.com 777 Erhart Rd. Arroyo Grande, CA (fax) contact@facilitatoru.com 5

6 What can the Enneagram teach us about participant styles that will help us facilitate more effectively? Each style has particular wants and needs in order to be engaged and feel safe in the group. To give a few examples, 1 s will focus on whether your materials are accurate, 2 s are looking for caring and doing for others, 3 s want to see progress made and a good pace kept, and 4 s want an opportunity to express themselves. Unfortunately, if one is happy, another may not be. Effective questioning can help you determine what style they are and then you can modify your approach to meet their needs. Try to address all types and keep each in mind. As you read the description of each type, the ones you have a strong aversion for will be the types you will find challenging in a group. Close You can find out more about Valerie and her services by visiting or her at valerie@wellsstreet.com. This class recording and a growing number of others on a variety of facilitation specialties are available at If you have ideas for other topics you d like to see covered, or experts you d like to hear, please your requests to me at mailto:contact@facilitatoru.com. Thank you for joining us today and we hope to see you again on future calls. FacilitatorU.com 777 Erhart Rd. Arroyo Grande, CA (fax) contact@facilitatoru.com 6