How to Use the Enneagram in Business (feat. Beatrice Chestnut)

How much do you really know about your employees?

Executives often assume that everyone sees something in the same way, or that they’re motivated by the same things.

Do you know your employees’ approach to problems? How about their communication style? The Enneagram can be an eye-opening tool for many in leadership roles because of how much they learn about their employees.

Today we are focusing on the Enneagram and its application to business and leadership.

Beatrice Chestnut, a luminary in the Enneagram world, joins us for an insightful conversation on leadership and team effectiveness. She is a licensed psychotherapist, executive coach, and business consultant based in San Francisco, CA.

The Enneagram is a typology of nine archetypes.

It helps people understand their habitual patterns of thinking and behaving. This tool is crucial for leaders to integrate as studies show the ability to get along and collaborate with other people is key to organizational success. Using the Enneagram allows you to develop empathy for other types and learn how the types can collaborate more effectively with each other.

The Enneagram is set apart from Myers-Briggs or other personality tests for a few reasons.

1. More than other options, it is oriented as a growth model. Each type has specific linkages to other types, so learning more about your “growth path” types fuels your potential and success.
2. The Enneagram operates at the emotional and cognitive level; it gives a full picture of human function, whereas Myers-Briggs only focuses on the logical function.

Beatrice shared her experience implementing the Enneagram into the workplace. Working with teams, the Enneagram enabled team members to connect and squash misunderstandings. Because there are only nine types, it’s easy to communicate and familiarize yourself with each one.

If you’re curious to learn more about the Enneagram and its application to business, check out the Executive Enneagram Resources at EERTools.com.

To learn about Bea’s programs you can go to CPEnneagram.com or her personal website at BeatriceChestnut.com