What is The Enneagram?

Have you been hearing about The Enneagram and wondering why everyone is talking about it?

Are you hearing it pop up in conversations at cocktail parties, show up in your instagram feed with funny graphics and memes or hear your clients talking about “their number?”

The Enneagram has certainly increased in popularity and this quick blog post may help you begin to see why!  Unlike snapchat or tik tok, The Enneagram is not just a fad that we will see passing through our industry, but a worthwhile personality tool that can help you in your business.

The word Enneagram literally means "9 sided diagram."  The diagram has nine points that each denotes a number and a personality type.  Each of us, based on what the core motivation for our behaviors is, falls somewhere in the 9 types.  Everyone has a single type that can only be determined by you because it is based on your core motivation - and only you know what motivates your behavior.  Resist the urge, once you learn The Enneagram, to figure out what number your spouse, parent, brother or neighbor may be, because it can only be determined by that individual - as tempting as it may be!

As a certified Enneagram coach, one of the first questions I get is "How do I figure out my type?"  While there are plenty of free tests available, there is only one I recommend - and it's not free. And even at that, a test cannot determine your type.  Only YOU can! So a test may help highlight 3-4 numbers that should be where you start getting curious, but just because you test highest for a number does not mean that is your type.

The power of the Enneagram is that it allows us to identify our gifts and talents - or superpowers, and to become self aware by bringing to light the blindspots of our personality.  These are often the roadblocks that keep us from living fully into who we were designed to be. And that is where the magic comes in for us as business owners.

It wakes us up to being self aware of how we move about this world.  It shows us that if we are only living out of habit, we will often bump into those we love and work with. By using The Enneagram as a tool for developing self awareness and establishing a growth path for your specific personality type, it gives us a shortcut to being the best version of ourselves in life and business.

If you're like me when I was first learning about The Enneagram, you may be wondering - "How can every single person all fit into a mere 9 categories?"

As photographers that see the world through color & light, compare it to the colors of the rainbow and how those colors are expressed simply as Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. And then ask yourself how all of the colors that we experience in our work & in the world are a version of those.There are many shades of each of those colors. And so goes The Enneagram!  The Enneagram is a fluid personality system that recognizes the many wonderful ways we show up in the world and helps us understand them by identifying the many layers of what we can discover through it.

If you're ready to start getting out of your own way and tapping into the strengths of your personality, you will want to follow along on this blog series where I will be breaking down each of the 9 personality types to help you self discover your Enneagram type.  If you're looking to "skip the line," then pop over to my website where you can purchase a test code with an email follow up that may provide some additional information while you follow along throughout the series.

Each type is part of one of 3 Centers of Intelligence - The Gut, The Heart or The Head Triad.  The Center of Intelligence indicates how you process information. It tells us how we habitually process or take in the world around us. The Gut Triad (8,9,1) are driven by anger, The Heart Triad (2,3,4) are driven by feelings, and the Head Triad (5,6,7) are driven by fear.

We will begin our Blog Series with the 8s, 9s & 1s that sit in the Gut Triad and take a look at their Core Motivations and behaviors.  I will share how their strengths can help them grow in their business and how some of their blind spots may get in their way. I will also highlight how each type has a specific communication style that is important for us to be aware of - especially when working with our clients.  There are so many layers as you uncover more about your Enneagram type that can provide self awareness, but this blog series will help uncover a bit about you and how you can use your personality type to take your business to the next level!

Come find me on instagram at @janelle.dewolf and follow along as I share bits of information over there about life, business & The Enneagram.  You can also find a free download of my favorite Enneagram Tips at www.thedewolfco.com.