Type 1s bring something incredibly valuable to the workplace: high standards, reliability, precision, follow-through, and a natural ability to see what could be improved.

But those same strengths can become heavy.

A Type 1 may notice the typo, the missed deadline, the unclear process, the skipped step, or the work that is almost right - and then quietly become the person who fixes it, checks it, follows up on it, or takes it back over.

Over time, responsibility can turn into over-responsibility.

In this episode of the Enneagram at Work Podcast, we'll explore together what can happen when a Type 1’s desire to do things well starts creating extra work for themselves, and sometimes extra pressure for the people around them.

The question at the center of the episode is:

Does this actually need to be improved, or is it simply not how I would have done it?

You'll also hear about in this episode:

• Why Type 1s are often the people who notice what everyone else misses
• How responsibility can quietly become over-responsibility
• The invisible workload Type 1s may take on without being asked
• Why “I’ll just fix this real quick” can add up to a much bigger workload
• How resentment can build when a Type 1 feels like they are the only person who cares
• Why different approaches do not necessarily mean someone is less committed
• Why delegation can be especially difficult when “done” isn’t the same as “done the way I would do it”
• How high standards can unintentionally make teammates feel constantly corrected
• Practical questions Type 1s can use before stepping in, redoing, correcting, or taking something back

You'll also hear about three useful categories for evaluating someone else’s work:

1. It is actually incorrect.
There is a factual, legal, safety, requirement, or outcome-related issue.

2. It genuinely needs improvement.
Something is unclear, inconsistent, likely to create a problem, or does not meet the agreed-upon standard.

3. It is simply different.
The approach, style, order, process, or execution isn’t how you would have done it, but it isn’t actually wrong.

That third category can be one of the biggest growth opportunities for Type 1.

Because different people can be committed to the same outcome while valuing different parts of the process.

Different does not automatically mean less committed.

Questions for Type 1s to consider

Before correcting, redoing, or taking something over, ask:

• Does this really matter to the outcome?
• Is this actually my responsibility?
• Was this standard clearly communicated?
• Is the outcome wrong — or just different?
• Am I fixing this because it needs fixing, or because fixing it lowers my own discomfort?
• What happens if I let this be good enough? edit-video2986942878

The goal isn’t to stop caring or lower your standards.

It may simply be learning that not every detail deserves the same amount of energy, not every task belongs to you, and not every different approach needs to be corrected.

*****

Want to go deeper into your Enneagram type?

Enneagram MBA now offers individual typing, coaching, and workstyle sessions designed to help you better understand your patterns and actually apply what you’re learning to your work, leadership, and workplace relationships.

Our 1:1 Session Options:

1. Typing Interview
2. Understand Your Type + Instinct
3. 3-Session Deep Dive
4. Coworker Translation Session
5. Leadership Strategy Session

Learn more at:

EnneagramMBA.com/enneagram-coaching

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

Not everyone walks into an Enneagram workshop excited to be there.

In fact, there are usually a few skeptics in the room, and that’s okay.

In this episode, I’m sharing a recent experience from an Enneagram team workshop in Nashville. One participant admitted that he didn’t want to attend the workshop and didn’t want to take the Enneagram assessment. But after receiving his results and learning more about his Type 8 pattern, his reaction changed completely. He described how surprisingly accurate the Enneagram felt, not only in identifying his strengths, but also some of the things he knows he struggles with.

And it gets even better.

He went on to become one of the most engaged people in the workshop, asking great questions and adding perspectives that made the experience better for the rest of the group.

It was a great reminder for managers, HR and L&D professionals, and anyone facilitating the Enneagram with a team:

Skepticism doesn’t have to be the enemy of a good workshop.

You don’t need everyone to arrive already believing in, or even liking, the Enneagram. You need to create an experience that is credible, relevant, useful, engaging, and strong enough to earn their participation.

In this episode, I share:

• Why I don’t try to talk skeptics out of being skeptical
• What changed for this particular participant after taking the assessment
• Why his skepticism ultimately contributed to the workshop
• What managers can learn from this experience when they’re worried their team won’t “buy in”
• Why an Enneagram workshop doesn’t require everyone to walk through the door excited about personality typing

If you’ve thought about bringing the Enneagram to your organization but wondered, “What if some people on my team are skeptical?” this one is for you.

Thinking about an Enneagram experience for your team? Visit Enneagram MBA to tell us a little about what’s going on with your team, and we’ll help you explore an experience that fits.

enneagrammba.com

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

“But what happens if…?”

“Have we thought about…?”

“Who’s responsible for…?”

“What if this doesn’t work?”

If you work with an Enneagram Type 6, you may be familiar with the questions.

And depending on how those questions are delivered or received, they can sometimes sound like resistance, negativity, or a challenge to the person leading the conversation.

But what if the Type 6 question isn’t really just a question?

In this episode of Enneagram at Work, we're looking underneath a common Type 6 workplace behavior to understand what may actually be happening.

For a Type 6, striving to feel secure can mean looking for potential problems, unanswered questions, missing information, or risks that everyone else seems ready to move past.

In other words:

What sounds like resistance may actually be risk detection.

And that can be incredibly valuable to a team.

Of course, there's another side to it. Question after question without the ability to eventually move forward can slow down a decision or frustrate coworkers. That's why the goal isn't to label questioning as either a strength or a weakness, it's to understand the pattern underneath it and learn to use it more intentionally.

In this episode, we explore how Type 6 questioning can show up at work, why managers may misinterpret it, the value a Type 6 can bring by pressure-testing a plan, and how both Type 6s and their coworkers can translate those questions into more productive conversations.

For the Type 6, try:

“I want to pressure-test one part of this before we move forward.”

For the manager or teammate, try:

“What's the biggest risk you're seeing that you don't think we've accounted for?”

Sometimes a better conversation starts when we stop reacting to the question and get curious about what's underneath it.

Bring the Enneagram to Your Team

Tell us what's going on with your team, and we'll help you determine the right place to start.

enneagrammba.com

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

“I can see myself in several of these.”

If you’ve ever said that while trying to determine your Enneagram type, you’re not alone, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing anything wrong.

In this episode of Enneagram at Work, we’re talking about why it’s completely normal to relate to multiple Enneagram types and why identifying your type requires looking beyond individual traits and behaviors.

Of course you can be helpful without being a Type 2. Ambitious without being a Type 3. Security-conscious without being a Type 6. Excited by new possibilities without being a Type 7. And there are probably times when you want connection, peace, autonomy, recognition, or certainty.

The question isn't “Which type descriptions sound like me?”

It's “Which underlying strategy do I find myself returning to most often?”

We’ll also look at some of the factors that can make multiple types feel familiar, including your work role, learned behaviors, resource points or arrows, Instinctual Biases, and simply being a complex human being.

If you’re stuck between two (or three!) Enneagram types, the goal isn’t to find the description that matches everything you do. Start getting curious about why you do it.

Because your Enneagram type isn't meant to explain every behavior.

It helps you notice the pattern underneath them.

Bring the Enneagram to Your Team: enneagrammba.com

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

Someone plagiarized our website.

Not exactly the way I expected to find clarity about the future of Enneagram MBA, but here we are.

In this behind-the-scenes episode of Enneagram at Work, I'm sharing what happened when I discovered that a significant amount of our website messaging, design, and offers had been copied, and the unexpected good that came out of an understandably frustrating experience.

Because somewhere between “Are you kidding me?” and figuring out what needed to happen next, I started asking a much more interesting question:

What have we built that someone else can't simply copy so easily?

That question made me realize something: Enneagram MBA had outgrown some of its own messaging.

For years, we've talked about Enneagram workshops for the workplace. But the work our clients are asking us to do today goes much further, helping teams improve communication, navigate tension, develop leaders, strengthen cross-department relationships, and figure out how to keep using the Enneagram long after the initial workshop ends.

In this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes of that evolution, including our new Shared Language Framework:

Learn It → Translate It → Use It → Keep It Going

You'll hear why learning the nine Enneagram types is only the beginning, what we mean when we talk about creating a shared language at work, and why the real value comes from translating Enneagram theory into your team's actual meetings, feedback, conflict, leadership, and day-to-day relationships.

I also share what's changing at Enneagram MBA, from standalone workshops to development programs and organization-wide experiences, and why we're putting even more attention on what happens after the workshop.

Because ultimately:

The Enneagram is the tool. What you do with it matters.

Knowing I'm a Type 7 and you're a Type 1 might be interesting. But what changes in our next meeting? Our next conflict? The way we give each other feedback? The way our departments work together?

That's where the work really begins.

So no, I wouldn't necessarily recommend having someone plagiarize your website as a business strategy. But in this case, it forced us to get much clearer about what we believe, what makes our approach different, and how we can better support the people and organizations we work with.

Curious what this could look like for your team? Visit Enneagram MBA and tell us what's going on. You don't need to know which workshop or program you need, that's our job to help you figure out.

enneagrammba.com

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

Have you ever walked out of a meeting thinking a decision had been made, only to discover your coworker thought you were still discussing it?

You were in the same room. You heard the same words. And somehow, you walked away with two completely different interpretations.

In this episode of Enneagram at Work, we’re kicking off our Overheard at Work series by looking at what can get lost in translation during everyday workplace communication.

Because we don't necessarily listen to conversations neutrally. One person may be listening for What did we decide? Another is listening for What could go wrong? Someone else is focused on How will this affect the team? while another is already thinking about What happens next?

The Enneagram can help us understand some of the different patterns influencing what people naturally pay attention to, and why two smart, engaged coworkers can hear the exact same conversation differently.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why workplace miscommunication isn't always about someone being a “bad listener”
• How different people assign importance to different parts of the same conversation
• Why we can mistake our interpretation of a conversation for the conversation itself
• How the Enneagram can help teams get curious about what coworkers may be listening for
• One simple question managers can use at the end of a meeting to catch misunderstandings before everyone walks out the door

Try This

Instead of ending your next meeting with:

“Does everybody understand?”

Try:

“What is everyone walking away believing we've decided?”

Or:

“What are you taking away as your next step?”

You may be surprised by the answers.

The goal isn't to test whether people were paying attention. It's to give everyone a chance to translate back what they heard, and catch what's been lost in translation before it turns into a missed deadline, unnecessary frustration, or the classic:

“Wait...that's not what I thought we decided.”

That's your translation to try this week.

Learn more about bringing the Enneagram to your team: enneagrammba.com

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

"You’re the Enneagram expert...can’t you just tell me what type I am?”

It’s a question I hear sometimes. And while an experienced Enneagram practitioner might have a hypothesis about someone’s type, there’s a reason we should be cautious about typing people based only on what we see from the outside.

In this episode of Enneagram at Work, we’re talking about the difference between observing someone’s behavior and understanding the motivation or strategy underneath it.

The same behavior can come from very different places. The coworker who stays late perfecting a presentation might be concerned about getting it right, producing an impressive result, or simply making sure they feel prepared. From the outside, we see the behavior. The Enneagram asks us to get curious about what’s driving it.

In this episode, we cover why common stereotypes like “helpful = Type 2,” “ambitious = Type 3,” or “quiet = Type 5” can lead us in the wrong direction; what an Enneagram assessment can (and can’t) tell you; and how a trained Enneagram professional can help you ask better questions, distinguish between similar patterns, and notice things that may be difficult to see on your own.

And there’s an important workplace takeaway:

The Enneagram should help us become more curious about people—not more certain that we already have them figured out.

Instead of thinking, “She’s doing that because she’s a Type 6,” try asking:

“I wonder what’s important to her here?”

Because the goal isn't to get better at putting people into boxes. It's to get better at understanding what's happening underneath the behaviors we see.

References:

"My Test Said I Was a Type 3. Why I'm Still a Type 7" Episode

Learn more about bringing the Enneagram to your team: enneagrammba.com

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!