Even talents need to grow. This thesis flies in the face of folks who want it easy. Unfortunately, there are many people who take a talent assessment, glance at the results, think "I knew I was good at this," then toss the results in the trash because now their talents are confirmed.

They think they've "done the talent assessment" and have a handle on their talents.

Just the Beginning

But an assessment is only the beginning. A talent assessment merely reveals areas of talent; it shines the...

With increased stress to employees, remote working conditions, and societal pressures, making employees feel recognized and appreciated is more important than ever.

Aside from the human relations side, the business benefits of employee recognition are numerous. Studies published by Forbes and GetHppy show that employee recognition improves engagement, customer satisfaction, employee retention, employee experience, and performance.

Actually, “Praise and commendation from managers was...

We had an inspiring and provocative webinar around the topic of racial equality, where we spoke with Wellness Coach Darlene Taylor about her experience as a Black woman, and how Enneagram and Strengths can help with racial equality. If you missed the webinar, here’s a link to the recording.

I’ve been reflecting on our conversation, and from my perspective, here are five provocative quotes and my takeaways from our time together:

“My daughter is mixed race, and because...

One year ago, this happened:

When I was flying home from the Detroit airport, I didn’t expect to create a hero dad moment for my teenage daughter, but that’s what happened. I have the Enneagram to thank…and Jerry from Parks and Recreation. Let me explain.

I was returning home from a training course on the Enneagram called “Motions of the Soul,” by Clare and Scott Loughrige, authors of the new book, Spiritual Rhythms of the Enneagram. As a Gallup Certified...

As a White man, I don’t know what it is to NOT be White. My boys are Brown, adopted from the Philippines. I don’t know what it is to be Brown or adopted.

My nephews are Black and adopted, I don’t know what it is to be either. But I do know there’s an uncertainty that is part of fear for the future of these boys.

It's a fear of unpermitted opportunities. A fear of prejudiced judgments. A fear of aggression against. A fear of unfair standards.

It’s a fear I DO NOT...

Yesterday I walked in the dew with my shoes off. I did this to feel alive, but it almost didn’t happen.

You see, after I eat breakfast, I’m on my way upstairs to get ready for work. My wife asks if I would see her garden. She’s been pulling and planting for days now, her vegetable garden in our backyard.

It won’t take much for me to visit her garden. But I hesitate—I’m already thinking of the work tasks to tackle when I sit down at my desk. They are so...

The great author Annie Dillard wrote, “You were made and set here to give voice to this—to your own astonishment.” We have several of her books at our creek-side cabin, particularly because she writes of her own creek with such intricate detail and breathless joy that you feel you want to participate in the fellowship of the creek with her.

And so we do, and many lines from her writings stick with me. One of them is the above. She suggests, even urges us to give voice to...

Lots of people have been asking us questions about Strengths and the Enneagram.

Some came from our introductory webinar on the intersection of both tools. Some came from our next-level webinar on taking a deeper dive. Some came from our Enneagram workshop. Some will come from our Strengths workshop. Either way, they're good questions.

If you had one tool to use first, which one would you choose and why?

I would use CliftonStrengths first for several reasons: 1) understanding strengths is...

We recently did a weeklong series of webinars on the topic of managing stress. We looked at four different approaches to managing stress because each one offers something distinctive—Coaching Approach, Strengths Approach, Enneagram Approach, and Christian Approach.

In this post, we’ll talk about the Enneagram Approach. By the way, if you want to watch any of the recorded videos, click on the words above. When taking an Enneagram Approach, you can ask three...

We previously led a weeklong series of webinars on the topic of managing stress. We looked at four different approaches to managing stress because each one offers something distinctive—Coaching Approach, Strengths Approach, Enneagram Approach, and Christian Approach.

In this post, we’ll talk about the Strengths Approach. By the way, if you want to watch any of the recorded videos, click on the words above. When taking a Strengths Approach, you can ask three questions:

• What are my...