This summer I read a lot of great books on coaching, professional development, strengths, Enneagram, and spiritual growth. There was a lot that moved me. Here are 10 impactful quotes from my reading list. I resisted commenting and instead let them speak for themselves:

“Friends are people you make part of your life just because you feel like it.”

Frederick Buechner, Listening to Your Life

“Sustained success comes only when you take what’s unique about you and figure...

Last week we released our study on the associations between CliftonStrengths® themes and Enneagram Types. According to the research, there are two Enneagram Types that share the same five missing strengths themes. In other words, none of the people who identified as these two Enneagram Types have these themes in their Top Five.

What are the Enneagram Types and what are the absent CliftonStrengths® themes? That’s the subject of today’s post.

(By Enneagram types, we...

This week we’re releasing our study on the associations between Enneagram Types and CliftonStrengths® talent themes.

While putting on the finishing touches of the report package—and adding extra value—we revealed some of our findings in a webinar. We also answered for you in a blog post, which Enneagram types share seven top five strengths themes?

In this post, we’ll answer another question: Which surprising Enneagram type has these top strengths?

The answer: Type...

As you know, I work with the Enneagram. Why does it excite me so much? Here are five reasons.

Because the Enneagram is a tool that unlocks more.

The real work of the Enneagram isn’t becoming an expert in the Enneagram. That’s like a gardener becoming an expert in the shovel but stopping there. No, expertise in using a shovel helps her garden better, and understanding the Enneagram can help you in whatever ways that matter to you.

So if the Gospel matters to you, you can aim the...

As I’ve worked with both the Enneagram and Strengths, I’ve noticed some tensions between these tools. That’s because while both tools do measure and reveal personality, they focus on different parts of personality.

The Enneagram is oriented around drive and whole-person health while Strengths is oriented around talent and performance. We must not make the mistake of treating both tools the same.

As the finishing touches are being applied to our study of Enneagram and...

We’re about to release our study on the associations between Enneagram and Strengths. We gathered data from over 500 people worldwide from a variety of professions and asked data scientists to analyze the data. What did we find? You’ll have to wait for the webinar which preludes the release of the report package.

But for now, here’s a question, and the answer may suprise you.

Which Enneagram types share seven of the same top Strength themes?

(By Enneagram types, we mean the...

A woman was having a birthday and decided to throw a party for herself. As the guests gathered, she focused the conversation on how each person knew her. After 40 minutes, she could see her guests were growing weary, so she shifted the conversation: “Okay, enough about me. What do you think of me?”

Sometimes working with strengths can feel this way, and if we’re not careful, strengths can become self-centered. But your strengths are not all about you. Actually, a...

Today let’s celebrate freedom in Christ! It’s July 4 in the United States, when we celebrate our country’s independence. I’m grateful for that, but grateful too for freedom in Christ.

Look at some of the freedoms Christ brings:

• Sins forgiven
• Place in the family of God
• Perfect in God’s sight
• Filled with the Holy Spirit
• No barriers between us and the Heavenly Father
• Ushered into the life of Christ
• Given every spiritual blessing and inheritance
• Given gifts of the...

Today is July 1, which means it’s now the second half of 2020. This year isn’t going the way we thought it would when it started. But we thought it worthwhile to look back at the first half of the year and then look forward to what's coming.

Developments

Although this year has been really hard for a number of reasons, there were good leaps forward. Thanks for sticking with us.

This year we:

• Launched our new website
• Launched our online Enneagram course
• Started the Enneagram +...

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...