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...

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...

Many workers who normally work in an office setting have become remote workers due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This wasn’t a decision by choice, but rather by necessity. And now you’re wondering how to make the best of it. This is when some self-awareness paired with intentional action can make a big difference.

Let’s look at the situation of suddenly becoming a remote worker. Let’s say at the office you’re used to having:

• an effective workstation with...

After being around for a long time, the Enneagram has gained a resurgence in popularity mostly due to social networks, popular books and podcasts, and word of mouth. While this is good because the ancient personality tool is getting exposure, it can also be detrimental. Lots of folks think they’ve “done the Enneagram” when they really haven’t.

For them “doing the Enneagram’ means taking a free online quiz, laughing and chatting about the results with...

I don’t know if you’ve heard of the Enneagram, but it’s hot in some circles. At its simplest, the Enneagram is a personality profiling tool that describes nine basic personality types. The idea is to find your type, discover how you live out your type, and then take steps to grow.

It’s actually been around for a long time but has recently gained a resurgence due to some popular books, podcasts, and social media. There’s a debate among some Christians about...

Here in the U.S. it’s Valentine’s Day, which means people are talking about love. This comes two days after I led a workshop for a group of leaders on the Enneagram.

It was a fun and insightful time, and it went way too fast. The goal was to help them understand themselves better and the value they bring at work.

The intersection of the workshop and Valentine’s Day got me thinking…what might each Enneagram type want to hear on Valentine’s Day?

If you’re...

CoachTalk.tv interviewed me about using the Enneagram for coaching. I use the Enneagram as an internal coach at my company and also with external clients.

In this conversation, we cover questions like:

• What are the nine personality types and core drives?
• How can we achieve health for the whole person?
• What types connect to other types?
• What is a wing?

We also talk about two coaching clients and how the Enneagram helped to improve productivity and set personal boundaries.

Watch the interview...

As I shared before, self-awareness is critical for success in life, work, and relationships, and there are plenty of great tools out there. If you commit to learn from just one tool, you will be farther along today than you were yesterday, and tomorrow you will be farther along than you were today. So, what tools do I use when I work with people?

The two tools I like best are CliftonStrengths® and the Enneagram—and I’m certified to use both. Rather than use them separately,...