I had the honor of being a mid-noter at the Hudson Institute's Annual Conference, which was also a celebration of their 25^th anniversary. What a remarkable group of coaches who make a real difference in people's lives. I did a three-hour session on the Enneagram and how to use the system in coaching. Although some knew the Enneagram, most were new to it or uncertain about their types and the uses of the system. With the assistance of Jennifer Joss, the program went fast, deep, and had a wonderful impact, with lots of enthusiasm and appreciation for the system and the session. Pam McLean, founder and CEO of Hudson Institute, is a real gem, very supportive of the Enneagram, and I feel like I made a difference there!

This month also brought the opportunity to work with the Senior HR (human resources) team of an international cosmetics company to explore the Enneagram and how it can be used to support a culture of feedback and development. Not only were they extremely receptive, they sent me the perfect gift for an Enneagram Two: a spa package filled with their delightful products, which I am using daily.  

I'm also getting prepared to do an intensive Enneagram program for Nestle in the Czech Republic, thanks to my colleague and Senior Member of the Enneagram in Business Network, Eva Velechovska. As much as I travel, this will be my first time in Prague, and I am really excited to go there and to work with Nestle.  

Right now, I am in Hong Kong, having been a keynoter ("Taking Conscious Action") and presenter (one session on teams; another on coaching) at the IEA China conference and doing a "Coaching with the Enneagram" certificate program. The keynote focused on how to use the Enneagram's central triangle (9, 3, 6 - in that order) to ignite conscious action, a technique I learned last summer from Claudio Naranjo. The team session explored influence and type on teams, while the coaching session provided Enneagram insights and coaching skills related to the client's Center of Intelligence and use of the primary emotion associated with their core Center (Mental: fear; Heart: sorrow; and Body: anger). I'm pushing out into creative territory!  

Hong Kong is beginning to feel like a second home, I go there so much. In addition to enjoying the conference and the coaching program, I'm thinking a lot about Hong Kong's Enneatype (really its subtype, since Hong Kong is pretty obviously type 3) so I can write a blog about it on my return.

What can I say except that "Know Your Type" hit the 5000 download mark this month, a combination of downloads from the iTunes store and downloads from an in-house App store at Genentech/Roche, my partners in building this App. Right now, it's being downloaded about 500 times every week all over the world. This is, I think, a daunting number of downloads in a short period of time.    

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped spread the word. To help it go even more viral, let all of your friends, family, and colleagues know about it! EnneagramApp.com 

 

Based on Bringing Out the Best in Everyone You Coach, this program (worth 35.5 ICF credits) is being offered in the following locations in 2011:

Minnesota: June 20-24 (click here to register online)

South Africa: September 19-23 (contact Neil Harper)

Italy: November 19-23 (in Italian - contact Marta Montemezzani)

Programs are in the works for Colombia, and possibly Canada, Singapore, and Australia.

 

Here are four April blogs and I hope you enjoy them all! 

To App or Not to App the Enneagram: That Is the Question

Originally published in the Enneagram Monthly, this blog addresses whether or not the Enneagram should be on a smartphone App. There is some controversy over this; the blog is provocative!  Click here to read this blog.  

Enneagram Theory: Fixations (Habits of Mind) - Vanity

Read about how each of us exhibits "vanity," the fixation normally associated with Threes. We've been getting such positive feedback about this blog series, with people saying that they'd never thought about how all types actually exhibit these habits of mind, just in 9 different ways! Click here to read this blog. 

 

Pro-Bono Work with the Enneagram: A guest blog by Judy Wilbratte

Judy Wilbratte is a Senior Member of the Enneagram in Business Network and in charge of pro-bono services and materials for community non-profits. In this blog, you can read all about Judy's work with the Enneagram and the impact it is having.  Click here to read this blog. 

   

Enneagram Styles and Responsibility

Gayle Hardie, Senior Member of the Enneagram in Business Network, has written a provocative Insight about Responsibility, and I added a blog discussing how each of us, based on Enneagram style, can increase our ability to respond. Click here to read this blog.  

 

Tip of the Month: Development for Sixes

These are rather simple development ideas for each Enneagram style, or so they seem if you are not of the Enneagram type for whom it is recommended. Here is the simple activity (but not an easy one) for Enneagram Sixes:

Sixes: Simply said, Sixes worry, anticipate, and engage in contingency planning. Sometimes they contingency plan so quickly they are not even aware they are doing so. Some call this worry; others call it creative problem solving! Is this productive or non-productive? Do they like or dislike doing this? The answer to both questions is yes. The worry, anticipation, and planning helps them feel prepared, but also stimulates them. At the same time, it can become excessive, as well as pre-occupy them or immobilize them. Here is a way for Sixes to both pay more attention to this aspect of their inner workings and to take charge of it, utilizing the anticipatory planning skills when it has value and, at the same time, putting limits on its overuse.

Situation: Maxwell is very loyal and highly involved in his social networks, particularly in his high school and college listserves, though he rarely sees these people and is 4 decades away from his college years. Most of the time, he participates as he prefers, and the listserve interactions are normally cordial. However, there are times when Maxwell feels compelled to insert himself into conversations in which he is merely a 3rd party observer, rather than a key person to the interaction. Usually, his insertions occur when his values get transgressed. For example, he is very supportive of progressive causes, so whenever someone writes that there is no such thing as climate change or makes an anti-Semitic, racial, or homophobic remark, Maxwell confronts this. Similarly, if someone on the listserve is being bullied, Maxwell steps in to defend.

And what almost always occurs is that Maxwell then becomes the target of hostility from whomever he challenges, and this electronic animosity can go on for weeks, causing Maxwell to become highly anxious and feel very alone. No one defends him because they do not want to get mixed up in the fray.

Opportunity: Maxwell began to realize that he was creating the situations in which he would end up in a tizzy of anxiety. He decided to do one thing. He chose to re-examine why he was participating in the listserves and decided to quit the high school listserve because he didn't actually like most of the people on it anyway. Quitting the listserve by simply removing himself from the list rather than making a big public statement has saved him countless hours of anguish. He gained time and lost nothing (except stress), except....

This simple act of quitting a group that he felt - or wanted to feel - part of was not easy. It required him to ask some deeper questions about his own motivation. Was he trying to fit in because he hadn't felt part of the group in his younger years? Did he have a distaste for them (primarily due to their values being so different from his own), and the listserve was a way to confirm this difference and to then confront them, as he had wanted to do in his earlier years? As a result of this simple decision to opt out of something, Maxwell gained more than time. He was able to take a very deep and productive look at his own life experience.

 

Upcoming Program Schedule Here  

 

Enneagram iPhone App  
Created by Ginger Lapid-Bogda, this animated, interactive App for home and work includes typing and how to prevent conflict; reduce stress; interact with others; and engage in development activities specific to your type. There are type videos, a way to test your Enneagram knowledge in real-world situations, theory, and more.     

Only $2.99 on the iTunes App Store. Go to EnneagramApp.com