Have you ever felt like you’re not really operating in your zone, at your peak performance? You’re working hard, you’re successful, and yet at the end of the day you don’t really feel fulfilled and you aren’t sure why. For me, the answer was yes.
But Why?
It didn’t make sense. I was working hard, and my performance set records. My peers and the company I worked for considered me successful. I sometimes felt like something was missing but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I didn’t want to ask anyone else because I felt like I should be able to figure it out and I didn’t want to disrupt what I was doing. Even as I said ‘yes’ to more of what I was doing, something inside of me was nudging me ‘no’.
Start With Why?
I studied Simon Sinek’s groundbreaking book Start With Why. In it he says: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” I agree. People make decisions from their emotions. I began to do the purpose exercise he recommended, and something awakened in me.
How can I gain clarity on my why, my purpose, if I don’t understand myself first?
How can I connect to something so powerfully that it drives how I live my life and how I lead others, if I don’t know how I connect?
Before you Start With Why, Start With Who – You!
In order for me to gain clarity on why I believed in something, I first needed to understand – for me I realized I needed to actually discover – WHO I AM.
The #1 thing holding me back from knowing what was missing in my life – wasknowing me.
Now What?
I began searching to understand what’s behind the way I think, feel and act, how I lead myself, and how I relate with others. It’s the self-awareness and self-knowledge that are both vital aspects of Emotional Intelligence.
My curiosity led me to an amazing resource that teaches us our natural way of looking at the world. It shows us how we naturally think, feel and act, from a place of choice when things are going well and how we naturally react seemingly without thought under times of stress. What’s even better is it gives us the pathway to becoming our authentically best selves. We are able to connect with our ‘why’, open ourselves to possibilities, achieve our potential, and feel great about ourselves. This resource is the Enneagram.
What is the Enneagram?
It’s been reported the Enneagram originated more than 2,000 years ago. It was brought into our modern use in the 1960’s as the pathway to who we really are, a valuable resource for insights into our self-discovery and personal awareness, and a powerful guide for us to become our best version of ourselves.
At a high-level, the Enneagram identifies nine interconnected personality types – the ways we naturally see the world and manage our emotions. Each of us has one type we identify with most dominantly and we also have characteristics of some of the other types.
Imagine the possibilities with this pathway to who we are:
- We choose our thoughts, feelings and actions. We gain clarity and connection with our why so we move, not just in any direction, in the right direction for success and fulfillment.
- Team members know how to successfully access the motivations, thoughts and creativity of each other, and make sure the team has the diversity of perspective to support achieving its goals.
- Organizations have a fully engaged workforce with strong retention. According to workforce engagement company Achievers Solutions, Inc., only 21% of employees say they are highly engaged at work, and disengaged employees cost the American economy up to $350 billion per year due to lost productivity.
Why Now?
When we live our lives through the emotions that accurately serve us, we make conscious choices about how we think, feel and act. We develop authentic relationships in all areas of our lives. We have clarity on our why; our connection to it creates our boundaries, supports our choices, and serves as guardrails for us when something disrupts us – either positive or challenging – so we don’t react without thought through emotions that may not serve us.
Imagine if you woke up every day with clarity and confidence that you’re moving in the right direction. Nothing is holding you back. The time, resources and energy you’re investing are returning the success you really want and deserve. You become the leader others choose to follow.
Tell me More
One of the ways we learn about ourselves through the Enneagram is to take a specifically designed assessment. There are a variety of assessments available to introduce you to your natural way of viewing the world – your personality. When I took my first Enneagram assessment, it was almost eerie. I felt like someone had been following me around. It was spot on and introduced me to both me at the highest expression of who I am as well as my shadow side – the less desirable aspects of my personality. For years now, the Enneagram been providing my clients and me with the self-knowledge that keeps us successfully moving in the right direction for our success and fulfillment.
I’m sharing some resources that introduce you to the Enneagram, along with links to several options for assessments. Some of the assessments are free and some of them have an investment associated with them. I began my journey with a free assessment and now benefit from the more robust insights of my in-depth assessment.
Introductions to the Enneagram:
Free and paid assessment options:
Thorough assessment option:
Next Steps
I use the Enneagram as the foundation for my clients to begin their journey. They are then able to authentically connect with their why, clearly know their strong suit, function at their peak potential, and move in the right direction while operating in their zone. They apply all their time, all their resources, and all their energy in that direction and see the success they really want and deserve.
If you have any questions or if I can help you on your journey, let’s start a conversation.
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