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A Team Timeout – The Enneagram Type 9 Leadership Challenge

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When conversations are going in circles, no progress is being made, and tensions among teammates are rising, it’s time for a team timeout. Enneagram Type 9s are masterful mediators.  Here’s how one Type 9 leader reset their team and got them back on track.

Time for a Team Timeout

Enneagram Type 9s are in the Intuitive Center of the Enneagram and, more than most, have a strong sense of how to build consensus around a direction to take a team.  When the direction is unclear and teammates have differing strong opinions, the 9 leader can become overwhelmed and may feel like retreating. Rather than simply giving themself a timeout, it can be instructive to give the entire team a timeout.

Start at the Start

People love playing to their strengths and will often jump ahead asserting ideas based on their own particular talents.  If everyone does that, it can pull the team in many directions causing conflict among teammates, which the Type 9 leader dislikes.  When this happens, the team can be brought back into alignment by starting at the start.  As I describe in Teamwork 9.0, the first step in problem solving is to clearly state the problem and then create a vision statement describing the world with the problem solved.  Importantly, by having teammates describe the problem in front of everyone else, the team builds a sense of common cause and mission to solve the problem.

Collective Catharsis

Being masterful mediators, Type 9 leaders can facilitate their team through this exercise in a way that results in collective catharsis—conflict subsides and the teammates turn towards solutions that not only meet their own needs, but empathetically meet the needs of group. Perspectives broaden and the team experiences increased levels of creativity.

Mess to Success

In this video, I describe how a Type 9 leader reached the frustration point at which they needed to hit the reset button. By having the team collectively revisit the problem, the 9 built a sense of common purpose that brought the team back into alignment and moving forward together.

How do Type 9 leaders in your life respond when the team starts pulling in different directions?  Do they take a timeout?  Do they have the team take a timeout?  How do they bring the team back into alignment?

[Video Transcript]

“You know, Matt, my team isn’t agreeing on anything.”

That’s what Cindy said exasperated.

Then she said, “I try to mediate, but we just talk in circles.  The conversations’ going nowhere.”

Cindy’s team is faced with a big challenge, and she wants the team to be in alignment before moving forward.

Her team members have different strong opinions about what to do, and nothing seems to be gelling.

She said, “Everyone just needs a time out.” I think when she said that she especially meant that wanted to give herself a timeout.

Cindy is a smart, strong leader who succeeds by building consensus among her team.

Typically, Cindy has strong instincts about which direction to go, and her superpower is mediating the team to build consensus in that direction.

But in this case, her instincts weren’t sending her a very strong signal,

and as team members asserted their own opinions, discussions had devolved from constructive conversations into unhealthy conflict.

I suggested an approach from my book Teamwork 9.0 in which the team could form consensus al on their own.

I reminded her of the problem-solving process and the very first step of having everyone describe the problem as they see it from their own perspective

and doing that in front of everyone else.

Cindy took me up on this suggestion and in her own elegant way she ensured that not only did everyone have a chance to explain their perspectives, but also that everyone listened closely to each other’s perspectives.

Like magic, team members started echoing many of each other’s concerns, and they started to see the commonality of the problem they shared.

Cindy then had her team imagine what the world would look like once the problem was solved.  Doing that, the team created a vision statement that served as a guide for them.

Having built consensus around the problem statement and the vision statement, the team felt common cause.

And thankfully they stopped arguing.  Even Cindy’s instincts started kicking in.

When your team gets stuck and teammates start bickering and pointing fingers, how do you handle the situation?  Do you use Cindy’s approach of a constructive Team Timeout?  Or do you have a different approach?

What’s you mess-to-success story?

Thanks so much for listening.

If you liked this, leave a comment, and share it with others.

Please subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for the next episode.

Thanks again.

A Thankless Job – The Enneagram Type 2 Leadership Challenge

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Appreciation is a 2-way street. Enneagram Type 2s are great givers of appreciation and will expect appreciation in return.  What can Type 2 leaders do when they find themselves in a thankless job?  Here’s how one leader found appreciation from within.

A Thankless Job

Enneagram Type 2s are in the Feeling Center of the Enneagram and want to build emotional connections with others based on mutual appreciation.  They will go out of their way to help others and will expect appreciation in return.  Some workplace environments foster a culture of gratitude in which Type 2s will thrive.  Other cultures minimize the human connection, focusing instead on efficiency and results.  Type 2s may struggle in such an environment.

Appreciation from Without and from Within

Being focused on the emotional needs of others, Type 2s will often rely on others to fulfill their own emotional needs. Through awareness of this tendency, the Type 2 leader can recognize the feelings they get, often anger, when they are not receiving the appreciation they expect from others.  Rather than externalizing those angry feelings, the 2 can develop strategies to find appreciation from within themselves.

Creative Hobbies

Type 2s often have many creative pursuits and will develop a sense of pride for products of their hobbies, often with no expectation of appreciation from others. By nurturing that sense of self appreciation, the Type 2 leader can bring that sense into other areas of their life, including the workplace, where they can pursue excellence and be proud of their efforts with no expectation of appreciation from others. Also, by continuing to appreciate the efforts of colleagues, they can grow a culture of gratitude within the organization.

Mess to Success

In this video, I describe how a Type 2 leader navigated a change in the work environment where the company’s management style became more focused on logic and results than on personal connections and gratitude.  By focusing on the pride he felt for his and his team’s work, he could nurture a sense of appreciation from within himself rather than expect gratitude from the company’s board of directors.

Have the Type 2 leaders in your life found a way to appreciate themselves for their work? What creative hobbies do they pursue that can serve as examples of work they do with no expectation of appreciation from others?

[Video Transcript]

I’m taking the rest of the week off.

That’s what my client Al said with just a hint of anger in his voice.

It’s the only way people recognize how much I am doing around here.

Through sheer force of will, Al kept his organization on track. Being the executive responsible for building and delivering products to customers, his role was pivotal to the success of the company.

Since lead times for some critical components measured in months, Al would have to place orders for those components based on very little information about future customer demand.

Balancing future demand with current cash constraints caused Al a lot of anxiety.

The company’s board of directors really had little understanding of this aspect of Al’s job.

And while Al was continually exercising his prognostication heroics, board members were constantly criticizing and second guessing him.

It was a truly thankless job.

Al is the type who goes out of his way to help others.

He is well liked by his team and by others in the organization.

Having been with the company since nearly its inception, he had grown in the role of managing all of operations.

In the beginning, the company was a small, intimate group, and everyone was deeply familiar and appreciative of each other’s contributions.

But as the company expanded, functions within the organization had become more siloed and the intimacy of the early company disappeared along with the appreciation that Al once received for his contributions.

New management was centered more on logic than relationships.  They expected everyone to do their job.  And, appreciation was monetized, coming in the form of bonuses, rather than personalized.

Working with Al, we explored his style and his need for appreciation.  We discussed how the organization had changed and how new management weren’t the type who would be forthcoming with appreciation—it just didn’t register to them as a priority.

Instead, we explored how Al could find appreciation from within himself. We identified other areas of his life in where he pursued hobbies with no expectation of appreciation from others and Al has many hobbies so there were many great examples to choose from.

By connecting that sense of pride for one’s work with no expectation of appreciation from others.  Al could appreciate himself for the great job he knew he and his team were doing.

And importantly, he could also be proud of the sense of community he had built within his own team and of his team’s abilities to consistently deliver products.

Al’s story shows the importance of appreciation in the workplace, both appreciating others and also learning to appreciate yourself.

Thanks for listening.

If you liked this, please subscribe to the channel, share this with others, and stay tuned for the next episode.

Thanks again.

It’s Nothing Personal – The Enneagram Type 3 Leadership Challenge

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Failure is not an option! Enneagram Type 3s are goal-oriented leaders driven to succeed.  When the end-goal is in sight, they may become so focused that they neglect the feelings of those around them causing the team to slow down rather than accelerate towards the goal.  Here’s how one Type 3 leader intentionally built and maintained trust, positive intentions and personal connections on their team.

It’s Nothing Personal

Enneagram Type 3s are in the Feeling Center of the Enneagram.  At the core position in this Center, Type 3s tend to suppress feelings, both their own feelings as well as the feelings of others.  They can appear emotionally distant and will often minimize the impact that feelings have on team dynamics.  Unintentionally, they may generate bad feelings on the team which can defeat their desire for high efficiency and team effectiveness.

Vulnerability and Trust

Type 3 leaders will recognize that they, more than other Enneagram types, will minimize emotional connections among team members.  If they allow that style to permeate the team, the team may grow distrustful of the leader and of teammates.  By deliberately building strong personal bonds among team members, the team can grow to appreciate each other’s working styles and positive intentions.  The Type 3 leader can initiate this growth by being open about their own style, pros and cons, and demonstrate vulnerability to the team.  While this may not come easily to the 3, these actions will ultimately help the 3 build the highly effective team they desire.

Mess to Success

In this video, I describe how a Type 3 leader promoted trust among team members and improved team effectiveness.  Based on the principles in Teamwork 9.0, we developed a workshop that helped everyone better understand each other’s working styles and how those styles contributed to the overall success of the team.

Do the Enneagram Type 3 leaders in your life deliberately focus on building personal connections among team members?  How do team members respond to these efforts? How do personal connections impact team dynamics?

[Video Transcript]

“I just want my team to succeed.”

That’s what my client Lilly shared before going on to say that interpersonal issues were preventing them from being as good as she knew they could be.

Lilly is an ambitious, goal-oriented leader, focused on success.

In fact, for Lilly failure is not an option!

When I started working with Lilly, I was impressed with the team she had assembled.

In terms of style diversity, it was the best I had ever encountered.

But, there was one thing that was keeping the team from being great –

TRUST.

Lilly had recruited her team because of their excellence, and she expected everyone to hit the ground running, just as she would.

Inadvertently though, she had minimized the importance of  promoting personal connections among team members.

To address this, I suggested that she herself demonstrate the importance of getting to know one another.

We developed a two-day workshop with a number of interpersonal activities that allowed her team to develop trusting relationships.

Importantly, Lilly allowed herself to be vulnerable.  She told everyone right up front how much she respected and admired them and how much she enjoyed working with them. She admitted that those feelings did not always come through, but that is how she felt.

She acknowledged that when the end- goal was in sight, she could become very abrupt; but she wanted everyone to know that it was nothing personal.

That moment of vulnerability set the tone for what would be a great workshop.

Checking in a year later, Lilly shared how the team had grown closer personally and had become more trusting of one another.

In fact, they were still actively using the tools and learnings from the workshop.

They all had a much better appreciation of each other’s working styles and positive intentions, including Lilly’s.

And Lilly was happy because the team became even more efficient, effective and successful.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you like this, please click on subscribe and share it with others.

And, stay tuned for next episode.

Thanks again.

It’s Intuitively Obvious – The Enneagram Type 8 Leadership Challenge

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Enneagram Type 8s are natural born leaders.  They are confident, decisive and instinctively know what to do.  After all, it’s intuitively obvious! The big challenge for Type 8 leaders is to instill confident decision making capabilities throughout the organization. Here’s how one Type 8 leader did just that!

Intuitively Obvious

Enneagram Type 8s are in the Intuitive Center of the Enneagram.  Intuition informs Type 8 giving them a strong sense for what to do next. This sense can be so strong that Type 8 leaders will think that the course of action will be obvious to everyone.  Oftentimes, it is not obvious to others which can frustrate the 8.  In those instances, the 8 will be compelled to tell their staff what do for the sake of expediency.  That approach works well to get things done quickly but fails to instill decision-making skills within the team.

Other Decision-Making Approaches

In Teamwork 9.0, I lay out a decision-making and problem-solving approach that respects and involves all types, those who think things through, those who base decisions on feelings, and those who use intuition.  Using a systematic approach takes the best elements of all decision-making styles, allows everyone to participate, and builds team decision-making muscles.

Team Commitment

Perhaps the best aspect of team-based decision making is the sense of commitment the team feels in creating positive results.  Because the team will have been involved in the decision-making process, they will feel vested in making the outcome a success.  And, while this approach may take longer than having the Type 8 leader simply tell the team what to do, in the long run a team-based approach will save the Type 8 leader’s time by not having to be involved guiding the team every step of the way–the team will become self-guided.  The team feels empowered and delivers great results, and the Type 8 leader saves time.

Mess to Success

In this video, I describe how a Type 8 leader had the team solve a problem themselves.  The leader set the direction in Step 1 by clearly explaining the problem and the goal.  After that, the team followed the process in Teamwork 9.0 to a successful outcome with much less hands on involvement from the 8 leader.

How do Type 8s in your life lead teams?  Do they allow teams to guide themselves or do they stay directly involved? Do they use a systematic approach to decision making, or is it more ad hoc? What situations have resulted in the most effective team dynamics?

[Video Transcript]

You know how a random idea can just pop into your head?  Well, that’s your intuition speaking to you.

Now imagine that that’s happening to you all the time.

That’s what happens to my client Tom.

So a while back I got a call from Tom and I can tell he’s frustrated and he’s grumbling that his team never made a decision for themselves.  They always waited for him to tell them what to do.

Now, we know that Tom is intuitive. But the thing is, he thinks everyone else is intuitive.

And, it’s just intuitively obvious what to do.

So while Tom’s waiting for his team to make a decision, there’s no telepathic network connecting what’s in his brain to his team member’s brains.

He finally gets frustrated, tells them what to do. They do it because he’s the boss. And it gets done. And that cycle just repeats over and over and they never learned to make decision for themselves.

Well, Tom wanted to break that cycle.

When we started working on this, we identified three important factors:

  • Tom needed to recognize that his style is not the same as everyone else’s style. Not everyone is operating on intuition like he is.
  • We needed to give the team some problem solving and decision making tools. They had become so reliant on Tom telling them what to do that that they hadn’t built up any of those decision making muscles. So that’s when we decided to use the problem solving methodology that I outline in my book Teamwork 9.0.
  • Tom did need to be involved in Step 1 which is to clearly define the problem and define the goals.

Then once we’d done that Tom backed away and let the team work through the process. Which they did. And, they  came back to Tom in Step 7 in which they laid out the plan that they’d put together to solve the problem. Tom reviewed that and said, “looks great, go for it.” Which they did and successfully solved the problem.

The team was delighted because they were involved all the way through the whole process and they were committed to a successful outcome at the end.

Tom was delighted because he didn’t have to stay involved through all the steps which gave him a lot more time to tend to his other responsibilities.

And, best of all, that cycle was broken and the team could now make decisions for themselves.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you like this, please click on subscribe and share it with others.

And, stay tuned for next time when we discuss a leadership style I call – it’s nothing personal

Thanks again.

Hogs, Logs and Hot Dogs—Who Participates in Remote Meetings?

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Having worked with remote teams and online meetings for the past 25 years,  I’ve struggled through the many problems that arise—language issues, time-zone issues, technical issues, and making sure everyone is heard.  In the Before Times—before the Covid-19 Pandemic—people often had a choice whether or not to choose work with remote meetings.  If they liked it, they did it. If they didn’t like it, they might move on to a more suitable work environment. Then suddenly the pandemic imposed remote work on many people, whether they liked that working style or not.  So, who likes remote meetings? Who doesn’t? And what happens to the remote workplace as the pandemic recedes? The answers to these questions may be revealed by the Enneagram’s subtypes and Temperament triads.

No Hogs, No Logs

One of the weekly meetings I attend has a standing rule—No Hogs, No Logs.  Attendees are expected to participate (no logs) and not take over the meeting (no hogs.)  The fact that we even need this rule begs the question why some attend passively while others chime in at every opportunity.  I tend to fall into the latter category, so I find that I am continually checking myself and finding other ways to channel my desire to express myself. More on that later.

An Enneagram Analysis

The Enneagram is a powerful tool that describes nine personality dynamics.  I use this tool as the basis for the collaborative teamwork approach I describe in my book Teamwork 9.0.  Each of the nine types brings a distinct style to the meeting setting, and to remote meetings in particular.  Also, each will have a predisposition to assert themselves during the meeting.  Here is a brief overview of those inclinations:

Enneagram Type Tendency Hog or Log?

Will speak up if something isn’t right. Balanced as long as nothing is obviously wrong, otherwise will hog to focus on problem.

Tends to banter, creating personal connections. Will go with the flow, but if there’s silence, will use the time to create connections which can appear as hogging.

Wants to maintain progress towards the goal and may take an opportunity to shine. Balanced as long as the team is making progress, otherwise will hog to get and keep things on track.

Reserved but chimes in, especially on emotionally impactful conversations. Tends to log but varies depending on their feelings about the topic.

Tends to watch and listen. Will speak if spoken to. Log unless expected to speak.

Tends to watch and listen, alert for potential problems. Balanced if no potential pitfalls, otherwise will hog to focus on a foreseeable problem.

Think it, say it!  Freely shares thoughts and works to maintain a positive experience. Tends to fill any silence with fun, positive conversations which can appear as hogging.
Wants to get to the point to end the meeting and get back to work but will challenge perspectives that differ from their own. Balanced if the meeting is in control but will hog if meeting goes out of control.
Will watch and listen quietly but may chime in to ward off a possible conflict. Log unless they feel compelled to mediate a conflict.

Temperament Triads

Another way to look at the disposition of the nine Enneagram types in a meeting setting is to examine Enneagram’s Temperament triads.  I review these triads in Chapter 7 of Teamwork 9.0.

Types 3-7-8 – Assertive Types – Tending to Hog

Types 1-2-6 – Compliant Types – Tending towards balance

Types 4-5-9 – Withdrawing Types – Tending to Log

Assertive Types 3, 7 and 8 may have a tendency to hog, Withdrawing Types 4, 5 and 9 may have a tendency to log, while  Compliant Types 1-2-6 may be more balanced.  While these inclinations fit a standard understanding of the Enneagram types, they do not explain the wide range of behaviors I commonly see in meetings.  For instance, the Type 6 description does not explain my own tendency to jump in with questions or comments at every opportunity.  There must be something more…

But Wait, There’s More: Enneagram Subtypes

People with a given Enneagram type can exhibit a wide range of dispositions and behaviors. The subtypes have been developed as a tool to explain behavioral variations within a given Enneagram type, with three subtypes for each of the nine types. They are Self Preservation, Sexual (One-on-One), and Social.  Mario Sikora uses different words to describe these same subtypes: Preserving, Transmitting, and Navigating. I like Sikora’s words, so I will use them here. The Preserving subtypes strive to maintain personal security, safety and wellbeing. The Navigating subtypes focus on being a member of a group or community. And the Transmitting subtypes project themselves and build intimate relationships.

Subtypes in Meetings

Navigating subtypes are naturals in meetings.  They are adept at social interaction, fitting into the group and creating a sense of belonging.  Preserving types are less concerned with fitting in and more concerned with their own safety and security.  They’ll take a back seat and may not speak up unless their safety and security are threatened. That leaves the Transmitting types who like to project themselves into the conversation and may try to take it over.  Based on that we could generalize the following:

Transmitting Subtypes – Tending to Hog

Preserving Subtypes – Tending to Log

Navigating Subtypes – Tending towards balance

Now, if we consider both the inclinations of the three Temperament triads and the three subtypes, we would get a diagram that looks like the following with those shaded in red tending to hog, those in blue tending to log and those unshaded tending towards balance.

Hogs and Logs — Behavioral Tendencies in Meetings due to Enneagram Temperament Triads and Subtypes

I like this model because it accounts for the variations among each type based on both the Temperament triad and the subtype, giving a wide range of possible behaviors in meetings.

I’m Transmitting!

In spite of the fact that I am Type 6 in the Compliant triad, this model certainly explains my inclination as a Transmitting subtype to want to engage continuously in the meeting.  Thank goodness for the chat function!  I use chat extensively to have side conversations with other participants—One-on-One—which satisfies my subtype need without hogging the single audio channel of the remote meeting. Relatedly, I recall attending a management retreat once and during one of the talks I asked a few questions (satisfying both my Type 6 questioning and my subtype transmitting.) Later I received feedback that I was being a “hot dog.” I suppose in that setting I was expected to be a cold log!

How does your Enneagram type and subtype affect your participation in meetings?  Do you tend to be a Hog, a Log, or somewhere in between? Do you find yourself interacting with the group, focusing on one-one conversations, or checking out all together? Are you looking forward to resuming in person meetings or would you prefer to continue meeting remotely?

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