I recently read a very interesting book by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. The Road Back to You is all about self-discovery, but not just finding who we want to be, rather finding who we were originally created to be. It, and other books, utilize a fourth century model called the Enneagram developed by Christian monks that defines nine different fundamental personality types. It’s fascinating and remarkably accurate, even all these years after its development. In the book, the authors stated,
“As long as we stay in the dark about how we see the world and the wounds and beliefs that have shaped who we are, we’re prisoners of our history. We’ll continue going through life on autopilot doing things that hurt and confuse ourselves and everyone around us. Eventually we become so accustomed to making the same mistakes over and over in our lives that they lull us to sleep. We need to wake up.”
In my last blog I spoke of the importance of using our time to prepare ourselves for what the future holds. I found the Enneagram because I was intentionally connecting with people who I felt could help me take steps toward my future. I was preparing. I don’t believe I found this ancient Christian concept by accident, but because I was supposed to.
You know me as kind of a self-assessment junkie. I love to go through the tests of personality, gifts, talents, strengths and leadership styles, so the Enneagram is the type of thing which I eat up, looking for one more piece of my personality puzzle that will help me be the best I can be. It is uncanny how clearly the monks of the fourth century figured me out! I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book and check it out.
As a leader, self-awareness is key to how well we connect with others and lead them in a humble manner. Self-awareness is cited by numerous authors as a cornerstone of great leadership, and I have included it as one of my seven attributes of humble intelligence in my newest book, The Humility Factor. Like me, you may have taken a variety of personality profile assessments and you feel that you know yourself pretty well. The Enneagram will help you take another step deeper.
Today, model to your people what it means to be self-aware and humble. Do as the authors above encourage: “Wake up.”
Lead well.