Q:  Hi Sam, Liz, Natasha, and Cathy.  Conexions offers a project called Enneagram Studies. What is it?

A: The Enneagram is a system describing nine different personality types and their inter-relationships. Each type has its own way of viewing life, its own motivations. People determine their own type or home base either through taking a Basic Enneagram Class or by having a typing interview with an Enneagram Teacher or by reading books about the Enneagram.  The reason that people determine their own type is that they best know themselves from the inside out.

Q: So how have people been integrating or using Enneagram in their personal lives?

A: They can better understand themselves, their patterns of thinking, feeling and acting. By learning the issues that preoccupy each and every one of us, the way we see the world, our core motivation and behaviors, how we deal with personal and work related relationships, people will understand yourself and others on a deeper level.

Q: Who can benefit from using Enneagram principles or techniques?

A: Anyone who is in a relationship with another human being and who desires to have deeper connections with others. People who are working together can get great benefit from understanding how and why we are the same and how we are different. Family members can also better understand that being family does not insure sameness of personality, possibly one of the hardest stereotypes to overcome.

Q: How is this different than other personal effectiveness programs?

A: The Enneagram is a system that helps us understand ourselves from the inside out. It is less about our observable behavior and more about our internal motivation. People that have taken other forms of personal communications or techniques will find that adding the Enneagram system  can provide a deeper, richer set of skills to interact with friends, family and others.

Q: People are facing some extraordinary times in terms of stress due to the economy, downsizing …… What are some examples of how Enneagram can be a useful tool for people to practice particularly in times of stress?

A: As a system, Enneagram describes how we change in times of stress and uncertainity. The System can help us tap into our inner resources so we can live and work from our own strength and inner wisdom.  In a world of crisis, many of us tend to feel insecure and become more defensive, when what we really need is to be flexible, grounded and open, so we can bring out the best in ourselves.

Q: The Basic Enneagram is coming up in June.  What kind of benefits would someone come away with after participating in the course?

A: People will leave this workshop transformed and with deep insights that will change their life for the better.

Q: This sounds like an extraordinary value for the participants.

A: Knowing the Enneagram is priceless. Barbara Whiteside, an Enneagram teacher colleague, said that Enneagram is not just life changing but life saving.

Q: What other anecdotal story illustrates how knowing the Enneagram has improved or helped them?

A: A group of university students working together found that after knowing their type and their fellow project group team mates that they were able to see if they had enough personality diversity on their project. After analyzing what types were present, they were able to see what was missing and how they needed to build their own strengths in the missing areas. Recently, a couple that took our program gave us feedback that what they learned helped them save their marriage because they each came away with a deeper understanding of themselves and each other which helped them see each other’s point of view and communicate with each other in a more meaningful way.

To learn more about the Enneagram system of personality types and find out about Enneagram courses you can take, go to our web page.

About the team

Liz Holdship, Cathy Majournal, Samantha Schoenfeld, and Natasha Vaynshteyn are professional Enneagram Instructors at Conexions and have developed and led workshops in the SF Bay Area for several years (Bios).