As infants, each of us tries to understand who we are in relation to the world around us. Early in childhood, we have needs that aren't met. We aren't fed, changed, or held right when we want to be and our caregivers are human—often trying but failing to read our minds. When an internal need is not met by the external "objects"—i.e. people—around us, it helps us in infancy to distinguish between us and them.

Throughout our early life, once we become more aware of this separation, we go onto explore and test for danger as we move out into the world. And later, we try to reconcile our individuality with maintaining connection to an important other. These are phases that all children go through, but the types experience and adapt to them in different ways.

We had a wonderful audience who brought thought-provoking questions and great discussions. Many students have requested my reading list on the Enneagram shadows. While not always the easiest reads, here is a curated list for those interested in continuing the work we started in class.

It’s a time of upheaval on multiple fronts. It’s as if the thin veneer of falseness that has been covering over the truth of the worst of us for some time now is being stripped away. It’s been called a post-truth world as our leaders routinely throw facts into question. But it’s as if everything that has been only barely still hidden is now being exposed. The virus and the violence have seen to that. The reality of greed, racism, corruption, sexism, hate, and insensitivity in our society that so many have wanted to deny is now not only out in the open—it’s killing us and tearing us apart.

I offer these thoughts on the potential meaning of the global pandemic from a larger perspective, and an Enneagram perspective, with the hope of supporting Enneagram enthusiasts in seizing upon the opportunities offered by this moment to engage in specific inner work, with the conscious intention of working toward increased individual and collective awareness at this unprecedented time of uncertainty.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Ian Morgan Cron and discussing various aspects of the Enneagram with him, in private conversations, on his podcast, Typology, and in one of his courses on the personality system. Ian has done a great thing for the Enneagram by bringing the system to many new people through his popular book, The Road Back to You, which invites people to get to know the Enneagram and how it can help them grow through a beautiful combination of wit, warmth, and gentle wisdom.

I have a theory. While many people like the Enneagram and talk about it on social media, only a small percentage of the individuals who say they “use” or “know” the Enneagram, or profess expertise in it, are really using it to create substantive inner shifts. The Enneagram system of personality has the potential to offer life-changing insights, but I wonder how many people really sign on to do the work it takes to make use of the symbol and its archetypes to go beyond the dominion of the personality?

In the first chapter of my new book, The 9 Types of Leadership, I talk about how understanding your personality can be key to becoming a more effective leader. This is because when we can develop the muscle of self-awareness and our blind spots can become more visible to us, we can more…

This is my story of how the subtypes helped (and didn’t help) me to grow. In it, I explain why I think understanding the instincts and subtypes is so important to using the Enneagram for self-development. AND–you can find short descriptions of the 27 subtype personalities below. I’ve been studying the Enneagram for 27…

As a psychotherapist, I know how important it is to have effective methods and tools to use when you are helping individuals move forward on their growth paths. Especially if you are a new coach, counselor, or therapist, but even for veteran professionals, having effective methods to draw on makes your work with people so much easier and more enjoyable. In my opinion, The Enneagram is the best tool available for supporting therapeutic or coaching work with clients.

A few years ago, motivated by my fascination with the parallels between the Enneagram and Homer’s Odyssey, I went looking for the Enneagram in Dante’s Comedy.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this amazing connection between the Enneagram types and The Odyssey, Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s epic poem…