Communication Styles through the Lens of the Enneagram Throughout my career, I have come to understand the power of listening to build effective leadership. Whether that was serving in a leadership role, coaching leaders, or supporting leaders through training. About five years ago, I became a certified Conversational Intelligence coach, which gave me great insight into the neuroscience of conversations – what happens in our brains when we have quality conversations or conversations that get stuck. One fundamental aspect of communication is that understanding resides with the listener. Therefore, to create shared understanding, the speaker needs to have the skills to adjust their communication style so that the listener is receiving the information with the intended meaning. It is not easy to adapt our communication style so that another person receives the information with our intended meaning. However, my recent training as an Enneagram Practitioner has introduced me to a new approach to exploring communication styles. The Enneagram is an ancient framework that examines personality through our core motivations to help explain why we are the way we are. Our core motivation drives how we engage with the world and others to meet our needs. The communication style of each leadership type is in service to the core motivation. With a deeper understanding of what is driving someone’s style, we can adjust our language to meet their needs to create a shared understanding. Credit: www.withinsight.coach Understanding the nine communication styles through the Enneagram framework provides a roadmap to adapt our auto-pilot style to align with the listener. The first step in this process is understanding your style, core motivation and how that influences your communication. With that as a foundation, you can move to understanding other styles and interpersonal communication dynamics. To learn more about the Enneagram and how it can support you as a leader, check out the Minutes with Mary Enneagram Podcast Mini-Series. Episode 20: explores the Enneagram and Communication. To begin your Enneagram journey, explore the resources and services Vista Global offers.
Celebrating Women of Distinction: Honoring Leaders Creating Change Over the last 48 years, the YWCA Madison has celebrated women who are creating new possibilities in the community through the Women of Distinction Leadership Awards. Since its inception, YWCA Madison has honored 251 women dedicated to the Y’s mission to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people. This year, as a selection committee member, I had the privilege of witnessing the inspiring work of six outstanding individuals who are actively shaping a more just and equitable society. This year’s honorees, Jasmine Banks, Dr. Christina Outlay, Lisa Peyton-Caire, Nancy Saiz, Rosa Thompson, and Alex Lindenmeyer, have each contributed significantly to their respective fields and communities. Their stories shed light on the progress we are making toward a more inclusive and compassionate society. I am thrilled that Alex Lindenmeyer was honored because I have been familiar with Alex since she participated in the Amigos de las Americas program. As a young person, Alex traveled to Latin America to engage in community development work. Alex continues to demonstrate her commitment to thinking globally and acting locally. Let us celebrate these extraordinary women and join them in their mission to create a better world for all.
The Enneagram and Neuroscience: Growing New Neural Pathways About 6 years ago, I began my training and certification in a coaching framework called Conversational Intelligence®, exploring the neuroscience of conversation and its impact on trust and transformation. Through this training, I learned a bit about the ever evolving science of brain development. When I started the training, there were five areas of the brain. When I completed the certification about 3 years later, another brain area had been identified, the gut brain. As I began my recent coaching certification in the iEQ9 Integrative Enneagram tool, I was intrigued to see that neuroscience has offered evidence to validate the key elements of the Enneagram framework. Early Enneagram theorists argued for the existence of three centers of intelligence (head, heart, gut). Now, neuroscience has proven that we have multiple centers in our brain that influence how our personality develops and how the brain responds to change and pressure. By understanding the brain, we can interpret behavior more accurately and therefore build better strategies to help shift how we behave. This deeper understanding allows coaches to better support clients on their journey of change. For example, an Enneagram Types’ worldview and defense mechanisms are neurological patterns that are formed through developmental experiences in childhood that create a comfort zone. These patterns direct our “focus of attention” to specific aspects of our world and life. This wiring underpins our personality, forming a set of deep beliefs, motivations and filters intended to keep us safe. Growing New Neural Pathways Image Credit: Integrative9.com We also know that the brain is capable of incredible adaptation and change, called neuroplasticity, the ability to rewire, adapt and respond differently within a given situation. This ability to transform allows the brain to grow new neural pathways, which can break through old patterns and defenses to unlock personal development. In coaching, we support clients to make changes (otherwise, they wouldn’t hire a coach)! Often at first, the brain will bring forward a set of defenses and triggers to avoid changing. If a client is more aware of the triggers and defense patterns, understanding the deeply programmed neurological responses, they are more able to pause, take back control from unconscious reaction to move forward with intentional action. Through exploring the Enneagram, clients become more aware of their pathways, assumptions and how they may be limiting themselves.They can step back from the knee-jerk reactions, addressing their shadow areas to move toward a greater integration of their full self. The Enneagram illuminates strategies for clients to stretch and release themselves by exploring “Wings and Lines” to shift to a new level of awareness, grow new neural pathways and establish a more integrated range of behavioral responses. Check out my blog series below on the Enneagram, or get in touch for coaching on how to begin the journey of moving toward your full potential. Blog Series: The Enneagram: Connecting Ancient Wisdom to Global Transformation The Enneagram and Neuroscience: Growing New Neural Pathways The Enneagram: Nine Points of View and Core Motivation Creating a Championship Team with the Enneagram The Enneagram in The Global Context
The Enneagram: Connecting Ancient Wisdom to Global Transformation Recently I completed my certification as an Integrative Enneagram Accredited Practitioner, joining a community of more than 4,000 global coaches and organizational development professionals committed to supporting individuals in understanding their deepest levels of intrinsic motivation, conflicts, and self-limiting beliefs. Beyond individual coaching, it adds value to team development, organizational culture and our collective journey toward global transformation. Although I just became certified in the iEQ9 tool, I have been familiar with the Enneagram for more than 30 years. What is the Enneagram? A map for understanding human behavior. The Enneagram is a powerful, scientifically validated tool with ancient roots. It speaks to the age-old questions of “Who am I?” “What motivates me?” “How can I move from the unconscious, automatic behaviors, thoughts and feelings to leading a life that is more purposeful, effective and fulfilling?” The Enneagram is a universal framework that offers insights into the heart of human nature, supporting anyone who wants to increase self-awareness and personal effectiveness. The word Enneagram comes from the Greek Ennea, which means ‘nine’ and Gram which means ‘drawn’. It is represented in the geometric figure of a nine-pointed star inscribed in a circle that provides a framework for a personality type system of twenty-seven distinct character “archetypes”, different ways of thinking, feeling and acting in relation to others. In ancient Greece, philosophical teachings recognized that the key to knowledge of the natural world and human possibilities within it, began with the studying of our individual “selves” as well as our physical environment. Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, is structured in terms of the nine different lands Odysseus visits (Books 9-13) during his quest to get home after the Trojan war. The characteristics of the nine lands and the characters that populate them, parallel the issues and traits of the nine main personalities of the Enneagram. There are other examples of the nine types in Sufism, Judaism and Medieval Christianity. The Modern Rediscovery of the Ancient Wisdom The modern rediscovery of the Enneagram came through the work of three individuals: G.I. Grudjieff, Oscar Ichazo and Claudo Naranjo. Each of them presented Enneagram-related ideas to small groups of students in the context of psychological and spiritual development. Grudjieff, born in Armenia, taught that personality consists of different ways we buffer ourselves against the reality of our lives, helping us maintain a kind of illusion about what we can actually “do” in the world. Through active “work on self” and intentional “self-remembering”, he said we can evolve beyond the unconscious mechanical state of our personality to become fully awake. This process he called, “The Fourth Way”. Ichazo, born in Bolivia, is known as the modern day “Father of the Enneagram”. He connected the Enneagram symbol to personality types. His teachings provided a framework through which individuals could gain insight into the limiting beliefs caused by ego fixations and thereby work toward self-realization. Naranjo, a Chilean-born, American-trained psychiatrist, learned the Enneagram model from Ichazo when he traveled to Chile. He synthesized the teachings of Gurdjieff and Ichazo with applied modern psychological terms, bringing it to a wider audience. Naranjo communicates the Enneagram as an overarching theory integrating Western psychology and Eastern spiritual practices. Where We Are and Where We Want To Be The Enneagram represents a model of wholeness: each of the points on the Enneagram not only describes individual personalities but also characterizes certain archetypal elements that are universal. By embarking on the individual journey toward wholeness, we move toward greater connectivity with the rest of the living universe. The problems the world is facing today on the social and environmental level require a higher level of consciousness to solve. What got us here won’t get us there.This framework allows us to see and understand the patterns that have us stuck and identifies a pathway forward to a greater sense of unity and connection to the natural world. If you are drawn to start this journey, contact me for a complimentary assessment and debrief session. I have two available. The world needs all of us to move toward our best selves. Blog Series: The Enneagram: Connecting Ancient Wisdom to Global Transformation The Enneagram and Neuroscience: Growing New Neural Pathways The Enneagram: Nine Points of View and Core Motivation Creating a Championship Team with the Enneagram The Enneagram in The Global Context
The Fruits of Mini-Sabbaticals Since 2015, I have been taking intentional breaks away from work to experience the 4 Rs (rest, reflection, rejuvenation, resetting). As I prepared this year, I was chatting with someone and they said, “Oh you are taking a vacation?” I said, no, this isn’t what I consider a vacation.” When I take a vacation, I maximize the experience of that particular location, getting out and doing something every day, on the go. The concept of my mini-sabbatical is “slow down” time. It is deep thinking time, design time and release time. When I began these trips in 2015, it was to put myself in a different place to tap into my creativity and innovation to work on the design of a new program, Vista Leadership Academy. That process continued annually as the program evolved to the Vista Leadership Institute in 2019. Creating the “white space” to allow my brain to slow down and tap into the emerging vision and translating that to an offering to leaders was deeply meaningful. This year, I used one of the tools that we used in the Vista Leadership Institute, Otto Scharmer’s Theory U process of letting go to presencing to letting come. “Who is the Self? What is my Work?” With that exploration, I decided to “let go” of the Vista Leadership Institute. Over the 8 year journey of this program, close to 100 people have been engaged and impacted. It fostered transformation in leaders across the Americas, including myself. Now, I am sensing a new idea, it started to percolate as I prepared for this year’s mini-sabbatical. I have begun the cycle of the U again, it is emerging and you will likely see it presencing in 2023. I encourage you to pause, create the space for what is presencing, the emerging future, your best future Self.
Happy B Corp Month! It’s B Corp Month, a time to celebrate the companies that are using business as a force for good! Certified B Corporations are dedicated to creating positive social and environmental impact, and they are certified by the nonprofit organization B Lab based on their social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Vista Global is proud to be part of the B Local Wisconsin community and is happy to be celebrating our 11th year as a certified B Corp. We recently completed our 4th recertification with our highest score yet! In order to become a B Corp, companies must meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, and undergo a rigorous assessment. With every recertification the bar has risen for verification of practices in five different categories: governance, workers, community, the environment, and customers. One of the key ways that certified B Corporations can improve their social performance is by creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. In February, B Local Wisconsin was proud to partner with Cream City Conservation & Consulting, the first Black woman-owned certified B Corporation in Wisconsin, to offer JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) training. In the first workshop of this 2-part series, August M. Ball led an incredible discussion about racial equity and environmentalism. The second part of this series will take place on March 21, 2023 and will highlight recruitment and retention for the 21st century. Please join us by registering here. Whether you’re a business owner looking to connect with like-minded peers, or a consumer interested in supporting companies that prioritize social and environmental responsibility, B Local Wisconsin is a great resource. To learn more about how you can get involved in building a more sustainable and equitable Wisconsin, visit www.blocalwisconsin.org.
The Leadership in Leaving…. In the month of January, I hosted a 3-part webinar series on succession planning and leadership transition for nonprofit organizations. This quote from the Building Movement Project puts in perspective why being intentional about leadership transition is critical for the greater community. “The decision to leave a long-term job is not simply a personal or private choice. For social sector leaders, it also is an act of leadership…How and when a leader exits reverberates throughout the organization and often reaches deep into the community and the field.” In the first 20 years of my career, I held five different executive director positions and none of the organizations had a formal succession plan. One organization hired a new executive director before my departure, so I was able to train my successor for two weeks. Another organization hired an interim executive director that was familiar with the organization. The other organizations leaned on current staff and board members to keep the organization going during the transition process. None of these scenarios set the organizations on a course for a smooth transition. As I continued in my career, I served as a board member for two different organizations that transitioned long-term leaders. As a consultant, I facilitated the search and transition process for an organization led by a founder. In addition, Vista Global partnered with another national consulting firm to write an eBook, Proactively Plan for the Inevitable: A Guide to Leadership Transition and Succession. Through all these experiences, I learned a lot about what contributes to successful leadership transitions. Six tips to build a strong organization that can thrive through leadership transition: Assess the organization’s readiness: Do you have a current strategic plan? Are you doing annual evaluations of the executive director and staff? Are you investing in staff development? Are your financial systems up to date and are there financial reserves? Do you have an emergency succession plan? Creating stability in the organization’s infrastructure is essential to navigate transitions successfully. Assess your personal readiness to leave: What level of excitement do you have for your work? Are you more interested in initiatives other than running the organization? Are tensions increasing with the board? Can you conceive a career move? These all may be signs it is time to depart. Determine what type of transition you are preparing for: Is this transition following a founder, or maintaining sustained success, or an underperforming organization or a turnaround? All require different focuses by the board. Build the leadership capacity within the organization: Organizations that have staff with professional development plans, strengthening their skills and competencies have greater success in navigating transition. How much are you investing in staff development financially and through mentorship and development planning? Provide ample time for the process and a roadmap: Transitions always take more time than you think. In addition, the board (as volunteers) has to manage many different aspects of the transition. The more time you can allow, the smoother the process will be for the incoming leader, outgoing leader, staff and board. Develop a strong board chair-incoming leader relationship: A strong board is a critical component to a successful transition. An incoming leader will rely on the board to understand their role and expectations in the first 90 days of tenure. Establishing a strong relationship between the board chair and incoming leader accelerates the incoming leader’s ability to come up to speed quickly to move the organization forward. Transitions of long-term leaders can include additional aspects of disruption related to the organizational identity and practices associated with the outgoing leader. Coaching for the outgoing leader, incoming leader and or board chair can offer important support to navigate the transition between what was and what will be. As an executive director, it can be a lonely place, particularly if you are contemplating departure. I know, I have been there. If you need a compassionate ear or a few tools to get going, I am here from you. The greatest gift you can give yourself, your organization and your mission is to strengthen your organization before leaving.
