Defining KNow’s Mission & Values through the Enneagram
Over the past couple of years of working with Shaleen Kendrick and Christy Kennedy at Culture Conscious, I’ve learned that our team at KNow is a group full of “Creative Originals” – a team “characterized by Enneagram 4 values.”
According to our team’s assessment, we operate best in an “environment that is grounded in a deep sense of purpose and allows room for independence, creativity, and self-expression.” Type 4 teams are flexible and imaginative, and “contribute energetically to innovation and tend to have a strong sense of gut or intuition, rooted in emotional honesty.” Thinking back on it, this makes total sense to me now that as a qualitative research agency, whose goal is to uncover human-centered stories for our clients, would be rooted in self-expression and emotion.
So why the Enneagram?
Our team’s work with the Enneagram has illuminated our strengths and weaknesses and helped us all to connect and communicate more meaningfully by understanding our basic motivations and drive.
We’ve learned that even though we’re individuals, we’re still part of something whole, pulling together to utilize our unique skills and problem solve for our company, partners, and our clients.
This knowledge has also helped us to define KNow’s Mission and Values statement, which has given us an objective that we can lean on in times of stress, and helps us to refocus and have clarity on what really matters when we’re hard at work delivering for our clients:
To use qualitative stories to connect the heart of the companies we work with to the hearts of the humans they serve.
What makes the Enneagram different from other team-building exercises or personality tests?
According to the Culture Conscious website, studying the Enneagram gives us “a dynamic personality map to uncover behavioral patterns and activate core motivations,” and “helps individuals identify and understand the core motivations behind habitual patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting” which drive our behavior.
Over the course of several guided sessions with Shaleen, our personal Enneagram coach, we’ve been able to learn how to use our core motivations, both as individuals and as a team, as a roadmap which guides us toward better understanding of others. We’ve done a team SWOT analysis, practiced leadership styles and professionalism, and learned about how to communicate in various styles (passively and directly), about conflict management, and our own behavior triggers.
According to Culture Conscious, “With a better understanding of ourselves, and a refined map kit for understanding others, the Enneagram empowers us to navigate our lives with greater ease and awareness, with authenticity and mindfulness in all interactions, and with knowledge of how to manage emotions in even the most challenging circumstances.”
Has your team explored the Enneagram? Leave a comment and let us know if it has helped you!
Click here to learn more about Culture Conscious’ approach to Three-Centered Leadership and the Enneagram and share about your own team’s mission and values on our LinkedIn post.
