When I founded Trinity Transition Consultants I worked with organizations on a national and global platform to develop healthy, sustainable organizational cultures through executive coaching, management training, culture change initiatives, all forms of harassment prevention, and compliance & ethics training. Little did I know that my company would take on a life of its own and transform the very fabric of how organizations function from the ground up. The evolution of traditional DEI work soon grew exponentially when I discovered the power of utilizing the Enneagram in the corporate world. This unique approach allowed me to go beyond the normal scope of work and dive deeper into the heart of the organization: the people. I learned that while many organizations operate as a singular entity, many people fail to recognize and appreciate the individuals as the foundation for the organization’s culture. By bringing the wisdom contained in the personality archetypes of the Enneagram to each person within an organization the culture can transform at a molecular level and create sustainable connection, engagement, and balance.
I began teaching the Enneagram in boardrooms and in maintenance yards. I found that it was the key to connecting people, and I was determined to bring the Enneagram to every corner of whatever organization I found myself consulting for—and I did. In one organization I was hired to coach the executives and the senior team and asked to focus my attention on making them better leaders. After a few sessions, it became clear that the problems they faced were widespread and usually involved communication and cross-departmental or multi-management level relationships. I coached them as they requested but they soon realized the work couldn’t end with the senior team members, it was too transformational and powerful to reserve it for the few. These leaders would emphatically advocate for total organizational culture change and it always started with the Enneagram. Of course, there were some leaders—usually close to retirement—who were set in their ways and refused to take the necessary steps to transform into better leaders. They were the people who needed the Enneagram the most.
Nevertheless, the work I did with the Enneagram permeated all aspects of the organizational culture. It was a game-changer. People at all levels began to communicate in new ways, they were more respectful and adapted better when challenges emerged. The culture within the organization began to shift, one by one, department by department, it was unmistakable and it was intentional. That was the key difference: the intentional culture that manifested became thoughtful, inclusive, productive, energetic, and sustainable while it replaced the toxic culture that had festered for years. People at all levels began acting with intention and engagement and were actually invested in the people around them and in the organization.
In my book KJKP I illustrate the transformative process when we use the Enneagram to move beyond our ego-driven agendas and work towards a more connected and compassionate way of being:
A fundamental flaw in our foundation and ability for human connection is the failure to pick up the mirror and do the work of coming to fully understand ourselves as individuals who ultimately become part of a collective community in a societal structure. If we truly intend to repair the divides our world currently faces, we must start with ourselves. The Enneagram provides a detailed guide for inner work and allows us to move out of a “me and mine” mentality and into an “us and ours” way of being—this is the framework for accelerating a cognitive shift into mindfulness at an individual level which can help us to become more present to how we show up in the world in relation to “other” human beings. Engaging in our own personal Enneagram journey is essential to becoming an authentic Ally, Advocate, and Love Warrior, but we must all remember that the work doesn’t stop once we acquire the knowledge; we must do something with it. We must be willing to look in the mirror and see ourselves, accept our warts, foibles, and all, and acknowledge that we are all works in progress. However, the work must also include how our beings are received by the outside world. Are we kind? Are we judgmental? Are we dismissive? Are we able to admit when we make mistakes and try to do better next time? Are we willing to uncover the biases and stereotypes that are hidden behind elements of our personality? These are the questions we must ask ourselves as we move toward finding alignment of our three centers and unearthing our authentic selves. We all need to step into our place in order to bring hope and healing out into the world.
The inner work aligned with the exploration of the Enneagram can be a transformative and healing experience. The Enneagram teaches us how to heal our own wounds by illuminating our blind spots and showing us what we are really up to when we show up in the world. We become more open and accepting that we all see the world through 9 different lenses and engage in intentional inner work. As we heal our own wounds we are able to move beyond seeing people as objects and the shift toward regaining our own humanity allows us to begin to honor the humanity of every individual.
When we develop the awareness of our connectedness as people who belong together, especially within the workplace, we can begin to cultivate a healthier environment where inclusion and respect are valued. The individualism we are predisposed to begins to fade away and make space for the grounded connection we share with our sisters, brothers, and siblings within the human race. Our actions, behaviors, and beliefs become less self-serving and evolve into a shared awareness of our undivided connection as a single species. We take mutually beneficial actions grounded in generosity, we behave in collaborative ways with consideration for our fellow human beings, and we hold beliefs anchored in a compassionate approach to finding common ground.
It’s no secret that a lot of us spend more time with the people we work with than with our families. So why wouldn’t we want to make our workplaces better? Isn’t it logical to invest some time and effort into making the place we spend the majority of our time more pleasant, or kinder, or maybe just more tolerable? The answer should be yes. And it beings with the people, and with seeing others as people and not as objects or obstacles in our way. Being able to see another human as you see yourself can bring on a wave of gratitude, generosity, and connectedness. The inner work aligned with the exploration of the Enneagram can be a transformative and healing experience. When the work is honored and continued beyond self-reflection, its wisdom reinforces our spiritual growth and expands out into the world with an energy that can “create the ripples on the pond”.
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TRINITY TRANSITION CONSULTANTS
"We are Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-racism specialists. Our culture change initiatives utilize the Enneagram and trademarked TTC tools to design workplace and community workshops. Our work creates the mindset shift necessary within communities and organizations to respect the diversity of every individual at all levels of society. We coach individuals, organizations, and communities to move from the space of apathy & tolerance to acceptance & inclusion. Our work in the Social Justice arena is unapparelled and ever-evolving with the strength of our highly skilled and diverse team of Business Consultants."
My book Know Justice Know Peace: A Transformative Journey of Social Justice, Anti-Racism, and Healing through the Power of the Enneagram is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online book retailers.
