There’s a Better Way to Leverage Your Employees’ Personalities
Personality tests within the workplace are certainly not new. During my decades as a working leader, I’ve heard of countless tests, including the DISC Assessment, The Myers Briggs, the Color Test and so many more. At a point, it can be exhausting, and all begin to muddle together until you’re convinced it’s a bunch of mumbo jumbo. I think that’s one of the reasons I was so surprised when I came across the Enneagram personality test and found it to be incredibly helpful to workplace productivity and employee satisfaction. Here’s how:
The Enneagram is a personality test that identifies individuals based on their inherent desires, motivators, and fears. Those who complete the test are categorized as a specific number, and they can fall into any number between 1-9. For example, one number I encounter a lot in the C-Suite is three. Enneagram threes are called Achievers. By reading up on the three type, I learned that the basic desire of a three is to feel valued, and their underlying fear is being worthless. Even by knowing these two foundational traits about a three, I can keep this in mind when interacting with my colleagues who are threes in a more aware and loving way. Since I know that being valued is important to them, I can uplift them by expressing my appreciation for their hard work.
What I find so useful about this personality test is that, beyond highlighting simple strengths and weaknesses as most tests do, it identifies the different perspectives, motivations, and stressors of each. For example, by knowing based on their enneagram types which of my colleagues most enjoy change and which of them do not, I can more strategically place individuals in the right positions. Enneagram sevens, as an example, enjoy having multiple different responsibilities, but enneagram fives are stressed out by having too much going on. So if there is a dynamic project with a lot of moving parts that need managing, I’d be more likely to offer up one of my sevens for the task than one of my fives.
The Enneagram is a free test that is simple to take. Unlike other tests, there are a plethora of accompanying resources that can help individuals to learn more about their type for the purpose of personal growth.
Because the Enneagram is based on our deep-down longings and fears, having your staff take the test can help you to better understand what is driving them. When you understand what helps your staff to feel fulfilled, what stresses them out and what they are ultimately striving for, you can begin to work with them by putting them in positions and on projects that work well with their needs. And who doesn’t want to work for a boss who utilizes, understands, and appreciates the nuances that gets them engaged and fired up, instead of sticking them into a role for which they may not be a good fit.