The Enneagram Symbol

An ancient psychological-spiritual system that describes the human character with uncanny accuracy, the Enneagram is being used around the world in an increasingly wide array of business applications. These applications include communication, feedback, conflict resolution, team development, leadership development, coaching, decision-making, motivation, diversity, strategic planning, and culture change, among others.

Examples of companies who have used the Enneagram to help people achieve self-awareness and develop strategic approaches to interpersonal interactions include Disney, Silicon Graphics, the Federal Reserve Bank, the CIA, Sun Microsystems, Motorola, and Rational Software (now IBM). An increasing number of universities also use the Enneagram in their business curriculum -- for example, Stanford University, UCLA, and Antioch University.

The Nine Enneagram styles (described below) reflect nine profoundly different ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

	Ones seek a perfect world and work diligently to improve both themselves and everyone and everything around them.
	Twos want to be liked, try to meet the needs of others, and attempt to orchestrate the people and events in their lives.
	Threes organize their lives to achieve specific goals and to appear successful in order to gain the respect and admiration of other people.
	Fours desire deep connections both with their own interior worlds and with other people, and they feel most alive when they authentically express their feelings.
	Fives thirst for information and knowledge and use emotional detachment as a way of keeping their involvements with others to a minimum.
	Sixes have insightful minds, are prone to worry, and create worst-case scenarios to help themselves feel prepared in case something goes wrong.
	Sevens crave the stimulation of new ideas, people, and experiences and create elaborate future plans that will allow them to keep all of their options open.
	Eights pursue the truth, like to keep situations under control, want to make important things happen, and try to hide their vulnerability.
	Nines seek peace, harmony, and positive mutual regard and dislike conflict, tension, and ill will.

Ginger Lapid-Bogda's new book, Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work: How to Use the Enneagram System for Success (McGraw-Hill, 2004), shows how to integrate the Enneagram with frequently used OD and training models in areas such as communication (sender-receiver model), feedback (observable behavior, impact of behavior, and preferred behavior), conflict (Sherwood and Glidewell's pinch-crunch model), teams (common goals, interdependence, task and relationship roles, and the four stages of group development), and leadership (CCL's derailment concepts). Comments about the book from well-respected organization development consultants Warner Burke, Beverly Kaye, and Saul Eisen appear at the end of this section.

Bogda & Associates offers a full range of organizational consulting and training services and training materials that integrate the principles and practices of organization development with the insights of the Enneagram. For more detailed information, please visit Ginger Lapid-Bogda's website, www.TheEnneagramInBusiness.com, which can also be accessed via a link on this website's homepage.

Comments about Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work from organization development consultants

W. Warner Burke, Ph.D.
Edward Lee Thorndike Professor of Psychology & Education, Teacher's College, Columbia University, First Executive Director of the Organization Development Network, and author of Organization Change: Theory and Practice

There is growing evidence that people who are above average regarding self-awareness are likely to be high performers, particularly with respect to leadership and management. The Enneagram is a sound, tried and true technique for enhancing one's self-awareness. This book is very user friendly in this regard because Ginger Lapid-Bogda's explanation and interpretation of the Enneagram way of learning more about one's self is unsurpassed. I enthusiastically recommend taking the trip with her.

Beverly Kaye, Ph.D.
Founder/CEO of Career Systems International and co-author of the internationally best-selling Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay

Thank you, Ginger. You've given us a way to unravel one of life's biggest mysteries — how to communicate clearly with the important people in our lives. You took a complex system and made it accessible and useful to your readers. This is a superb practical tool for all professionals who are determined to improve their working relationships with customers, clients, bosses, co-workers, or direct reports. Her explanation of the Enneagram makes it exceedingly accessible to the lay-person, and the exercises in the book give her readers a chance for actual skill practice! A must have for your 'go-to' bookshelf.

Saul Eisen, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, Founder, Graduate Program in Organization Development, Sonoma State University

In this remarkable book, Ginger Lapid-Bogda clearly communicates the essence of the Enneagram, and its practical applications for effective leadership in organizations. I'm delighted to see this material become widely available for people who seek a deeper understanding of the dynamics of interpersonal and team behavior. They will find that, and more — a transformative perspective for their own development as leaders, professionals, and persons. The illustrative stories, short activities, and crisp, accessible explanations make this a resource book readers will return to again and again — and recommend to their friends!

For more detailed information, go to www.TheEnneagramInBusiness.com.

Enneagram Articles by Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D.