“Self-awareness is empowerment.”

The Enneagram is a powerful empowerment tool, so thinks Ariel Lin, an alumnus of The Enneagram Academy. Ariel attended the academy’s Enneagram programme in 2017 and the insights she gained proved so powerful, she introduced it to her staff. Today, Ariel’s workplace has been transformed. I wanted to hear Ariel’s experience at first hand and arranged for this interview.

First Encounter

Ariel revealed that she had gotten to know Cindy through a fellowship. Not long ago, Ariel and her partner founded Flex-Solver, a software company. Despite her hectic schedule, Ariel took out time to participate in The Enneagram Academy’s online Enneagram test. This was followed by a one-on-one coaching session by none other than Cindy herself. Although this was a short session, it was an informative one. This was Ariel’s first real encounter with the Enneagram.

When Flex-Solver’s Human Resources team suggested a team-bonding session, Ariel reached out to Cindy. “What better way to get to know everyone in the company better than to have an Enneagram retreat? It was the natural choice for me!” recounted Ariel. The Enneagram Academy rose to the challenge and organised a two-day exclusive class. Ariel’s partner, Roger, had a special request. He wanted to know why employees behaved in certain ways, so after the well-received training, Cindy had a separate one-on-one session with Roger. It turned out to be a most insightful session.

Insights Into Various Types

To begin with, Ariel and Roger are not fans of personality tests. They explained that some people went for personality tests with pre-formed biases and tackled the questions accordingly, leading to self-filling prophecies. Ariel and Roger, and their team at Flex-Solver, did the tests with an open mind and were prepared to learn from the results. More importantly, they were prepared to use the results as a guide towards changing the way things were done in the company.

As expected, the detailed test explained why the staff behaved their way they did. Ariel and Roger had noticed for the longest time that the Business Development team tended to make compromises to customers in their eagerness to close more sales – often leading to internal conflict with the R&D team made up of team members who were a lot more cautious. They now realised that this was something typical of Type 3s (The Achievers). There was an even more serious observation. As Ariel put it, “Roger and I had also noticed that the Design team had things to share but always chose not to voice them out during meetings. The tests revealed that most of the designers were Type 9s, The Peacemakers. Little wonder they kept to themselves!” In addition, Ariel and Roger also now understood why certain staff tended to be goal-oriented, while others needed proper processes to get things done.

New Implementations

Armed with the knowledge of the different personality types, Ariel and Roger knew that it was time to turn their newfound insights into something actionable. “It was never about just doing the tests and stopping there. We needed something concrete to come out of this whole exercise. We wanted to build a safe environment for different personalities to collaborate and work in harmony.”

In Flex-Solver, the Business Development team typically performs pre-sales functions, brings back customers’ requirements, then meets the Design and R&D teams. In the past, because the pre-sales period was usually very short, there was always little or no time for Design and R&D teams to contribute their comments. Yet, this was precisely the critical period in which issues needed to be thrashed out. As many Design and R&D members are Type 2s (The Giver) and Type 9s (The Peacemaker), they tended to keep their comments to themselves in order not to disrupt the process. “By keeping mum, they inadvertently caused the company to underquote the customers. Eventually, the project and the company’s bottom line suffered. I felt that I needed to set the process right.” Ariel created a 2-hour ideation session during the pre-sales phase, specifically designed to allow the Design and R&D members to voice their opinions. Ariel continued, “What was previously a 20-minute session within a pre-sales meeting had now become a dedicated 2-hour session just for Design and R&D. These teams now had this safe environment in which to voice their observations or even objections!”

Ariel offered another example of a new process she had instituted. Before the Enneagram arrived, if Project Managers happened to be Type 2 persons, they tended to overly-give or accommodate to the other parties. This was an unhealthy practice. Today, Ariel takes the time to remind these Project Managers of their KPIs so that they could be focused on meeting the project objectives.

Company Expansion

With such a great transformation within the company, Ariel planned to send the staff for another round of training in the Enneagram. From Singapore, Flex-Solver has expanded into Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Then, it established its presence in Wuhan, China. “The Enneagram is very impactful. I really want to share it with all my teammates, especially the new hires. We want our cross-cultural team to understand one another better and work well with one another. The Enneagram is the key towards achieving this!” Ariel is looking forward to arranging another training session for her team.

A Harmonious Relationship

I asked Ariel what final thoughts she had about the Enneagram. To that, she replied that the Enneagram brings about harmony between people. This framework brings people to the same level and allows them to work together in a harmonious way. “The Enneagram is not only for work but for personal lives too. I am a Type 3 and Roger is a Type 9. With the Enneagram, we now understand each other better!” I asked Ariel to sum up the Enneagram in a short phase. “Self-awareness is empowerment.”

Prepared by Jack Yu & Edited by Cindy Leong
14 August 2024