So what is the enneagram? 

It’s a tool for understanding ourselves and the other people in our worlds.

It’s a blueprint that shows us 9 distinct ways of seeing things. 

It’s easy to call the Enneagram a personality system, which I do think is a good descriptor, but it goes much deeper than personality. 

Their new book, Around the Circle, stands out for its unique structure: instead of profiling types individually, it explores the Enneagram through nine essential questions everyone faces, like How do I get what I want? and How do I connect with others? This fresh approach highlights the dynamic interplay between types and helps readers see themselves and others more holistically.

Parenting is hard. Parenting with intention, awareness, and emotional wisdom? Even harder. That’s exactly why I sat down with Victoria—mom of seven and deep-feeling Type Four—to talk about how she uses the Enneagram as a parenting tool inside her big, busy, beautiful family.

Whether you're new to the Enneagram or you’ve already typed your whole extended family (twice), this episode brings real-life insight into how this tool can shift family dynamics, deepen connection, and help you parent each child more uniquely and compassionately.

The Enneagram is different from other personality systems in that it isn’t based on outward behaviors. It’s under the hood - it describes the motivations behind why we do what we do. What deep core fear is motivating our actions? What core desire is driving our specific patterns of behavior?

This is the story of how I started a podcast.

This photo is from exactly one year ago - June 25, 2024.

My friends Erin and Christel are Enneagram enthusiasts, & we connected during an Enneagram class at church. We were hanging out last summer and they mentioned their dream of doing a podcast together. I also had a dream of making an Enneagram podcast.

Like Eights and Ones, Nines are extremely justice-oriented. The irony is, although Nines internalize the belief that their voices don’t matter, they care deeply about others’ voices being heard. They want the marginalized to be respected and heard. They believe in consensus in decision-making and hate the injustice of one person or group asserting power over others by force.

Many Enneagram Eights share that as children they were forced to grow up quickly.  No time for being a child who could rely on others to take care of them - they jumped right into needing to take care of themselves. Because of this, Eights are extremely independent and self-reliant.  Maintaining autonomy and control over their own lives is a necessity.

The superpower of Enneagram Sevens is their amazing ability to find the positives in any situation. For many other numbers, the negatives are amplified in our brains. But Sevens can help us see the goodness and joy by reframing negatives into positives.

The Enneagram teaches there are 3 distinct conflict styles.

These styles describe the ways we respond to conflict, difficulties, or disappointments.

In Enneagram speak, the name of these styles is the Harmonic Groups. The three styles are Optimistic, Logical, and Reactive. 

In episode 23 of the Towards Eden Podcast, I chat with Blake Boardman about how he uses the Enneagram in his role as an HR trainer. He introduced the Enneagram to his workplace to help solve the communication issues that everyone kept bringing up. Months later, he’s mapped out 50 of his coworkers on the Enneagram, and they use it to understand each other and communicate more effectively. Blake is an Enneagram type 6.

Max Partain, freelance video editor, jumps into the Enneagram headfirst. In this episode we explore several types to try to try to find out which Enneagram number best fits Max. He’s been mistyped by other people over the years. So how do you actually figure out your type?

Type 6 is sometimes nicknamed The Loyalist. Sixes have a core desire for stability, safety, and certainty, while they fear being abandoned and left without guidance. Sixes take this desire for stability in relationships and reflect it back onto others - they are committed to being loyal, stable, and trustworthy. They provide stability to their people.

This passion for learning and knowledge makes sense, as Type Five is a Head Type along with Types 6 and 7. Thinking is always first for Fives, before feeling and doing. Their challenge in relationships is to connect with others on a heart level. This isn’t natural for Fives so it does take intention.  When a Five does try to connect with you personally, know that it means they trust you, and they’re giving you something rare.

Type Fours value authenticity. What’s the point if we’re not being real? This is the gift they offer relationships - and what they hope for from others. This means bringing their authentic emotions and experiences to the table, without a lot of the filtering that other types may do. 

Threes bring their deep attunement to others to relationships. They can easily deduce what the  other person, or people, want and need. Since Threes are so incredibly adaptable, they can morph into what they think is needed in the relationship. Similar to how a Type Nine struggles to know what they want and instead easily merges with the other person, a Type Three struggles to  know what they truly want because they spend so much energy turning themselves into the person they think the other wants.

Twos see the world in terms of their relationships. When they make decisions, they first consider how it will affect all the other people involved. In organizations, Twos help make sure all the relationships at stake are considered in big decisions. Twos prioritize thinking of others and are gifted at understanding how each action a will affect other people.

Remember that the Enneagram shows us one of nine lenses. We tend to assume that other people see the world how we do. So, Ones assume this: everybody else  wants to follow the rules, be good, do things the right way, and follow a strong moral compass… right??!!!

Brielle, Enneagram 9, has a lot to say about learning to lead in her various jobs.
She takes us from her recent college graduation to her impactful role as a discharge planner at an adolescent mental health facility. Leadership at work has empowered her in all areas of her life - and now she’s starting grad school to become a Clinical Mental Health Counselor.