Is there enough psychological safety within the group or team to use the Enneagram?

You might want to use the Enneagram, but is it the right time?

Psychological safety is a key factor and is even more important in remote or hybrid groups and teams because of the social distance and the increased challenge of getting to know and trust one another. Psychological safety is the belief that you won’t be humiliated or punished for sharing your thoughts and feelings. It also means that people feel safe to take personal and interpersonal risks with each other. When people feel safe, they are willing to be more vulnerable and share more.

A group or team doesn’t have to have a 100% psychologically safe environment for the Enneagram to work well. It does require enough psychological safety for people to be willing to explore themselves in a setting with other people. They also need to believe that what they share and whatever their Enneagram type is will not be used against them in any way.

Psychological safety and trust are intertwined. The more psychological safety, the more trust. The less psychological safety, the less trust.

Use the Psychological Safety Assessment below to rate your team.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT

Answer the questions below using the scale where 1 is low agreement with the statement, 3 is medium agreement, and 5 is high agreement.

Do people feel free to share their thoughts and feelings?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

Is the overall trust level high?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

Is the atmosphere non-judgmental and supportive?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

Do people feel valued and respected?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

Do people disagree with each other in productive ways?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

Is risk-taking encouraged even if you make a mistake?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

Is there an absence of scapegoating and blame?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

What your scores mean:

MODERATE TO HIGH SCORES

3-5 range scores: moderate to high levels of psychological safety and trust; ideal for introducing the Enneagram

1-2 range scores: low levels of psychological safety and trust; address the sources of these low scores before you introduce the Enneagram

MIXED TO LOW SCORES

Mixed high and low scores: address a few specific issues before you introduce the Enneagram

Please remember that people may look and act like everything is fine when it is not. People may not feel safe enough to even say what they are truly thinking and feeling. While the Enneagram can be used in almost any organizational application, serious underlying issues need to be addressed before the Enneagram can be used effectively with a group or team.

“The teeth are smiling, but is the heart?”
—CONGO PROVERB

Are there issues that need to be addressed before  you introduce the Enneagram to a group or team?

Both lack of psychological safety and low trust are symptoms of something deeper. Causes of low psychological safety and deep distrust can be about leadership style, scapegoating, preferential treatment, or inclusion-exclusion issues, just as examples.

These difficult issues usually need to be addressed before introducing the Enneagram. The Enneagram is extraordinarily useful in helping people know and understand themselves and others better and to increase skills in communication, leadership and managing conflict. But if you bring it to a group or team where there is deep-rooted tension and conflict, the Enneagram alone cannot solve it and might even make the situation worse.

If there are significant issues that need to be addressed before introducing the Enneagram, groups and teams need a professional trainer who knows the Enneagram well and also has excellent consulting skills. Trainers are trained to design and lead structured learning. Consultants are trained to help clients diagnose and solve real issues in real time.

About Ginger

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, author of nine Enneagram books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs and training tools for business professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications. TheEnneagramInBusiness.com | ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com