A huge part of what I believe in as a coach is the power to really listen to people and find out their truth. I truly believe that if we all took the time and energy to understand one another a little better, a lot more would be right with the world. This is why I believe in the blending of two approaches–finding a person’s “why” and their “how.”

Introduction to Strengths and Enneagram

What is Clifton Strengths?

Clifton Strengths, previously known as StrengthsFinder, is a highly reliable assessment tool developed by Don Clifton after 50 years of research into what makes individuals successful. The Clifton Strengths assessment is a 144 question assessment that is used to identify top strengths from a list of 34 possible talents, helping people to understand their talent themes, or things they do best that fulfill them.

Understanding the Enneagram

The Enneagram is a framework for 9 different personality types that boil down to differentiation in motivations and desires. The idea is that a person’s core Enneagram type describes 9 different ways in which people see the world.

How Do Strengths and Enneagram Complement Each Other?

Strengths in Relation to Enneagram Types

Finding out your Top 5 Clifton Strengths helps you to understand the 5 tools in your toolbox that you tend to pull out in every interaction. You usually find that most strengths in your top 5 will correlate with the descriptions associated with your core Enneagram type. For example, I’m a Type 3 “The Achiever”, and my top 5 strengths are Futuristic, Strategic, Learner, Activator, Achiever.

Clifton Strengths tells us what’s in our “toolbox”; what are our every day strengths that we rely on to get things done, but that also fills our bucket. The Enneagram framework helps us to understand our reason for being, our desires, motivations, and why we do what we do, say what we say, and make the decisions that we make.

Combining Enneagram Insights with Strengths

Your Enneagram core type tells us more about your desires, motivations, fears, and can be a pretty good indicator of behavior, especially if you know your wing. But the Enneagram is difficult to predict based on a person’s actions alone. While Clifton Strengths, which are the tools you use every day to achieve your goals, are your how, the Enneagram is your why and a person’s “why” is hard to see because it doesn’t manifest in the form of the same actions for everybody.

For example, as a Type 5, my co-worker’s first strength “Strategic” manifests itself as quiet, tactical observation as he uses his Intellection (another top 5 strength of his) to think of a conclusion/solution to move forward. On the other hand, Strategic (Strength #2 for me) manifests itself as energetic brainstorming and open dialogue with others to evaluate new ideas to process them out loud together when finding solutions at work.

Steps to Integrate Your Strengths and Enneagram Type

Identifying Your Strengths

If you haven’t already taken the Clifton Strengths Assessment, contact me at mdamon21@gmail.com for a discounted price or visit Gallup.

Discovering Your Enneagram Type

Take this free Enneagram test (takes about 15 minutes) and do not pay for the report. Your results will be the largest slice in the pie chart and will be identified as the first word (your Core Type as a number, written out) of the results paragraph. If you have trouble interpreting your results, that’s what I’m for, reach out to me and we can schedule a Discovery Session.

Integrating Your Strengths and Enneagram Type

Once we have your results for both assessments, we will have a clearer picture of your why and how! I offer several types of coaching sessions that combine insights from both tools. Can’t wait to show you your unique toolbox and how we can use it to get you where you want to go.

Benefits of Integrating Strengths and Enneagram for Personal Growth

Enhanced Self-Understanding

Knowing both your why and how will help us better be able to determine an action plan to move forward and help you achieve your personal and professional goals. The results from both assessments help you to see a clearer picture in why you think, act, feel, react, communicate, and behave the way you do and how we can harness this to your benefit.

Improved Self-Development

Together, we can work together to help you understand your why through your Enneagram typing and examine your level of health on the Enneagram health scale. From there, a focus on parlaying your “toolbox” through Strengths gives us the tools we need to execute real change.

Strengthened Relationships and Team Dynamics

Once you gain a higher level of reflective self-awareness, you will innately want to have your friends and family take the assessments too! It’s crazy how much we are able to unlock and learn about one another. I, myself, and dozens of others I’ve coached have seen the benefits of this hybrid approach to improving team dynamics and relationships.

If you’d like to learn more, head to our Free Resources page for books to read on both tools or email me at mdamon21@gmail.com to schedule a session.

FAQs

1. What are the main differences between Clifton Strengths and Enneagram? Clifton Strengths focuses on identifying your natural talents, or your “how” while Enneagram helps to determine your “why” or motivations for doing things.
2. Can I be more than one Enneagram type? Everyone is a mix of several types because we are all unique! But one dominant Core Type will arise for you that feels more correct than the others when it boils down to it.
3. How can understanding my Strengths and Enneagram type help my career? Definitely. I use both of these tools in my coaching and in the workplace. Both tools provides you with data to increase your level of self-awareness, allowing you to better be attuned to what you like to do and together, we can assess if you are using your Strengths in productive ways to honor that.
4. How accurate are Clifton Strengths and Enneagram assessments? While no assessment tool is 100% accurate, both Clifton Strengths and Enneagram have been widely used and recognized for their validity and reliability.
5. Where can I take the Clifton Strengths and Enneagram assessments? You can take the Clifton Strengths assessment on Gallup.I recommend you take the free Enneagram assessment here.

Welcome to People Hacking 101! The first time I learned about the Enneagram, I thought to myself “wow, you’ve finally figured out how others think!” Honestly, it was one of the biggest “aha!” moments of my entire life. It reminded me of when we were kids and heard things like “not everyone thinks like you!” Very difficult as a kiddo to understand how you even think, let alone anyone else. Forget it! Even as an adult, people are often a puzzle.

Introduction to Enneagram

The Enneagram: A Brief History

The Enneagram has a long and complicated history and when I went down that rabbit hole a few years ago, it was wild what I found. The Enneagram has roots stretching back to the desert fathers of early Christianity, the Sufis of Islam, and even further back. There were even traces back to early medicinal practices!

Of course, personality theory has been around a long time because people have always wanted ways to characterize and therefore be able to accurately predict others’ behavior. While this is not 100% possible, the Enneagram does provide us with a window into how different people operate and that is very helpful on multiple fronts.  But its modern interpretation owes much to the work of Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo in the mid 20th century.

Unpacking the Enneagram System

Understanding the 9 core types of the Enneagram system is like understanding how you and everyone else around you thinks. Understanding your enneagram core type helps you to identify your own motivations and desires; basically why you do what you do, say what you say, and react the way you react. Everything we do is centered around our “why”. The Enneagram tells you a person’s “why”.

Basically the Enneagram is a system made up of 9 Core Types that are set up in a circle format (which is important to understand later). These types are interconnected, which will help you to understand where each type “goes” during stress and during periods of growth. Each of the 9 represents a different “why” or core motivation that a person has. Keeping in mind that everyone is truly a blend of many, this isn’t a rigid personality type but a touchpoint to help you to understand the CORE of why you do what you do.

The Nine Enneagram Types

Each Enneagram type, numbered one through nine, has its own set of distinct characteristics, motivations, and ways of perceiving the world.

Type 1: The Perfectionist

Ones are moral and ethical, principles and purposeful, and always strive for perfection. They are concerned with doing things the right way. Responsibility, strong values, acute attention to detail, and a clear sense of duty are all accurate descriptions for a type one.

Type 2: The Helper

Type twos derive their self-worth from uplifting and supporting others. They want to be loved and appreciated, especially for the contributions they bring to their loved ones’ lives. They are empathetic, friendly, affable, people-pleasing, generous, well-meaning, warm, sincere, nurturing, and approachable people.

Type 3: The Achiever

Threes are all about success. They want to achieve in whatever arena success looks like in their environment. They are productivity masters, often multi-tasking to achieve their ambitious goals. Goal-oriented, ambitious, driven, charismatic, energetic, and poised are all accurate descriptions of a Type 3.

Type 4: The Individualist

Type Fours are all about being unique. They want to express their individuality and are passionate, creative, introspective, self-aware, compassionate, and open-minded “idea synthesizers” who are often quirky and endearing.

Type 5: The Investigator

Type Fives love to observe. They are cautious to express opinions without gathering ALL of the information first. They are curious learners by heart, making them great researchers and are focused on gaining knowledge. They non-conformists who are analytical and objective. Fives are motivated by their desire to be capable and confident.

Type 6: The Loyalist

Type Sixes are loyal, trustworthy, and dependable. They seek security and are often prepared for anything. Vigilant, logical, organized, and detail-oriented, they are excellent team players.

Type 7: The Enthusiast

Sevens want to get the most that they can out of life. They are the definition of YOLO. Open-minded, adventurous, free-spirited, and optimistic, sevens are well-connected and love experiencing new things. They avoid as best they can feeling pain and deprivation.

Type 8: The Challenger

Eights are confident, independent, and decisive. They are strong advocates who enjoy challenges and are passionate in their convictions. Driven by their need to protect themselves and their loved ones from being taken advantage of, eights often act as the guardians in their social and family circles.

Type 9: The Peacemaker

Nines tend to be easy-going, peace-making, and get along easily with everyone. Their magic power lies in their ability to see things from all 8 of the other perspectives. They are non-judgmental, supportive, adaptable, and great at mediating conflict. They strive to create harmony, peace, and comfort.

Enneagram Types and Inner Motivations

Uncovering Inner Motivations

Figuring out your Enneagram core type helps put you on a path leading to greater self-awareness, compassion, and personal growth. It’s important to understand that while we do see some behaviors tied to our core types, behaviors are more often expressed through our wings.

How Each Type Relates to Their Inner Motivations

Each Enneagram type has a unique way of interacting with their inner motivations. This is the basic definition of the core type–your “why” or desires and motivations. For example, Type 3s, the Achievers, are often driven by an innate need to feel valuable, while Type 9s, the Peacemakers, are motivated by a desire for internal and external peace.

Enneagram and Relationships

How Enneagram Types Impact Interpersonal Relationships

The role that the Enneagram plays in improving your relationships is remarkable. It was definitely an “aha!” moment for me when I had my whole family take it! I love understanding more about how people handle conflicts, react in different situations, process information, communicate, and work with other people. It gives you a greater appreciation for your interactions with people in your life.

Conclusion

I love coaching with the Enneagram because it helps us unveil truths about the way we think and how others around us do the same. It unlocks true empathy, and helps you to communicate and resolve conflict in a more unified, and humanistic way. Knowing your Enneagram Core Type is invaluable not only for your relationships, but always for your personal development. By combining your “why” (Enneagram) with your “how” (Clifton Strengths Top5), we can get a complete picture of who you and what makes you tick. E-mail me at mdamon21@gmail.com and let’s get started!

FAQs

1. What is the Enneagram?
   • The Enneagram is a system of personality typing that describes patterns in how people conceptualize the world, think, and ultimately it reflects a person’s “why”.
2. How can the Enneagram help me understand my motivations?
   • Each Enneagram type is linked to specific motivations, fears, and desires. By identifying your type, you can better understand what drives your actions and decisions.
3. How does knowing my Enneagram type affect my relationships?
   • Oh wow, it definitely helps a ton. This has been one of the biggest areas that has helped me in my life with the Enneagram framework. If you know how people think, you understand why they say and do what they say and do, which might be for a different reason than what you/your core type would say or do. This helps you to resolve conflict because you have a true understanding allowing you to empathize.
4. Are the Enneagram types rigid categories?
   • No, everyone is a mix but one core type usually dominates. For example, I am a type 3 and that truly is my “why” but I have a strong Type 1 backup so I exude a lot of those traits in certain situations (and these tie into my Clifton Strengths as well which is why I like coaching both together!) This provides insight into the basics of a person’s desires, which helps us to understand their tendencies and how a person who thinks like them might act based on what we know about how that type thinks.
5. Can my Enneagram type change over time?
   • Your Enneagram type stays the same throughout your life but depending on your experiences and what situation you are in, your behaviors will mirror your wing more closely than your core type. This means that you may lean on one wing or the other (for instance, I am a type 3 so my wings are either 2 or 4) depending on which traits you need/feel comfortable using at that time.

Introduction: Exploring Human Potential

I was introduced to Clifton Strengths about four years ago when I first started working at WellDyne. My boss at the time, Barbara, told me about this wonderful tool that provides insights into people’s strengths. She told me the whole idea behind the concept was centered around nourishing what’s “right” with people rather than focusing on what’s “wrong” with them.

Fast forward a few years to late 2021/early 2022, I was more and more interested in personality and behavioral assessments and the idea of implementing them to enhance team rapport at work. I had helped Barbara facilitate several of these types of sessions including both Clifton Strengths and Wiley’s DiSC.

I fell in love with the “aha!” moments trainees had and how much it seems to “crack their shells” and get them to open up and be (sometimes hilariously) honest with each other about REAL THINGS. I was hooked.

In April of 2022, I started my Clifton Strengths Coaching Certification, and met a class full of unique and incredible human beings–all interested in getting to know more about people, just like I was. It was an indescribably uplifting experience.

Understanding Clifton Strengths

Origins of Clifton Strengths

Last spring, the son of the man who roomed with Dr. Donald Clifton (the man who developed Clifton Strengths formerly known as StrengthsFinder) was my facilitator for my coaching certification cohort. It almost seemed surreal hearing his stories and how deep of a connection he had to the research and development of this entire system. I feel so lucky to have been taught by Al Winseman–he was the best!

Anyway, he told us that Dr. Donald O. Clifton, the “father of strengths-based psychology,” developed Clifton Strengths as a tool based around his research of successful executives in the United States over the course of 50 years. His research found out what themes these people all shared and turned them into his 34 Strengths or “themes of talent”.  He based this concept to focus on improving what was already working for people instead of remediating their failures and weaknesses.

The Science Behind Clifton Strengths

The Clifton Strengths assessment is based on extensive research and a robust psychometric model, providing insights into an individual’s innate talents and capabilities. Here’s a little about the science behind it:

• Nearly 29 million people worldwide have taken the assessment (as of Jan 2023)
• Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed journals support the construct validity of the CliftonStrengths assessment
• The assessment demonstrates internal consistency and test-retest reliability, meaning the results are consistently accurate over time
• Don Clifton initiated early work on strengths and received a Presidential Commendation from the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2003 as the father of strengths-based psychology and the grandfather of positive psychology for his efforts
• Research conducted by Gallup and others has shown that using CliftonStrengths in workplaces and educational settings leads to improved performance, greater work and life satisfaction, higher levels of well-being, and more robust team dynamics

The Power of Strength-Based Development

The Benefits of Strength-Based Approach

The idea behind a strengths-based approach comes from the root of positive psychology. It isn’t a far stretch from rewarding positive behavior in that you tend to do more of what you’re good at, don’t you? Well, our strengths tell us what we are naturally talented at and also what “fills our bucket”. Knowing this, we can create action plans to move toward our goals KNOWING the tools that will get us there and make us happy along the journey.

Discovering Your Unique Strengths

The Role of Clifton Strengths Assessment

The Clifton Strengths Assessment is widely used in Fortune 500 companies today. Winning awards last year were Estee Lauder, Stryker, Regions Bank, and the University of Tennessee, among others. My company uses it and we give the assessment to all people leaders who are interviewing at our company. Leadership looks at the insights prior to interviewing and sometimes I suggest strengths-aligned questions to ask. It gives us great insights on how candidates go about solving problems and communicating solutions.

Interpreting Your Results

When coaching using Strengths, we work together to help you understand what each theme (strength) really means and more importantly, we discover, together, how that shows up for you. You need to understand how it shows up for you in your everyday life in multiple situations so we know just how to harness it to work more effectively for you.

Leveraging Your Strengths for Success

Aligning Strengths with Goals

Successful people are not just aware of their strengths; they align their goals with these strengths. By doing so, they ensure that they are on a path that maximizes their potential and leads to lasting success.

Overcoming Challenges Through Strengths

This is my favorite part of coaching using Clifton Strengths. It’s like we know the tools in your toolbox that you use every day, are comfortable with, and like using–now for the fun part! We get to create a plan where we figure out how to use what you’ve already got working for you in a way that will supercharge your happiness. It’s about being intentional.

The Impact on Personal and Professional Life

Long-Term Effects of Strength-Based Development

All in all, I would say that the Clifton Strengths system helps individuals to cultivate a growth mindset, enhance their resilience, boost self-confidence, and foster a more fulfilling and meaningful life. It helps people find direction by confirming what they suspected about themselves all along and them harnessing them power to its maximum potential.

Conclusion: Unleashing Your Full Potential

Interested in hearing more? E-mail me today at mdamon21@gmail.com to ask me any questions you have. Believe me, once you know your strengths, no one can take that power away from you. YOU are the person who is going to propel yourself forward. Now, we’ve got the tools Let’s do this!

FAQs

1. What is Clifton Strengths? Clifton Strengths is a psychological assessment tool that identifies a person’s unique sequence of 34 themes of talent, focusing on individual strengths (what you enjoy doing and are talented in).
2. Why should I take the Clifton Strengths assessment? The assessment will help you identify your natural talents, enabling you to focus on what you naturally do best, leading to improved performance and satisfaction. E-mail me at mdamon21@gmail.com to find out more.
3. Can I use my strengths to overcome challenges? Absolutely! Recognizing your strengths can provide innovative solutions to challenges and is a secret weapon that you can use to overcome obstacles and I’m happy to help you create an action plan.
4. How does Clifton Strengths impact personal and professional life? Embracing your strengths can lead to increased engagement, performance, resilience, and self-confidence, transforming both personal and professional lives.
5. What are the long-term benefits of a strength-based approach? A strength-based approach cultivates a growth mindset, promotes resilience, boosts self-confidence, and fosters a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Very helpful with communication and understanding yourself and others better.

Figure out what it is you want

Creating positive affirmations can be easier than you might think. This starts with tracing the emotion that is really behind the goal. If the idea is to connect with friends more often, what is the emotion behind why? After some inner digging, adjustments to this goal may need to be made.

Acknowledge what you don’t want

When thinking of what it is that annoys, upsets, or otherwise causes any negative feelings, it helps not to dwell. Acknowledge the situation present and like Eckhart Tolle says:

Eckhart tolle

Practicing this will force a more positive (or less negative in the beginning) perception of the world and ultimately, leak into the personal situation present.

Be specific when creating positive affirmations

Think about it: future plans, intention statements, mantras, prayers, visualizations, or affirmations are essentially all the same thing–“putting it out there.”

Making intentions–big or small– specific and deliberate help to establish a direction for thoughts to head. It gives our anxious brains a focus so we can start organizing the world around us to fit into the direction we’re headed.

Writing something down or thinking about it in terms of sensory specifics forces our brains to think of how we are going to express this to make it true. This is one of the hacks of creating positive affirmations.

Look for evidence of the now

The trick here is to think about the affirmation or intention statement and find evidence to prove that it’s true.

Often times, those of us who deal with anxiety issues hyper-focus on the evidence to prove otherwise.

The solution is to put that thinker to good use and look for evidence proving the positive self-talk.

Example affirmation: I am a fun person and people like to be around me.

Evidence for this: Two people messaged to say they miss me this week and appreciated my humor.

Appreciate and reframe

Feeling gratitude for everything that brings joy, relief, lightness, confidence, or any other form of happiness into our lives is so incredibly important for mental well-being. Research shows that just focusing on gratitude makes for higher levels of happiness and fulfillment.

Once getting into the habit of looking for the evidence for any and all positive self-talk, it’s crucial to take time to appreciate every time piece that pops up without judgment.

Personal Example: Woken up by a needy Great Dane, I wasn’t happy when I couldn’t fall back asleep an hour before my alarm was supposed to sound.

Reframed: Appreciate whatever was in this situation: my adorable cuddly Ezra (that I’m happy to have in my life) and the unbelievable display of oranges and pinks in the sky as the sun was getting ready to rise.

It may be strange, but the peaceful and calm feeling from a quiet morning put me in a great frame of mind for the rest of the day.

For you, it may be something completely different. It’s important to be aware that these are thoughts that may unintentionally frame our outlook on the rest of the day, and that is so powerful.

Maybe you’re into them, maybe you’re rolling your eyes, like “yeah, I know what affirmations are–the phrases written on the mirror and chant during meditation.”

What’s the big idea?

Skeptics view affirmations as the lies you tell yourself in order to trick yourself into thinking you’ll get what you want.

The thing is–it’s not a trick. It actually does work. Been there. Did the homework. But it isn’t a magic spell and there is a catch. The idea behind positive affirmations is that the mind can be rewired to overcome challenge, negative thought patterns, and self-sabotage by intentionally saying, thinking, and repeating statements that reflect truths about yourself and your situation that you’d like to see come to fruition.

Skeptical at first

The problem skeptics have with this way of thinking is that if it isn’t true, it doesn’t matter how many times it’s repeated.

What’s the secret?

The secret of affirmations lies in your ability to find evidence to gradually build your belief in the statement. This may mean you change the statement to something a little more believable right now.

Believe the positive statements being made by yourself about yourself, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

If you didn’t press “snooze” this morning and actually felt like you slept last night then hell yes! Maybe you say to yourself: “I’m thankful I feel energized every morning so I can go for a run.”

Do you? Probably not. But over time, you will if you start working on compiling the evidence to prove it.

Make it work for you

Give yourself grace and set yourself up by trusting that your body will catch up with your brain. You’re probably pretty good at thinking of reasons to believe the worst?

The challenge now is to find a new focal point from which to pivot into affirming the best potential outcome.

Those new thoughts will begin to ruminate (in a good way this time!), and our outward perception will be shaped by a new and more positive outlook. The results present themselves in ways we don’t even realize.

If thoughts are our strongest assets, are yours costing you or are they paying dividends?

The research behind affirmations

After reading the book Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain and further researching into the science behind affirmations, a few theories, studies, and scientific approaches came to light.

• Neuro-linguistic Programming
  • This basically means that there is a connection between the processes inside of our brains, language, and our patterns of behavior that are learned through our experiences. In this approach, a person’s “programming” can change as they grow and experience more in life.
• Self-Affirmation Theory
  • There are 3 main parts here:
    1. The self is flexible.
    2. People are motivated to protect their self-worth.
    3. People are affirmed by participating in activities that “remind them of who they are.”

The verdict

Simply put, you have a hell of a lot more control over your mind (and therefore your situation) than you think you do.

It’s not necessary to tell anyone of the intention–it’ll be reflected in our attitude and actions.

Welcome and we’re happy that you found us.

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Book a 30 minute free consultation here.