Leadership Brand and the Enneagram
Lately, I’ve been exploring the topic of personal leadership brand. Through my in-depth work with the Enneagram, I’ve become curious about how our core motivations, personality and behavior influence our personal leadership brand and the way we are perceived by others.
Through my own development work, I learned that I lead predominantly from Enneagram point 7. Those who lead from this type can be seen as animated, enthusiastic, optimistic, creative and future-focused. As a leader, these traits can be incredibly valuable for ideation and innovation, and for inspiring and motivating others.
And yet they also present some challenges.
The less desirable traits from this Enneagram type include being seen as scattered, distracted, unfocused, overly positive and impatient - certainly not a brand I would hope to portray, and yet these are innate traits. The healthy and the not so healthy. As I look back on my career I can see all of these in action.
In learning more about myself, I have been better able to notice these behaviors at play, and armed with these insights, I have been able to start shaping my own brand narrative. When we can better understand our personality and see the core behaviors driving us, we can work to manage them more effectively and develop a more authentic and consistent brand.
From my own research and conversations with leaders exploring this topic, I have developed a framework that outlines 5 key dimensions of leadership brand.
Values - Our values shape who we are and the things that are important to us. They guide our decision-making, our interactions with others and how we communicate. By determining our values we can support our own authenticity, while also strengthening relationships and establishing trust. The Enneagram helps us discover our core values and motivations, an essential component for creating an authentic leadership brand.
Value Proposition - The Enneagram shines a light on our unique strengths, superpowers and experiences. These insights can enable us to articulate and communicate what we bring to the table and how we add value. This awareness helps to build trust, confidence and credibility.
Vision - Insights from the Enneagram can provide a map of awareness and clear areas for growth. These components can inform our leadership aspirations, vision and purpose and create a clear and compelling path forward.
Voice - Understanding our unique signature voice and learning how our voice resonates and lands with others is a critical component of how we are perceived as leaders. For example, those who lead from Enneagram type 8 are likely to be assertive, commanding and wanting to take charge. A type 9 leader may be quieter, calming, grounded and focused on getting perspectives from everyone in the room. This awareness can help us build strategies to flex our voice and adapt our style when we need to.
Visibility - The final “v” is visibility and relates to the way we continue to express our values, value proposition, vision and voice and continue to build and strengthen our reputation.
Developing a personal leadership brand can take time and effort, and yet it can have a tremendous impact on our career and leadership success.
2 questions for you…
How would you describe your leadership brand?
How would others describe your leadership brand?
Related Resources
Explore your values with this resource from Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead hub https://brenebrown.com/resources/dare-to-lead-list-of-values/
Explore your leadership brand through the Enneagram with one of our executive coaching or professional development programs.