WCFL Staff Day - Enneagram

On Nov. 12th, the Washington County Free Library had their annual staff day. This year's presenter was Sandy Lundahl, a certified teacher of the Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition.

What's the Enneagram?
The Enneagram is a personality inventory that attempts to gauge from where we get our motivation. There are nine types:

1. The Reformers - they want to get it right and have integrity
2. The Helpers - they want to help others and to be loved
3. The Motivators - they want to succeed and to add value
4. The Individualists - they want to complete themselves
5. The Thinkers - they want objective information to understand the universe
6. The Loyalists - they want to be save and to know what's really happening
7. The Enthusiasts - they want exciting possibilities and an array of experiences
8. The Generalists - they want to be in control in order to achieve results
9. The Harmonizers - they want to maintain harmony and empathize with others

I've taken the Enneagram 3 times now and I've remained consistent in my top 3 types. I'm primarily a #7 - The Enthusiast. My 2nd strongest type is #5 - The Thinker. My 3rd strongest type is #9 - The Harmonizer.

Those who know me well might recognize how my type combos come to benefit me in my current role as Staff Development Coordinator for the Regional.

7s like variety and we like to plan fun things. Well, working with three different counties' worth of awesome library staff plus serving on committees statewide provides me with tons of variety, and then I get to plan fun staff development workshops and the Tri-County Summit. However, as a 7 I have some challenges I need to recognize. For instance, I do get bored pretty easily which relates to some struggles I have with seeing a project through - especially if I'm working on it by myself. I find I do much better seeing a project from start to finish if I work with other people.

5s like to be self-sufficient and left alone which shines the spotlight on my introverted nature and my daily meditation practice. I also pride myself on being very self-sufficient - much to the chagrin of my #2 Mom who wants nothing more than to help me. So, that's a struggle for me - learning to let others in and let them help because it's all coming from a good place.

9s want to keep the peace and avoid conflict which I feel I do on a daily basis; I'm a very skilled in the art of compromise. I do not thrive on conflict and I want everyone to be happy (another 7 tie-in). I sometimes strongly empathize with other people to the point of being able to physically feel their emotions which can be great for customer service and relationship-building but I'm no good at delivering bad news or saying no.

So now that you know all about what motivates me, please do not take advantage - unless you come up with a really creative way to do it because then the 7 in me will be very entertained. LOL