School Leader

Earn EILA credit in this free, online PD workshop series on contemplative leadership

The following post originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website.  I am very excited to participate in this one-of-a-kind professional development experience, and I invite all current and former education adminstration students and practicing colleagues to join us for this terrific, free, fully online learning opportunity.

We invite all practicing and aspiring school administrators and leaders of other organizations to join us for a free, fully online professional development workshop series on contemplative leadership.  This unique learning experience, which will last from January to May 2013, has been approved by the Kentucky Department of Education for six EILA credit hours.

The Contemplative Leadership Academy will be facilitated by Dr. Tom Stewart, assistant professor of education at Austin Peay State University, and Dr. Gary Houchens, associate professor of educational administration at Western Kentucky University, and is based on a model they developed and implemented as district administrators in Kentucky.  Tom and Gary are founders of Contemplative Learning Solutions.

“Contemplative leadership” is an approach that emphasizes the inner life of leaders: becoming more self-aware and self-reflective, and utilizing practices that enhance one’s capacity for authentic communication, meaningful relationships, and leading organizations with both boldness and compassion.

Participants in the Contemplative Leadership Academy will explore five contemplative practices borrowed from the world’s great wisdom traditions: silence, solitude, simplicity, stability, and service.  Participants will examine each practice in five distinct modules through readings, online presentations from the facilitators, written reflective exercises, and online discussions, followed by
an opportunity to use and reflect on the practice in each participant’s daily work context.  The Enneagram personality typing system will be used to help participants further explore their
communication patterns and leadership styles.  As a result of the Contemplative Leadership Academy, participants may become more confident, centered, and stable in their leadership, and more aware of their strengths and growth areas.

As an online professional development opportunity, practicing and aspiring leaders of school and organizations from anywhere in the world may enroll.  The facilitators will gather data from participants’ discussions and reflective exercises for on-going research regarding the Academy’s format and outcomes, so while participating in the Academy will be entirely free, participants will be asked to sign a research participation agreement.  Any published results of the study will include pseudonyms for all participants’ names and their organizations.  Participants must complete all five modules to earn EILA credit (a certificate will be awarded at the completion of the program).

To enroll in the Contemplative Leadership Academy or for more information, please email [email protected] or [email protected] by December 31, 2012.

The Enneagram: Dealing with the "Dark Side" of our Personality

Note: This post originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website.  I utilize the Enneagram personality typing system extensively in my teaching and (via CLS) in leadership development and teamwork training sessions offered to schools, organizations, and individuals.

The Enneagram personality system is a powerful tool for self-discovery and personal and professional growth.  But many people go through a difficult period right after they first encounter the Enneagram during which they obsess over the “dark side” of their personality type. This is a natural phase of Enneagram study, and it requires some patience and self-compassion.

We were reminded of this phenomenon just last week when we met someone who had recently typed herself as a Two (the Acceptance Seeker).  She had discovered that, while the Two’s gift was for loving and serving others, this love was also usually tinged by a secret desire to be loved and appreciated in return.  She immediately recognized this pattern in herself, but had suddenly become paralyzed, fearful to do anything nice for anyone else for fear that she was simply acting out of self-serving motives.

There’s a parallel pattern typical to every personality type when an individual first begins serious self-study using the Enneagram.

What makes the Enneagram so powerful is that it uncovers our deep, subconscious motivational structure.  Each type is distinguished by a specific, underlying desire (and its corollary fear) that subtly shapes our behaviors.  The Type One, for example, is driven by a desire to do the right things and to achieve her innate sense of idealistic perfection (for herself, her work, her relationships, and the world).  This is actually the One’s gift to the world, this capacity to imagine a better way to do things and how to realize that vision.  But in practice, for average or unhealthy Ones, this leads to a constant tendency to harshly criticize oneself and others for not living up to the One’s unrealistically high expectations. 

Like our new Type Two friend with her secret desire for acceptance and love, the self-aware One begins to catch himself at every turn behaving based on this deep desire to be right and do right (or alternately, to avoid being wrong, flawed, and broken).  Unfortunately, just having awareness of this pattern isn’t enough to stop the pattern from reoccurring, or even from acting on this “dark side” of one’s personality.  So initially at least, the individual feels as if every single thing he does is coming from an interior place of need and unfulfillment.

It’s at this point that many people flee from the messy reality of their interior world and either write off the Enneagram altogether or distract themselves with other, less troubling activities.  But we recommend just the opposite: it’s at this point that a newfound awareness of one’s inner motivations can begin to open us to our true selves, and if we hang in there with the dark underbelly of our personalities, we can also begin to discover the luminous, life-giving dimensions of our types as well.

Part of this is accomplished with some simple perspective taking.  There’s nothing inherently wrong
with longing for a more perfect world/self (One), for love (Two), for esteem (Three), etc.  All of us, even the healthy, have these needs and aspirations (and it’s the intensity and direction of the longing that defines each type).  But it’s important to be ever-vigilant about how these desires so quickly get out of control and take charge of our behaviors, causing subtle to catastrophic damage
in our work, our relationships, and the world.  And the more vigilant we allow ourselves to be, the
greater are our chances of primarily residing in “healthier” levels of our type.

By staying with these type-specific energies, we slowly discover that they are neither good nor bad.
These are simply judgments based on how we let the energies manifest in our outward life.  The healthier we get, the greater our capacity for using our core energy for affirming others, giving
life, and bringing light and joy to ourselves and those around us.  We find that the very energy that tends to get us in trouble is the same energy by which we thrive and make our unique contribution to the world.  Thus, the One’s idealism brings social reform and personal improvement, the Two brings selfless love, the Three brings a task-orientation and sense of mutual support and accomplishment, the Four brings beauty and depth, etc.

This discovery is slow to take realization in the individual, of course, and so again we counsel persistence, patience, a healthy dose of self-compassion, and above all a community of loving, accepting, and mutually-supportive companions who are also committed to the journey of
self-discovery (even if that “community” is only one other person).

So when you catch yourself repeating your Ennea-type-specific pattern for the millionth time, just know that you’ve been reminded once more, not of your failures, but of your greatest gift, and your
capacity to bring something unique and special to the world.

The Ennea-Type Six School Leader: The Security Seeker

Note: The post below originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website, host of this series exploring each of the Enneagram personality types.

“He is the best man who, when making his plans, fears and reflects on everything that can happen to him, but in the moment of action is bold.” 

This Herodotus quote somewhat describes the motivation of the next individual in our series of school leader Ennea-type profiles:  the Type Six school leader – the Security-Seeker; especially if we take poetic license and revise a section to read:  everything that can happen to him and those in his organization.... The Security-Seeker school leader is often maligned for what, on the surface, appears to be a persistently negative outlook.  However, to the Six, this seeming-negativity is actually troubleshooting for the good of the organization, her stakeholders, and herself.  She desires to anticipate difficulty and squelch it before it happens for her own safety and success, and especially for those in whom she has placed her precious trust and love. 

We once worked closely with a Type Six school leader who related the Six point of view this way after completing an initial Enneagram study with us: 

I gained such a reputation for negativity that people started nicknaming me ‘Don Downer.’  But simply being negative – a downer – wasn’t what prompted me to question plans and instructional initiatives.  In my mind, I was figuring out what could go wrong, and I was helping other people who hadn’t or who couldn’t do that.  I was contributing and protecting by being proactive.  But I don’t think others saw it that way.

The Type Six is regularly dubbed “The Loyalist” because of his unwavering dedication to organizations and to a few trusted and admired individuals.  But his loyalty is often overshadowed by persistent questions about, and objections to, even these trusted individuals’ new ideas.  Therefore, the Six is also called, and will even call himself, a “devil’s advocate.” 

Indeed, Sixes are the devil’s advocates of the Enneagram, but not intentionally to the consternation of her stakeholders as might be perceived.  The Security-Seeker’s head- or thinking-center anxiety stems from her need for affirmation of safety and, at unhealthier levels, from her aversion to change, which always implies risk and uncertainty.  If she is not aware of her tendency to do so, the Security-seeker can halt effective reform efforts, as well as decline opportunities for significant career-advancement simply to avoid the temporary discomfort of unfamiliarity.  It is then that the Six school leader’s motto becomes the familiar idiom “Better the devil you know than the one you do not.”

Backbones

Because of the Six’s desire for safety, security, and stability, he will often remain in organizations – include public school organizations – longer than anyone else.  Career or any other change incites fear of unknown variables; therefore, Sixes can become a necessary wealth of institutional knowledge and school systems’ backbones.  When superintendents or principals hire new leaders or teachers, the experienced Six can be the perfect mentor.  Routines, procedures, folklore, passwords, personality eccentricities … even door keys – the Six will remember, or remember where to locate, them all and will regale her newly-hired charge with the necessary information in great detail.

Similar to the metaphorical stiff backbone, though, the key to health is stretching and bending.  Unhealthier Six school leaders might subconsciously sabotage meaningful and effective change efforts by alienating stakeholders with persistent questions and uninformed doomsday scenarios, and by giving in to their unwarranted change-fear and refusing to budge from their current situations.

Indeed, while the Security-Seeker’s carefulness can foster effective instructional leadership by funneling time, resources, and energies into most effective initiatives and programs, it can also result in stagnation of school culture and student achievement due to mostly imagined future problems. 

Practices for wholeness:  stretching and bending the backbone

The Security-Seeker enjoys a familiar routine of activity (and non-activity).  Therefore, a stretch for this school leader might be to gradually embrace a healthy spontaneity when participating in extracurricular activities. 

In the school community, the Six might relinquish some safety-control by entrusting research of, and preliminary decision-making about, programs or initiatives requiring change to other administrative instructional leaders or teacher leaders. 

Finally, the Security-Seeker could consider mentoring new administrators to begin imparting some of her vast array of institutional knowledge.

Keeping motivation in check

Security-Seekers’ serious, long-term commitments to school organizations are admirable.  Sixes may rightfully pride themselves for their “stick-to-itiveness” in times of trial.  However, this commitment should not be solely motivated by a deep-seated desire for safety and change-abhorrence.  When the Six’s self-talk regularly includes a question of motivation (Why am I resisting?), and she can honestly respond and take appropriate action, then the Security-Seeker school leaders’ cautious, admirable discernment process can translate to meaningful school reform efforts. 

The challenge of improving teaching and learning implies change.  The Security-Seeker may shy away from this change because it is risky; however, she may also bravely approach this change because it is full of wonderful possibility. 

The healthy Six school leader faces her fears of the unknown and takes the brave leap of faith to move the school into successful new territory, and away from comfortable, but stagnant, traditions.

Look for additional profiles of other Enneagram Types as school leaders in coming weeks. For a complete list of Enneagram resources, check the Enneagram links on the left-hand side of this page, and visit our Services page to learn about the wide range of CLS workshops available for leadership and professional development.  For previous type profiles, click here and scroll to the bottom of the post.

The Ennea-Type Five School Leader: The Knowledge Seeker

Note: The post below originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website, host of this series exploring each of the Enneagram personality types.

In our ongoing series of Enneagram type profiles of school leaders, we last visited Type Four, a rarity among education administrators (and in the population generally).  Like the Four, Type Fives are a relative small group of people overall, and hard (but not impossible) to find among the ranks of school principals and administrative leaders.  Also like the Four, the Ennea-Type Five school leader relishes his or her uniqueness, particularly because the Five longs to be an expert, a fountain of knowledge and information about a specific topic.  We therefore call the Type Five the Knowledge Seeker, and at their healthy best, Type Fives can bring their inquisitiveness and keen observatory powers to bear in rich and productive ways within school settings.

Type Fives tend to be intensely intellectual and cerebral.  They are naturally compelled to learn and were often high-performing students themselves.  Type Fives tend to excel in math and sciences, but can be found in all fields of study.  What distinguishes the Type Five is not so much what she is interested in learning, but the enormous focus and absorption she experiences in her learning, almost as if she is compelled to become an expert on a particular topic.

Knowledge is Power (and, sometimes, Pitfall)

And indeed, like all Ennea-types, the Five is driven by a specific deep desire (and its corollary fear), in this case the hunger to intellectually master a field of knowledge so as to stave off his underlying fear of uncertainty and vulnerability.  Like other types in the “Thinking Center” of the Enneagram, the Type Five struggles with anxiety.  For the Five, knowledge really is power, and the Five will manage the uncertainty of the world by marshalling all his intellectual resources and all the information he can amass to protect himself and others.

Type Fives are drawn to leadership roles in part because they have specific knowledge that they believe can best be utilized in an administrative capacity.  This move toward leadership is actually a sign of health for a Five.  Average Fives tend to be highly introspective and in the face of stress will quickly withdraw from situations requiring social interactions.  They prefer the serene space of their minds.

But in healthier states, Fives move with their arrow of integration toward Type Eight, becoming more commanding, confident, and engaged.  In this space, the Type Five school leader can use her considerable analytic skills to process the vast amounts of information necessary for running schools and enhancing student achievement and can devise thoughtful, multi-layered, long -term visions for school improvement.   Few can compete with the Five’s capacity to understand complex problems and synthesize information, transforming it into a vivid picture of what a school (and the student learning within it) might become.

Healthy Five school leaders convey that vision to teachers, students, parents, and the community.  They organize the complex structures and processes of the school to maximize resources and get results.  They love knowledge for its own sake, and their passion for learning can be infectious to others.  They have tremendous powers of perception and observation, and at healthy levels can translate those observations into feedback and support that is encouraging, meaningful, and above all useful to teachers and staff members.

But the Type Five school leader faces enormous challenges in staying actively engaged in his leadership role.  The Five’s natural tendency, especially in times of uncertainty and stress, is to retreat from interactions with all but a few close, highly-trusted, confidants.   This leads to isolation, a lack of visibility within the school community, and great difficulty in communicating his ideas in ways that others can understand.

Fives have a sense of economy about their knowledge, in that they experience social interactions and the sharing of their expertise as a kind of cost, even a burden.  The Five tends to react by hoarding his ideas and information as a form of self protection.  This reinforces the Five’s sense of being disconnected from others, and his tendency to retreat ever further into the safe haven of his own mind.  The relentlessly social nature of the school leader’s role can become an overwhelming challenge to the Type Five.

Practices for Wholeness: Uniting Body and Mind

Perhaps more than any other type, Fives need to regularly reconnect with their bodies.   Physical exercise like yoga, martial arts, running, and other activities, when done with mindfulness, can be deeply healing for the Five and help her reconnect to herself as an embodied person. 

Type Five school leaders need to be particularly aware of the tendency of their type to withdrawal, and make an active effort to reach out and engage with others.  Building a strong leadership team, especially one that includes a handful of trusted advisors who understand the Five’s strengths and weaknesses and who the Five can turn to for advice and a measure of his or her communication effectiveness, is essential.

Above all, the Type Five school leader must guard against his tendency to over think problems and postpone action in favor of more analysis.  The stakes in most schools are too high to spend an excessive amount of time parsing out every aspect of a problem and its consequences.  The healthy Five school leader can lead schools and solve problems without getting overwhelmed by their complexities.  Then, the Knowledge-seeking Five can happily shine as an expert and intellectual who is nevertheless also engaged and highly effective.

Look for additional profiles of other Enneagram Types as school leaders in coming weeks. For a complete list of Enneagram resources, check the Enneagram links on the left-hand side of this page, and visit our Services page to learn about the wide range of CLS workshops available for leadership and professional development.  For previous type profiles, click here and scroll to the bottom of the post.

Join us for TeachMeet KY this Friday, Oct 5: Learn more about the Enneagram

The third annual TeachMeet KY will be held this Friday, October 5, at Gary Randsdell Hall on WKU's main campus.  Along with my colleague Tom Stewart of Austin Peay State University, I'll be presenting on the Enneagram personality typing system and its applications for classroom practice and teacher and school leader professional development.

TeachMeets are fairly informal gatherings of educators who come to share ideas about best practices, especially in how to use technology to enhance and engage student learning.  According to the TeachMeet KY Wikispaces site, TeachMeets are "unconferences:"

Unconference means we don’t charge anything to attend and sessions are decided upon by participants. Typically TeachMeets are fast paced (20 min sessions), tech sharing, friend making, and never boring gatherings of people sharing web 2.0 tools for education.

TeachMeets originated in the United Kingdom.  Watch this video to learn more about how they work:

 

To learn more, view a tentative schedule of presentations, and to sign up for this year's TeachMeet, click here.  Hope to see some of you this Friday!

The Ennea-Type Four School Leader: The Individuality Seeker

Note: The post below originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website, host of this series exploring each Enneagram personality type.

Next in our ongoing school leader Ennea-type series describes a rarity among principals, superintendents, and other district-level supervisors.  And the very fact that Type Four school leaders are rare in such roles appeals to their individuality-seeking nature.  Because of this, we naturally call the Four school leader “The Individuality-Seeker.” 
However, this sought-after quality can be the Four’s downfall when he reaches unhealthy levels and begins to see himself as a hopelessly misunderstood outsider.

Type Fours are commonly called “Epicures,” “Artists,” or “Hopeless Romantics” because of their penchant toward what they consider to be expressions of good taste and their habits of holding on to relationship-regret, and old hurts and grudges.  (Individuality-Seekers’ memories are detail-oriented and long, which can work to a school community’s favor or detriment.)  Fours can also, then, be described as sensitive, withdrawn, dramatic, and self-centered, regularly making their “enemies” walk on eggshells when they attempt to communicate or rectify a past wrong.

Healthy Fours crave authentic interactions; therefore, they can be tonics to teachers, parents, and students who want to cut through “edu-speak” and get real.  Excessive meeting without purpose is the bane of the Individuality-Seeker’s corporate existence; likewise in schools and district offices.  The Four wants to drop, and occasionally, tear down the veil that he thinks covers honest words and actions.  If he can, using open communication, the school’s mission is advanced.  And if he can’t, or won’t because of an imagined obstacle or heightened sense of self-consciousness, he will retreat inside himself, sabotaging his previous good work.

Equanimity and high standards

The Individuality-Seeker finds himself in a quandary.  He desperately wants to avoid the mundane.  However, school administrative roles demand a certain level of mundane-ness, be it in the form of “red-tape” paperwork, data analysis, or other seemingly non-creative endeavors.  The Type Four school leader’s challenge, then, is to reframe such work’s context and find its greater importance in the grand scheme of things.  For example, assessment data analysis (a common task for any school leader) might, on the surface, appear as a monotonous task to the Individuality-Seeker.  But when placed in the context of informing instruction to enhance individual student achievement, data analysis becomes exponentially more important than it was before.

Because of her high aesthetic and relational standards, the Individuality-Seeker’s school can be a haven of genuine refinement and culture.  The Type Four school leader seeks new, innovative ways of being and of school success.  Because of this, parents and supervisors are usually assured that the Individuality-Seeker is on the cusp of new research and original, if not necessarily time-tested, leadership methods as long as she remembers to clearly communicate her vision’s roadmap and its rationale.  Occasionally, the Four can assume that communication is unnecessary, thinking that surely everyone sees the obvious value in her actions (they are crystal clear to her, after all).  In these cases, the Four may potentially translate innocent requests for clarification as questioning of ideals and actions, and, if not mindful of this potential, can slip into unhealthier modes of being.  (See Ginger Lapid-Bogda’s Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work for examples of how each Ennea-Type potentially filters work feedback.)

The Individuality-Seeker is prone to self-judging (occasionally to the point of self-psychological abuse) because he is so emotionally honest.  Part of the heart, or feeling, center (like the Type 2 and Type 3), the Four thinks that he identifies with his feelings stronger than any other type – feeding his “misunderstood” self-image – and must therefore regularly remind himself that he is not his feelings.  Because of this stronger feeling-identification, the Four also feels set apart and socially awkward, a quality that can be cause for great school stakeholder misunderstanding.  Paradoxically, the Individuality-Seeker desires deep, meaningful connections with people but has difficulty taking the necessary risks in order to form lasting relationships.  The Four school leader must always be mindful of this tendency.  Thinking that no one else understands his feelings can ultimately be very harmful to leadership perceptions, and the meaningful relationships (with all stakeholders:  teachers, students, parents, staff, board members, and supervisors) that he so values. 

Too, when unhealthy Fours move to Type Two, they can become so emotionally demanding of their closest confidants – clingy one minute, and aloof the next – that Individuality-Seekers who find themselves in this state also risk finding themselves actually leading no one.

In healthier states, though, Individuality-Seekers move to their point of integration, Type One.  In this mode, the Four demonstrates a goal-oriented, productive, but still individually creative, condition.  It is also in this state that the self-aware Individuality-Seeker taps into his potential to accept and honor the creativity and individuality of his faculty members and school.  Practicing a calming, compassionate equanimity and demonstrating an ability to remove personal feelings from the work equation, all worthwhile ideas are honored as valuable contributions to the uniqueness and specialness of the school and organization.

Practices for wholeness: Growing equanimity by acknowledging individuality of others

To maximize their health and effectiveness, Four school leaders should find creative outlets – preferably within the school community and environment, but outside, too.  Perhaps the Individuality-Seeker has a talent to share with teachers and students in classrooms.  Students who see their leader valuing written or other artistic forms of expression receive the message that classroom practice is both important and also valued in the real world.

Additionally, since many Fours are prone to embody the true definition of a nature-loving Romantic, these school leaders could experience the regenerative effects of outdoor meditation and reflection.  This could take the form of reading or journaling, too.

Finally, Individuality-Seekers could intentionally (but also, importantly, sincerely) practice acknowledging the special and unique qualities of others.   While this might seemingly diminish Fours’ senses of “individual self,” in actuality it could lessen the more negative feelings of self-consciousness (as well as narcissism’s grip on their lives) while heightening abilities to affirm their teachers’ and students’ work (thus affirming their own work as the school leader, and ultimately their own self-acceptance).

The Type Four is an enigma as a school leader.  And make no mistake:  he likes it that way.  But when the Four practices equanimity and recognizes that all meaningful contributions to the school organization can be considered unique and special in the big picture, then his school community flourishes and so does his leadership.

Look for additional profiles of other Enneagram Types as school leaders in coming weeks. For a complete list of Enneagram resources, check the Enneagram links on the left-hand side of this page, and visit our Services page to learn about the wide range of CLS workshops available for leadership and professional development.  For previous type profiles, click here and scroll to the bottom of the post.

Back to School with the Enneagram

Note: This post originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website.

If the Facebook posts and their cute accompanying pictures didn’t alert you, it is back-to-school week in our area of Kentucky.  While Gary prepares for his fall semester, and Tom closes out his summer teaching, in solidarity we still eagerly anticipate the public school year's beginning with our many friends and former colleagues and students who are teachers and school and district administrators (both first-year and veteran).

Earlier this week we facilitated an introductory Enneagram professional development workshop for the faculty and administration of Warren Central High School in Warren County, Kentucky as part of their “opening days” professional development series. As always, it was very gratifying (and exciting) to witness sparks of self-recognition and awareness. "This is SO me!" was a typical response. Deeper still were the possible implications discussed for classroom and leadership use: from opportunities for more authentic collegial communication to building a healthier classroom climate, workshop participants affirmed the Enneagram's school-level value.

Sincerely, we are humbled to be able to facilitate Enneagram workshops in area school districts, and are always encouraged when fellow educators recognize its worth and importance.  When we embarked upon this work together a few of years ago we did so with a specific purpose and outcome in mind. It was not our initial intent to provide training for other schools, but we are certainly grateful for the opportunities to do so and eagerly anticipate each one.

So happy first days of school from CLS. May this one be your best, and most presently and mindfully aware, yet!  

The Ennea-Type Three School Leader: Achievement Seeker

Note: The post below originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website, host of this series exploring each Enneagram personality type.

Travelling clockwise around the Enneagram symbol, we reach Type Three.  Threes are commonly known as “Entrepreneurs,” “Achievers,” or “Producers.”  We call the Three school leader the “Attention-Seeker,” or, more accurately, the “Achievement-Seeker” since that name precisely targets their motivation for achievement-recognition.  From our experience, many Threes are, or aspire to be, school district superintendents or in other district supervisory roles.  Threes thrive in decision-making positions where they can effect change, but specifically, change that shines the spotlight on them and their achievements and, when they are healthy, on their schools and school districts.

Motivation: the Achievement-Seeker's gift

Because of the Three’s desire for “achievement attention,” effective Achievement-Seeker leaders seek new ways to motivate the change agents they supervise--their faculty, staff, and team members.  When Threes are healthy, they tap into their uncanny ability to say and do exactly what their “audience” needs from them at the current moment to achieve workers’ maximum performance levels, no matter the stakeholder group.  Achievement-Seekers can effectively communicate with and lead board members, parent groups, support staff, teachers, principals, transportation workers, etc. in the span of a few hours and never skip a beat.  This ability makes Achievement-Seekers well suited for high-profile positions that call for strong public relations skills.

However, this very strength may become a weakness when the Achievement-Seeker needs to do inner work.  Some Threes so masterfully “play the necessary role” at any given moment that over time they lose a sense of true self.  Also, we have witnessed many Threes struggle when attempting to determine their Ennea-type.  The Three will adamantly deny his defining character traits—because the Three defines himself by his family, work, or accomplishments—while all around him his colleagues recognize the truth.  Achievement-Seekers do not do this intentionally, and this “loss of self” may be countered with mindfulness practice. 

And let’s be candid:  the Three wants approval.  The desire to be liked is natural and human; however, initially Threes view this desire as a sort of failure … and failure is what Achievement-Seekers must avoid.

Achievement-Seekers perceive each moment at school or in the office as an opportunity: for reform, for positive publicity, for achievement, and for the spotlight.  And when all those happen simultaneously, Achievement-Seekers thrive.

The Type Three’s overwhelming desire for achievement can, of course, adversely affect her own work environment and inner life, as well as the work environments and inner lives of those she supervises.  Of all Ennea-types, Threes have the greatest penchant toward workaholism.  (All types have that potential, tied to their individual motivations, but we have found it strongest in Type Three school and school district leaders.)

An Achievement-Seeker’s school or workplace might look like this…

• Highly motivated teachers, staff members, and students working together to achieve the Three school or district leader’s clearly-articulated, achievable goals.

…or this…

• Teachers, staff members, and students at points of frustration because the Three school or district leader a) lacked patience to effect deep, meaningful reform and piled new goals and programs on top of old ones; or b) began working unwarranted long hours in attempts to reach unachievable goals … or in hopes that the “spotlight” would shine on them, and that others would mistake their futile efforts as focused, diligent work.

Forgotten emotion and competition

Like the Type Two (and along with Type Four), the Three is part of the “Feeling” or “Heart” Center.  Unlike The Two and Four, though, the Three does not outwardly express his own emotions.  As family and work have replaced his definition of self, performance and busy-ness has replaced emotional expression.  And because performance and goal-achievement is the Achievement-Seeker’s self-definition, she can run the risk of becoming competitive with colleagues, self-promoting her own efforts, and deceptively undermining others, creating a toxic school and work environment. 

Additionally, when the Three goes to Nine—when star-making initiatives and reform efforts fail, fail to make adequate progress quickly enough to gain attention, or contain even a risk or possibility of failure (particularly when facing an emotion-charged issue)—he disengages as an instructional leader, leaving others to pick up the pieces or troubleshoot without him.

Alternatively, the healthy Achievement-Seeker redefines success and accomplishment: the Three goes to Six, and she basks in the team’s achievements instead of simply personal ones.  Pride of and for the group then trumps narcissistic, self-glorification.

Practices for wholeness: Acknowledging emotions and seeking self

To maximize their health and effectiveness, Threes should first take time to acknowledge (or find) their true selves.  Clearly defining his own personality in terms of his hopes, fears, and desires allows the Achievement-Seeker to remember those once-forgotten emotions in healthy ways, and also gives him a real sense of self (instead of a sense of self defined by others or accomplishments).  Achievement-Seekers can practice healthy interdependence by seeking advice and assistance from others on their instructional team, and by giving others due credit when they earn it.  Threes can also intentionally schedule time for selves after the workday, and leave work at appropriate hours whenever possible in order to engage in beneficial mental or physical activity.

Finally, Achievement-Seekers should take time during the workday to sit in silence and simply be.  Silence-sitting cultivates the necessary patience required for so many long-lasting, meaningful school reform efforts.

The balanced Achievement-Seeker who has a clear, focused sense of self really can be the goal-oriented, achieving superstar of schools and school districts.  And all under her supervision – from school board members, to teachers, to students – happily benefit.

Look for additional profiles of other Enneagram Types as school leaders in coming weeks.  For other Type profiles, look here.  For a complete list of Enneagram resources, check the Enneagram links on the left-hand side of this page, and visit our Services page to learn about the wide range of CLS workshops available for leadership and professional development.

The Ennea-Type Two School Leader: The Acceptance Seeker

Note: The post below originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website, host of this series exploring each Enneagram personality style:

Next in our ongoing series of school leader Ennea-type profiles we'll look at Type Two.  Twos are commonly known as “Helpers,” “Pleasers,” or “Givers,” but in unhealthy states may also be called “Manipulators.”  CLS refers to the Type Two as a “Love-“ or “Acceptance-Seeker” since Twos’ actions are motivated by a desire for love and acceptance.  

Support: the Acceptance-Seeker's gift

It is not surprising that many Twos are drawn to the education field’s myriad opportunities to help and assist.  (In our experience, Twos make up the single largest Ennea-Type in the ranks of teachers.  Naturally, as some teachers migrate to administrative ranks, Twos probably represent a significant portion of administrators as well.)   Successful Type Two leaders effectively juggle their healthy and fair support of all school’s stakeholder groups (including students, teachers, staff, and parents).  All feel supported by, and satisfied with, an Acceptance-Seeker’s decisions when the leader genuinely articulates a “greater good” message.

Enter a healthy Type Two’s school, and a positive climate is palpable.  A visitor might notice bright colors, wall murals, and other cheery, but student age-appropriate, accents.  Acceptance-Seekers exude warmth which makes them especially desired for elementary and primary principal or other supervisory positions.  (Obviously, though, Type Twos can be effective instructional leaders at all levels because of their desire to build positive relationships.)

The effective, healthy Acceptance-Seeker views her school as a mission field.  She is happiest when serving others translates to effective reform, usually via the positive school culture that she has created.

The Type Two’s desire to please can reach beyond the school proper and into the greater school district community.  Twos can simultaneously feel the need to support community members, student causes, teacher rights, and superintendent and other central office edicts, not wanting to “disappoint” any faction.  When the Two seeks to please everyone, though, imbalance is imminent, and could manifest in any of these scenarios:

• The school instructional program can become overcrowded with initiatives because the Two wants to please central office supervisors who have stakes in them.
• The Two can easily neglect her own needs, bypassing opportunities for advancement to assuage an overpowering sense of obligation to those in her current situation.
• And obviously, out of attempts to please all, no one feels satisfied.  The Acceptance-Seeker nears burnout.  School climate and culture falter; student learning soon follows.

Seeking acceptance in return

For all the support and love that the Two gives, he seeks love and support in return.  Since Twos are part of the “Feeling” or “Heart” Center (along with Types Three and Four) his emotions can run high.  And with Twos, those emotions are visible to others, and can become aggressive.  When love and support is not perceived as returned – when the Acceptance-Seeker is not receiving what he feels is his due – the Two “goes to” Eight.  All that has been given has not been reciprocated, so the Acceptance-Seeker feels betrayed and withdraws his own love and support (often reacting in passive aggressive ways to alert others that his needs are not being met).  

The Acceptance-Seeker may also fall into the trap of using his support as a manipulation tool, implying, or explicitly stating, this perceived right to an emotional "payoff" to others.  This “tit-for-tat” mentality is as common in schools and school district central offices as it is in corporate America. And it is just as toxic to authentic, collegial engagement and workplace culture.

Practices for wholeness: Practicing unconditional love of others and self

To maximize their health and effectiveness, Twos should first practice self-awareness exercises.  The Acceptance-Seeker should pinpoint when she is “doing” or “giving” to manipulate or seek emotional compensation.  The Two leader can then ask herself, “What triggered that feeling?”  Identifying a trigger, or an impetus, can help bring the Two back to center.

Taking time for any mindfulness practice is important for the Acceptance-Seeker.  In fact, taking time to give to self –- to not simply ask, but also to answer the question, “What do I need right now?” –- is important for the Two. Often, the Acceptance-Seeker’s language is peppered with references to giving to, or serving, others.  It is important for the Two leader to realize that doing for self is important, too. 

When Twos maintain balance and wholeness by making time for themselves, this benefits the entire school community.  Then all, including the leader herself, can appreciate the Acceptance-seeker’s gift of service.

Look for additional profiles of other Enneagram Types as school leaders in coming weeks.  For previous Type profiles, look here.  For a complete list of Enneagram resources, check the Enneagram links on the left-hand side of this page, and visit our Services page to learn about the wide range of CLS workshops available for leadership and professional development.

The Ennea-Type One School Leader: The Perfection Seeker

Note: The post below originally appeared on the Contemplative Learning website, which will be the host site for this series exploring each Enneagram personality style.

In our first profile of Enneagram types as school leaders, we'll examine the Type One, usually known as the Perfectionist or Reformer.  In our own work, we've begun to emphasize that the key difference among types is motivation, or what we "seek" from work, relationships, and life in general.  In this sense, we call the Type One the "Perfection-Seeker," or (perhaps more flattering), the "Ideal-Seeker." 

Vision: the Perfection-Seeker's gift

Type Ones bring a tremendous gift of vision to their work as school leaders, and can inspire teachers and students to higher ideals and higher levels of achievement.  But as with all types, Ones also have a dark side, and Type One school leaders can be prone to perfectionism and frustration when their vision is slow to become a reality.

Ones view their experiences through a sharply evaluative lens, judging everything as good or bad relative to their refined and deeply innate sense of what "ought to be."  Ones have a capacity for assessing every situation and imagining how it could be better.  This idealist vision can motivate Ones to engage in small and large-scale social reform efforts, to push for improvements to their work environment, and (or) to push themselves and others to higher levels of personal and professional performance.

For a variety of reasons, many school leaders struggle to articulate a meaningful vision for school improvement.  As wave after wave of state- and federally-mandated school reforms are handed down from policy makers, many administrators have occupied a largely passive role, trying to faithfully do what they're told and implement new directives and changes.

Type One school leaders, on the other hand, draw from various reform mandates and movements to articulate their own vision of what schools should become, and can usually share their vision with some confidence, often inspiring teachers to adopt new strategies for improvement.  Type One school administrators tend to be extremely well-organized and seek to maintain an orderly and predictable environment throughout the school, a trait teachers and parents greatly appreciate.

Perfection-seeking has its price

But the One's tendency toward perfectionism can lead to a grueling work schedule and a failure to complete projects until they meet his exacting standards, hyper-criticism and impatience with self and others, and a reluctance to share decision-making and governance with teachers and other stakeholders.  As a part of the "Instinctive" or "Body" Center (along with Types Eight and Nine), Ones have a vexing sense that they are not in control of their own lives.  This is a particularly perplexing situation for someone so dedicated to fighting for an idealized version of reality.

On this last point, the nature and structures of schools as organizations poses specific problems for the Type One school leader.  Schools are generally understood to be "loosely-coupled" systems in which individuals and groups within the school function with a high degree of autonomy.  Research on the impact of school principals on student achievement is clear: while principals can exert a significant effect on student outcomes, primarily through their role as instructional leaders, that influence is always highly mediated through the principal's influence on others, especially classroom teaching practice.

This means that principals must usually work within existing structures and use the power of influence to realize their visions for school improvement.  They cannot control the process or use their own personal power and effort to make their vision a reality.  Healthy and highly-effective Ones appreciate their limitations and trust the process that the ideal will be realized in time, whereas unhealthy Ones become easily frustrated by the slow pace of change, or resentful and critical when others question or challenge their vision.  As the One "goes to" Four, he can become increasingly withdrawn, alienated from others, and overwhelmed by conflicting and negative emotions.

Practices for wholeness: Seeking perfection in what is

To maximize their health and effectiveness, Ones should consciously engage in reflective practices that help them become aware of their strengths and weaknesses and build on their core gifts to gradually transcend more negative habits of mind.

Body-based practices like yoga and mindfulness meditation are highly recommended for all Enneagram types.  For the One, these strategies are particularly helpful since the idealism of the One tends toward spending an excessive amount of time in one's mind.  Body-based practices reconnect the One to the reality of present moment and help her see the goodness and completeness of what is.  Ones should spend time every day reconnecting to their breath, and consciously becoming aware of the mystery and wholeness of reality.

Ones often think the truth of their convictions is self-evident and obvious to others.  This is a blind spot that can lead to dismissing other perspectives.  Ones need to consciously monitor the tone of their messages, practicing boldness in their vision-seeking, but tempering it with compassion for others.  It is sometimes helpful for the One to ask himself, "Would I rather be right, or effective?"  Which is not to say one's "rightness" must necessarily be compromised to be effective, but the One nevertheless can sometimes sacrifice his effectiveness by insisting his is the only perspective to be considered.

Above all, Type One school leaders must consciously acknowledge their interdependence with others.  Ideal visions are co-created.  While the One may serve as a great source of inspiration and focus for building a vision and plan for school improvement, they cannot do the work alone.  Their relationships, and a healthy sense of what is right in every situation as it is, serve as the foundation for a Type One school leader's effectiveness.

Look for additional profiles of other Enneagram Types as school leaders in coming weeks.  For a complete list of Enneagram resources, check the Enneagram links on the left-hand side of this page, and visit our Services page to learn about the wide range of CLS workshops available for leadership and professional development.