Learning about the enneagram

As you'll see if you browse my research, one of the areas I've worked on is the enneagram personality typology and its use as a tool for self-development. The enneagram describes nine different worldviews, each of which leads to a different strategy we use to get what we need in the world. These strategies help us but they can also limit us and make us react on autopilot.

Learning about the enneagram helps us to relax those habitual patterns of behaviour, build on our strengths and improve our relationships.

I am a qualified enneagram teacher in the narrative tradition, which was co-founded by Helen Palmer and David Daniels. The narrative approach uses people’s own stories to bring the enneagram to life. Learning about and experiencing the enneagram types in people's own words helps us to understand others better and see how their views of the world may differ from our own.

Would you like to find out more?

You can download The Enneagram Types at Work, an extract from my PhD thesis that gives short descriptions of the types and how we tend to behave at work.

Introductory Enneagram Workshops

My husband, Julian Perkins, and I offer a range of enneagram workshops for teams in public and private organisations, charities, church groups and even for friend groups who want to explore the enneagram together.

Here are some example workshops that we have offered. hey can all be tailored depending on the background of those attending, whether for work, general interest, or church and spirituality. Email me if you'd like to discuss any of these options - I look forward to hearing from you!

Email me

Taster workshop

(1 hour)

Brief introduction to the Enneagram system and a whistle-stop tour the 9 personality types
Recognise and appreciate personal differences and styles

Introducing the Enneagram

(half day)

Introduction to the Enneagram system and its use in the workplace
Explore each of the types and identify your own through pair and group discussions, video clips and hands-on activities
Excellent for team building and appreciating diversity

Exploring the Enneagram

(full day)

Includes all the activities from the half day workshop
Engage with the centres (Head, Heart and Gut) in more detail
Learn and practice tools for personal development based on the Enneagram types

Enneagram and Prayer

(half to full day)

Focusing on the three centres of attention rather than the nine types to give access to insights about meditation and prayer
Explore and experience meditative prayer appropriate to each centre

Advanced workshops

For participants who have attended either the Introducing or Exploring the Enneagram workshops, are reasonably confident of their personality type and would like to develop their knowledge and skills further.

These workshops explore how the Enneagram can help us with common problems in life, relationships, and at work, and encourage us to reach our potential.

The Enneagram and Communication Styles

Learn how to communicate effectively with people of different types, adapting your style so that your listener understands
Develop your understanding of the styles of your work colleagues and discover a new level of understanding

Then Enneagram in Teamwork and Leadership

Discover how to be part of an effective team by drawing on your own and others’ strengths and dealing with common problems
Evaluate your leadership style, identify where you may be sabotaging your own success and uncover new ways of engaging your followers.

A step further: The Enneagram and Personal Development

Explore the unique strength of the Enneagram: How to turn your biggest problem into your greatest gift
Find out what pushes your buttons and how to deal with it
Unlock your potential through self-development practices