Team Workshop Design

A coach asked my advice because she’d been approached by a company to create an Enneagram team
workshop and this was new territory for her. They wanted her to cover:

How the Enneagram can be used in the business context.

How the different personality styles affect team dynamics.

How individuals can help each other work on their weaknesses.

“There are twelve team members, all at management level,” she wrote. “I plan to use the Riso Hudson
Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI), and would also like to have lots of interactive group work, with some
fun time. Do you have any ideas on teamwork – games or quizzes I could use?”

Following are key elements for Enneagram training workshop design. While addressed to a management
team, the principles would hold true for any workshop:

Plan strategically. Many years ago I had the good fortune to work with an educational consultant
named Elsa Kessler. Unfortunately she died shortly thereafter, and I never had the chance to
thank her sufficiently. I’ve used her model for years to tailor training to specific participant needs.
It’s my pleasure to pass on to you the Ten Steps to Workshop Development:

1. Define the overall purpose and/or need.

2. Analyze the audience and their needs as they perceive them; get more data if necessary
(e.g., age, experience, representation, previous experience with similar workshops or
responding to similar problems, learning style and/or expectations).

3. Review your resources and barriers (e.g., time constraints, logistics of the planned location,
your own/others’ capabilities, the minimum amount of rehearsal necessary, your level of
authority to make decisions).

4. Create a theme. This can then manifest in a logo, handouts, and/or brochures; but also
serves as a focus of meaning and energy, in the same way a good book title captures the
book’s intent.

5. Define the overall objectives and sequence, including general ideas to mix and match
topics, methods, and media for interest and variety.

6. Develop segments. The emphasis here is on first draft. You want to sketch out just enough
to make sure the segments work together and support the overall theme, without wasting
effort on details that may need to be changed. Necessary changes will become apparent
during the dry run:

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  Specific objectives (for both content and process) and sequence for the segments.

 Content, including tie-ins to other segments and to overall theme.

 Design. (See page 108, “Design a workshop with varied structure.”)

 Media. (Slides? Handouts? PowerPoint presentation? Flip chart?)

 Evaluation criteria. Many people make the mistake of waiting until after this stage to
develop/conduct an evaluation. If the specific objectives are clear, you can also decide at
this point how you will know if you met those objectives. Often this becomes self-fulfilling
because building measurement into the design increases the likelihood that objectives
will be met. For example, if you want participants to be able to name the key motivation of
each Enneagram style, you might design an activity where you hear them summarizing
these or solicit their written responses, and reinforce or fine-tune as appropriate.

7. Dry run or “walk through.” This allows you to test content and process: actual time needed;
clarity of content to others, including media; how well the logistics work; whether or not the
objectives appear to be met.

8. Completion of final materials and quality check.

9. Dress rehearsal (not always necessary, depending upon the critical nature of the event
and/or the quality of the dry run).

10. Conduct/evaluate/adjust design for future similar events.

Consider participants’ learning styles and your own Enneagram style. Especially for those
new to workshop design, you may tend to teach the way you like to learn. If you’re a “head” type
(5, 6, 7), for example, you might rely mostly on lecture. You’d do well to work against that
tendency and remember to engage the heart (motivation to learn) and gut (hands-on experience)
as well as the head (intellectual understanding). Roger M. Schwartz suggests in The Skilled
Facilitator that we “create an experience on which group members can reflect and from which
they can learn about their process:

1. Learning is more effective when it is an active rather than a passive process.

2. Problem-centered learning is more enduring than theory-based learning.

3. Two-way communication produces better learning than one-way communication.

4. Participants will learn more when they share control over and responsibility for the learning
process than when the responsibility lies solely with the group leader.

5. Learning is most effective when thought and action are integrated.”

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Design a workshop with varied structure. A few examples:

1. Short lecture with question and answer (important that there be no “one right answer;” you
want to encourage involvement and discussion).

2. Group discussion (large group and/or break-out groups or pairs).

3. Fish-bowl – where you work with one person while others observe, often with instructions to
the rest of the group about what to notice in particular (with management teams, I usually
rehearse with the person ahead of time).

4. Role play – I like the term “real play” because it signifies drawing on participants’ experience
vs. something made up. Participants may be uncomfortable playing a role, but you can ease
them into this kind of practice by asking, “What might you say to that person? How do you
think s/he might respond? And then what would you say?”

5. Case studies. Make such exercises (or “games”) relevant and work-related.
You might, for example, design a case based on one or two of their key clients, and have
them guess the individual’s style, or if it’s a company, type the general company atmosphere.
Does it come across as an “Eight” organization? A “One” organization? Why? Why not? You
could assign them to subgroups and create a debate where each group tries to persuade the
other as to the client/client organization’s “style,” then discuss together how to approach the
clients differently, given their conclusions.

You’re welcome to use the case descriptions from my web site (if so, please give me credit).
You can also draw from Michael Goldberg’s The 9 Ways of Working. At the end of each
chapter he gives ideas for how to work effectively with different Enneagram styles. His
Cardinal Rules are invaluable for managers.

Interview participants ahead of time, if possible. The client organization mentioned above
asked the right questions. (How can the Enneagram be used in a business context? How do
Enneagram styles affect team dynamics? How can individuals help each other work on their
weaknesses?) It’s a good idea to identify a team’s perceived strengths and development areas
ahead of time, regardless of Enneagram styles. Then it’s possible to create realistic, hands-on
exercises that bring out their Enneagram-related characteristics.

Use yourself and participants as exemplars of style. Nothing gives more credibility to the
Enneagram’s effectiveness than modeling your own growth. If you’re an Enneagram Five, for
example, tell personal stories about how the Enneagram has changed you. Then when you
explain how difficult self-disclosure is for a Five, you demonstrate the value of the Enneagram
first-hand. You also become an exemplar of your Enneagram style. “Notice the way I pause
before answering a question,” you might say. “This is typical for a Five.”

By going first, you set the stage for pointing out clues to participants’ styles: level and quality of
energy, symbolic language and behavior, communication style, focus of attention. This provides
excellent on-the-spot learning.

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 You can also incorporate a more formal panel discussion. To keep things lively I usually ask only
one or two questions of each person at a time, so no one’s on the spot too long, and everyone
gets involved.

Make sure the questions you ask during this process are open-ended. Ask others to notice
nonverbal communication as well as what the person says. Here are a few sample questions:

 One: Tell us about your “inner critic.” What triggers your anger? What form does it take?
Under what circumstances can you accept criticism?

 Two: In what ways do you take care of people? How do you react when someone gives
you a gift? What needs of yours don’t get met?

 Three: How do you decide how well you’re doing? When are you satisfied? What’s your
desired image? How do you get to your feelings?

 Four: Some Fours say they feel things deeply – how is that for you? What’s your unique
perspective in groups? How have you felt different?

 Five: Tell us about a good debate you’ve had recently. When and how do you withdraw
from others? What helps you engage with people?

 Six: Talk about your “sixth sense.” How do you deal with authority? In what ways have
you “shot yourself in the foot?”

 Seven: Sevens are said to have a rich fantasy life – tell us about yours! What bores you?
In what ways do you keep things lively around here?

 Eight: In what ways do others find you intimidating? What do you keep hidden from
others? How do you add “spice” to your life?

 Nine: What kinds of things distract you? How do you handle confrontation? Tell us about
an experience of being angry.

Use any Enneagram questionnaire with constraint. The RHETI is fine, as are Jerry Wagner’s,
David Daniel’s, and Clarence Thomson’s questionnaires, but I strongly recommend using any
instrument only as an indicator, not as a definitive measure of Enneagram style. Answering the
questions helps make people aware of the nine styles and often eliminates the obvious poor
matches. But I’ve been in many workshops where people were obviously mistyped based on a
questionnaire. You’ll waste precious time if they rely on test scores when it’s really not their
Enneagram style.

You can start the workshop with a round-robin, all participants indicating their best guess about
their style and why they’ve made that choice. Then encourage them to keep their options open as
you teach the nine styles with examples. It’s important to tell them ahead of time you’re going to
start by asking their Enneagram styles, to ensure they’re prepared.

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Build in a feedback session. You’ll focus mostly on discovery/learning in the first part of the
workshop. Then you can design application experiences. Especially if you’re in the second day of
a two-day workshop, more trust will have developed. I’ve found it much less threatening to frame
teambuilding feedback in terms of Enneagram style. Key to success of this exercise is their being
able to give and receive feedback openly and non-defensively:

1. Make sure they know each other’s Enneagram style, its core motivation and key
characteristics.

2. Give them feedback guidelines, with examples. Effective feedback communicates whether or
not someone’s behavior is “on target” in relation to a goal. Feedback is most likely to be
accepted if the receiver doesn’t feel defensive in response:

 Instead of being explicitly or implicitly judgmental, be descriptive.

Judgmental: “You should quit being such a perfectionist.”

Descriptive: “Give your staff clear standards so they can check quality on their own.”

 Instead of a general comment that’s open to interpretation, be specific:

General: “You’re too ego-driven.”

Specific: “Share credit with your team-mates.”

 Instead of indicting the whole person, direct your feedback toward behavior that can be
changed:

Personal: “You’re a buffoon! Nobody’s interested in your stories.”

Behavioral: “Keep presentations short and relevant to the group.”

3. Give team members different colored markers and tape a flip chart page for each person on
the wall, pre-prepared in three sections (CONTINUE-START-STOP), colored according to
that person’s marker.

4. Instruct them to take five minutes on each page, using their own colored markers, starting
with their own page. Following the feedback guidelines, they are to write one comment in
each of the three categories that will help this person be a full contributor to the team:

 CONTINUE: What they want the person to continue doing that’s a positive of that
Enneagram style.

 START: What they wish the person would start doing that might counter an ineffective
aspect of that Enneagram style.

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  STOP: What they hope the person will stop doing that’s characteristic of that Enneagram
style.

For example, in a team of four where you plan to give a style One a red marker, the One’s
pre-prepared flip chart page will look like this:

(Name) Style One

CONTINUE
• (One writes own feedback here)
• (space for feedback)
• (space for feedback)
• (space for feedback)

START
• (One writes own feedback here)
• (space for feedback)
• (space for feedback)
• (space for feedback)

STOP
• (One writes own feedback here)
• (space for feedback)
• (space for feedback)
• (space for feedback)

5. After five minutes have them move clockwise from their own page to the next person’s. When
the time is up (20 minutes if four people), facilitate review of their feedback. Because of the
various colored markers, it will be apparent how they’ve assessed themselves and from
whom the other comments came.

6. Before starting the review process, give guidelines for receiving feedback without
defensiveness as described in the article on page 93 (agree to a fact, possibility, or principle;
then probe for a description of more effective behavior).

7. One at a time, invite them to review the feedback on their charts:

 ask clarifying questions,
 respond to each item following the guidelines for receiving feedback,
 commit to at least one concrete action in response to the feedback.

Make sure there’s also a team commitment to follow up on their proposed actions so they get
reinforcement for any changes.

An Eight, for example, might agree to start inviting others to give input in the early stages of
projects, and/or stop signing contracts without involving others (note the specificity). This is
obviously more likely to get results than telling an Eight, “You’ve got to collaborate more and
stop grabbing all the power.”

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Include an actual work session. On the second afternoon of a two-day workshop I often have
participants discuss an ongoing topic or problem they want to solve (needs to be planned ahead
of time, of course). Assign each person a couple of people to observe for Enneagram dynamics
while the meeting is going on. By this time you’ll know their styles and can create simple Observer
Sheets they can use for brief note-taking. Remind them to follow the feedback guidelines when
sharing their observations.

You, of course, will be the main observer and can facilitate a debriefing at the end of the meeting,
exploring evidence of their Enneagram dynamics. If the meeting is long enough they’ll forget to
“pose,” and you’ll get very rich data.

Other ideas for team-work/games:

1. Susan Forster and Peter O'Hanrahan (www.enneagramwork.com) have a booklet entitled

Transformational Leadership. You could use this to review each style’s leadership
characteristics, potential problems, strengths, and suggestions for professional development.

2. The cartoons in Loretta Brady’s Finding Yourself on the Enneagram capture body language
beautifully. You can create an amusing “quiz” with these to confirm understanding of
Enneagram styles. I’ve also had fun with Far Side and Dilbert cartoons. The biggest value of
these discussions is not whether participants “get it right” but in what you and they learn from
the discussion.

Similarly, you might show clips from a movie or TV show with a variety of characters.
Raymond’s mother on the TV sitcom is clearly a Two, his father is an Eight, and Raymond is
a Six. Even if you use clips where the characters’ styles can’t be confirmed with certainty,
exploring people’s guesses is an excellent way to deepen their learning.

3. You can also create quizzes from illustrative self-statements of the nine Enneagram styles
and assign participants in pairs or larger break-out groups to match the quotes to an
Enneagram number. When they present their answers to the larger group, the discussion will
spell out some of the subtleties of each style. Here’s an example, drawn from conversations
with my clients:

a) “At our level a lot of people take signals from us and we need to be aware of what we
project out. I’m an expansionist of sorts – I like seeing success breed upon success. I’ve
competed in a world sailing championship and was going to represent this country in the
Olympics, but my new job as Vice President didn’t leave me time.”

b) “I was told I don’t speak up enough. I almost have to be asked my opinion. I find it kind of
difficult to talk because I’m not sure anyone will pay attention. My strategy is to pick the
right moment to speak up, so as not to create too much debate. I like to listen, take what
people say, reach a consensus, then build a solution together.”

c) “I’ve considered leaving this organization because most people here don’t think outside
the box. I come at things from a totally different angle. I’ve always had compassion for

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 others but it also comes from personal tragedy. I felt like an outsider in my family. When I
was small my brothers told me I was adopted – they actually convinced me this old
woman who ran the elevator was my real mother!”

d) “I grew up in the depression and my father never had a job until I was in the first grade.
Yet I’ve found if you can work with people and understand some basic principles you can
run just about anything. There’s a fun side of me that’s viewed by some with too much
emphasis. About a month ago my boss told me for the third time in a year there’s a
perception I’m not really serious.”

e) “I’m my own worst critic, very demanding of myself, and realize everybody else can’t live
up to my standards. But if I’m busy I’ll just bark something out to people. When I was a
kid I always did very well in school and got good grades, but I couldn’t satisfy my parents.
Their message was always, ‘You can do better.’ I find myself conveying the same
message to people who work for me.”

f) “I’ve learned over the years that no matter how much gray matter you have you’ve got to
stay current and improve what you know. The people who work for me are well-qualified
and don’t need much direction. I hate having group meetings because they’re generally a
waste of time. You can get a lot more accomplished by going directly to the person with
the expertise.”

g) “In the past I was always promoted because I did the best job I could and was loyal to my
boss. I’m a fairly organized person and I think I plan well, particularly contingency
planning – knowing where the obstacles will be. If I’ve erred it would be on the side of
second-guessing my decisions. I’ll never get over not getting that recent promotion. I feel
resentful, but also disappointed with myself.”

h) “How can I make a breakthrough with my boss that I’m absolutely doing all I can? Since
last year I’ve been saying very loudly that I’m overworked. They get me to do things by
saying, ‘You do it so well; there’s no one else here who can do it.’ I feel I cut off pieces of
myself and feed them to people.”

i) “For as long as I can remember I’ve been on my own. Honesty is one of my faults
because I tell people like it is – and they might not want to know. I’m tough, but I’m
compassionate. They tell me I can eat a guy’s rear end up better than anybody else; but
each time I’ve gone off the deep end, the person I’ve jumped on was not doing what I told
him to do.”

(Answers: a = Style 3, b = Style 9, c = Style 4, d = Style 7, e = Style 1, f = Style 5, g = Style 6,

h = Style 2, i = Style 8)

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 Practice
1. Think of an audience you’d like to interest in the Enneagram. Review the Ten Steps to Workshop
Development on page 106 and complete the first four steps. Allow yourself some creative time to
let the idea of a theme develop. Notice how this energizes your planning.

2. How do you learn best? Given your Enneagram style, what’s the easiest way for you to teach?
What would stretch you and ensure that you reach all learning styles?

3. What might you say or do in a workshop to exemplify how knowing the Enneagram has changed
you?

4. Think of someone you dislike and list that person’s most undesirable characteristic. Write it first as
a judgmental, general, and personal statement:

Now write it in descriptive, specific, and behavioral terms:

5. Pick a TV series with returning characters. Watch several episodes, taking notes on clues to
Enneagram style. How might you use this in a workshop?

Mary Bast 2005, 352-374-6916, [email protected], www.breakoutofthebox.com 9