Episode 170: Want to Build a Culture of Belonging? Try the Enneagram with Enneagram Expert, Sandhya Sudhakar
If you read the title and you’re asking yourself, “How do you make the leap from personality test to culture of belonging?” We have the answer for you.
In the final episode of this three-part series, join Erin and Enneagram expert Sandhya Sudhakar as they examine how to use the Enneagram to build a culture where all are seen, heard, and valued in your organization.
ICYMI – Your Post-Episode Homework: Take the Enneagram test here. Understand your number, take a look at the results, put some intention into understanding this for you, and give yourself a safe space to do this. Then, encourage your team to take this assessment. You don't need to understand every single nuance of their Enneagram, but get a high-level overview of their Enneagram number. This will help you as a leader to understand the motivations for the people that you serve.
Connect with Sandhya Sudhakar:
Sandhya’s LinkedIn
Sandhya’s company, Self at Work
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Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the improve it! Podcast. She’s a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
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Episode 170 Transcription
Erin (00:01):
Welcome back to part three of this three part series. Today we are talking with my friend Sandhya Sudhakar, all about building a culture of belonging with this fantastic tool, the Enneagram. This is such a buzzword right now. People are loving this assessment tool. We're gonna understand in this show how, how did the Enneagram come to be? We are also going to listen to this idea of using this tool as a tool for connection and belonging. And you're gonna find out some really cool things going on in the world of Cynthia. So take a minute, invest in yourself. Welcome to part three of this series. Let's get to improving it. So I wanna flip this a little bit to this culture of belonging and how the Enneagram can just really help people feel that tangible connection, help people feel seen. So how does a keen understanding of this assessment help foster that culture of belonging?
Sandhya (01:26):
Yeah, it's, it's so everything for me. It's so interesting because it took me a while in my business to kind of like circle back around to like, what do I really care about? What do I really wanna help people create in this world? And it is belonging and we always take a yd path when we're entrepreneurs, right? And we like maybe sometimes end up at the same place that we started <laugh>. Yeah. But for me, belonging is about creating an environment that welcomes your authenticity, but also knowing how to show up authentically.
Erin (01:59):
Yes. And
Sandhya (01:59):
Both of those things are very complex. So, you know, if we wanna kind of break it down a little bit, like we carry trauma and, you know, life experiences that are really challenging and that hold us back from things, or we like take in messages from the world to say, I can't be a leader unless I'm super loud and, you know, talk fast and I'm the first one to answer the question in a meeting. And those kind of constructs, I think are like part of what working with a tool like this can do and help you break down. Because we can start to see, just because I'm not like that doesn't mean that I don't have like, some magical powers that I bring in the room by walking in there. And so build, kind of rebuilding our own sense of self-trust and intuition to say like, I'm grounded in my core of like who I am and what I bring to this world that helps us show up authentically, right? It helps us own who we are and how we show up. And like, what is amazing about that just by being us.
Erin (03:09):
Hmm. Okay. Oh my god. Okay. I'm so, I'm so here for this conversation right now because, okay, first and foremost, I wanna go back to what you said earlier about we don't have to show up as the loudest person in the room. We don't have to be the first person to answer questions. I have heard that time and time again from members of my own team, actually, when it comes to leadership. I think people think, I mean, listen, we all got our personality types. I understand this very well, but there is a spot and a place for people who aren't as extroverted to be amazing leaders. And this is what that assessment does. It really helps you own that and really love who you are and create this self-love within yourself because you can't give that love out to anyone unless it starts within. So this, what you're saying is, this tool just helps us reinforce how we were built, what we're here to do, where we're, who we're here to serve. And then it helps us understand that the evolution here we go of who we are, and then we're able to outwardly give to others through this understanding of our own self-awareness, because we understand how we operate, we're then able to effectively give to others. And then also through that understanding understand how to operate within their own Enneagram type. Right? Is that, is that sort of a similar vibe, a thought process, what you were saying?
Sandhya (04:51):
Yeah, totally. Like if, if each of us can kind of own why we're amazing and like own that confidently, then we can show up to an environment, right? Without saying like, oh, I don't have a place to speak here, or I am, I'm not good at this, or I don't have the potential to be a leader, or those types of things. Right? And we can start to break down those constructs by like, understanding ourselves. Well, and then from a, a leadership standpoint, right? Or a team environment or culture standpoint, it becomes how do, okay, one, first of all, how does your, the, the leader check their own biases, right? Because we as humans, we have a tendency to favor the people that show up in a similar way as us. So how do we get beyond that? How do we get into understanding that different styles bring different things to the table? And that oftentimes, and this isn't by bad intention at all, it's like we manage people the way that we would wanna be managed, but it's about managing them the way they wanna be managed. Hmm.
Erin (05:57):
Yes. And
Sandhya (05:58):
So can you understand your people's motivations? Like what drives them? Maybe not everybody loves recognition or to be given an award on stage like you and I do, Aaron, like, you know, let me yeah. Give you a microphone, put me on stage and I'm like, fueled for a week, right? But like, so many people don't want that. But as a leader, you'd be like, yeah, I'm gonna do that for everybody, right?
Erin (06:21):
Yes. Oh my God. Okay. This is so true. Just like in a leadership, well, first of all, yeah, agreed on the three give, give me that mi clearly we're on a microphone right now. Like all the thanks. Yeah. So just on a personal note, and to relate this, when I get together with my high school girlfriends, oh my God, we are the loudest people in a room.
Sandhya (06:42):
<Laugh>.
Erin (06:43):
I mean, I'm 40 years old. We are like, just, I forget. And we all live in different places and we're very similar energetically and personality wise. And I think that shaped a lot of who I am, right? When I became a leader, especially on my own team, when I created this business and formed my own team, I gotta tell you, it was shocking to me because I hired people who were very different for me. That they didn't want the same things that I did in terms of motivation.
Sandhya (07:15):
Yes, yes.
Erin (07:16):
That was the biggest aha leadership moment for me. It was a huge teaching tool. I had to really shift my own mentality and realize that Jenna does not want the microphone. Jenna does not want the microphone, she does not want the microphone. Don't give it to her. But she's gonna be behind the scenes crushing a spreadsheet. She's gonna be behind the scenes dealing with that outreach and she loves it. And then when we give her praise and recognition for that, oh my God, she's like, thank you. I feel seen, but I wouldn't feel seen. I'd feel stuck behind a spreadsheet.
Sandhya (07:50):
Yes, totally. And even thinking about, you know, when you think about recognition, there's so many different ways to recognize people or like reward or compensate them, right outside of like salary and maybe like letting someone design their role or giving them more autonomy looks like rewarding me for doing a good job versus giving me an award or like telling me I'm great. You know, there's just so many different ways to think about it. When you start to open up that lens of like, oh, different people come to the table wanting different things, <laugh>.
Erin (08:26):
God, it's such a great lesson, and I love that this assessment can go so many ways. And I love that what it really drives home is this belonging, this tang ball connection. Because it really, you can see the tangibility of it. If you really understand your own style and then you understand the style of your team, you're gonna make them feel as if what they're doing matters by, by leading them the way they wanna be led is ultimately the result. So
Sandhya (08:58):
Yes, totally. Hold
Erin (09:00):
On. I love this tool. I love chatting with you. Okay, so I have a question. This is important as in Enneagram three, we are constantly striving for new ways to improve. So what is something that's new on the horizon for you? What are you doing? What's like a fun project you're working on?
Sandhya (09:19):
Oh my gosh. Well, I am actually working on a podcast that I am gonna launch later in the year. Yes. It's like, you know, ideating but it's all about authentic leadership. So shocking that authenticity and leadership come up for a type three. That's just, it's like my happy place.
Erin (09:39):
Well, welcome to the airwaves. We will welcome you without open arms. Tell us when it's on. Prove it pees. You gotta listen. That's so exciting. And it's so fun. You, I mean literally like, this is just a conversation. We're hitting record. It's so much fun. You get to meet such amazing people. So I'm excited for your journey. You're gonna crush it. And then let me ask you this. You're welcome. Let me ask you this, this is a final, well, the second to last question, we always say on the show that you are, it is your purpose, that thing that you are put on this earth to do. So tell the Improve It Podcast Peeps. What is your it?
Sandhya (10:24):
Okay, so I, I came to this realization through a number of things, but what I recognize is when I'm in the room, people learn more about themselves and each other
Erin (10:41):
Love,
Sandhya (10:42):
And that's it. And that's it. I just have to be me and show up and do what I do.
Erin (10:49):
Woo. That was chilling. I'm not gonna lie. I liked that one. People learn more about themselves and each other that has to deal with tangible connection, if I've ever heard it <laugh>. Okay. Okay. Wow. Right. Full circle back to the, or the very first episode of this series where we had your intention of the show being tangible connection. Okay. So if the Improve It Peeps wanna find you, if they want you to come do this work with their teams. If they wanna learn more about you, where could they find you?
Sandhya (11:19):
Yeah, you can find me out on my website@selfatwork.com. You can find me on LinkedIn under my name, or you can find me on instagram@selfatworksannia.com or you know, whatever at self AtWork sannia. Yeah,
Erin (11:34):
I love it. Okay, well send, we are thrilled to have you on the show. You are doing so much great work for everyone, and I'm so grateful that when you walk in a room, others are able to thems understand themselves and understand the people around them a lot more. Thank you for bringing tangible connection into our podcast airwaves. I can't wait for your podcast to come live. Let us know when it does. Thanks. I will. And thank you for being here.
Erin (12:13):
Improve The Peeps. You did it. This is part three of this amazing series, all about the Enneagram. And here's what I want you to take away from today's show specifically. Number one, if you have not done your homework from part one of the series and taken an Enneagram assessment, make sure to do that. Understand your number, take a look at the results, put some intention into understanding this for you, and give yourself a safe space to do this. Cause as Sandhya mentioned, it is, some of the information is hard to hear at first. And then the second part, I want you to encourage your team to take this assessment. You don't need to understand every single nuance of their Enneagram, but just get a high level overview of their Enneagram number. Take a minute, look at those assessments as we heard an episode. Two, there is not a quick fix on how this can help essentially fix your culture, but what it could do is help you as a leader understand the motivations for the people that you serve and the people that you lead.
Erin (13:28):
It's not gonna happen overnight, but it is a start. So this conversation starter is here for you today. I am so thrilled to have had this amazing conversation, this three part series with Sandia. And if this episode or any of the three in this series moved you, I would encourage you to share it with a friend, post about it on your socials and tell people, spread the word about this assessment because it really can change the course of the way that you see yourself, as well as change the way that you see your team. I'm so proud of you. I know that you have gotten so much out of this series because I have, I feel it. We're doing this as an Enneagram three. I'm just devouring this information and I'm always learning. So I, it it, what would be cool too, here's a, here's a, a homework and a half for you.
Erin (14:25):
If you feel so inclined, send me a DM at Keeping It Real Deal on Instagram, or we should connect on LinkedIn. Tell me your Instagram number. It's such a fascinating tool and you can know so much about people in such a short period of time when you understand their Enneagram number. I am always rooting for you. I'm so proud of you for investing in yourself and in this time, as you know, I want you to keep improving, keep failing because this world needs that very special it that only you can bring. I'll see you here next time. Bye. Hey, friend, did you enjoy today's show? If so, head on over to iTunes to rate and subscribe. So you never miss an episode. Now, did I mention that when you leave a five star review of the Improve It podcast, an actual team of humans does a happy dance? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. That's right. So leave a review for us on iTunes, screenshot it, and send me an email at info learn to improve it.com. I'll send you a personalized video back as a thank you. Thanks so much for listening. Improve at Peeps. I'll see you next Wednesday.