The Enneagram is the Magic Potion for Your Investing

Many of you have heard about the Selfless Givers group I belong to. Susan Drumm is a member of that group, and I’ve been thinking about the podcast we did together in 2021, where she describes the process of using the Enneagram to become a better investor. The Enneagram is such a fascinating topic that whether you’ve heard of or have used the Enneagram components in your life — it’s worth taking a second and third look.

Some people feel like the Enneagram is a spiritual philosophy. Still, the basics of the Enneagram are that there are questions you can ask and answer to ultimately discover more about yourself. Pieces of your personality, such as your core drivers and how your experiences have impacted you, and our core thoughts. You can find connections about your attitudes and fears and your motivations through the Enneagram.

The Enneagram is the Magic Potion for Your Investing

Could it be that you can indeed become a better investor after taking the Enneagram test? (You can find several Enneagram tests to take online.) Because of this, I titled this article; The Enneagram is the Magic Potion for Your Investing. Of course, I don’t know if the Enneagram is actually a magic potion — but anything that can teach you about yourself and others will help you be a better investor. Listen here for the full episode:

Living Life With Intentionality

Susan has a great philosophy about entrepreneurs and executives and how they scale their companies. But unfortunately, what works for entrepreneurs when they work alone will not work when they add five or ten people working together.

What works in your leadership skills when you have five or ten individuals in your company will not be the same model that works when you add 20 more to your employees. And your methods won’t work in ten years either.

But what does all this mean? First, you’ll love how Susan Drumm talks about how all leadership has to keep pace with the growth the company is experiencing with employees — but also the development style is also determined by how old the company is.

The Operating Model Mindset Shift

Personally, in a small company or a corporate framework, you will find that shifting your mindset to accomplish whatever you have to is a must. These mind shifts may not always just happen with your business — sometimes they have to occur at home.

Your personal evolution sparks your leadership evolution. — Susan Drumm

I love that statement because of the truth it speaks. Each person must stop and look at their gifts and how they are expounding on these gifts and growing themselves, their businesses, and employees. Each person must bring everything to the table to build a company.

Those who work with me know how highly I value personal growth; it has been a motivating factor in keeping and investing in my lifestyle. A person that has zero time is not going to be able to dedicate themselves to personal growth, let alone personal relationships.

Susan has such a firm grasp on the concept of gaining personal growth, and it helps her be able to help many execs through her company — The Enlightened Executive.

How Well Do You Understand the People You Communicate With?

One of the most significant areas in your life that you can come to understand from the Enneagram is how you communicate. Do you know your communication methods? Susan pointed out an essential part of communication — have you learned empathy?

Why empathy — what do you have to know about this vital personality trait? For one, you need to know how to show this trait if you want the other person you are communicating with to feel understood.

Susan knows how to break down the empathy frameworks into simple models that people can understand and grow within.

There is Something Behind Your Head That You’re Not Seeing

Susan Drumm explained to me that when a person is investing  — “there’s a core driver or core motivator, and an individual must ask what could get in their way with investing? What strength will they bring to the investing process for each type of trait they possess?”

The biggest problem with investing is that we think we can see 360 degrees, but we have peripheral vision, and we make decisions based on that vision. So you need to know your blind spots — and that is something that can be learned.

Become Aware of Your Blind Spots

I meet so many people with incredible skills — and sometimes, these skills are an innate skill set. However, I’ve become aware that when I find out about these natural skills, many have become “innate” because the person has put in ten thousand hours and can now work investing from the autopilot arena.

 The Enneagram

Thinking about the Emmeagram and what Susan Drumm has taught me has been a gift, and I thank her for that. From the title of this post — the magic potion for investing part — comes because the Enneagram can reveal your blind spots to you. By finding out your blind spots, you can begin to surround yourself with supportive people who can see what you can’t.

These support people will be strong where you are weak — but more importantly, they are trusted individuals who will also take the time to warn you when you are wrong.

Conclusion

I’m so grateful for Susan Drumm and what she has taught me about applying the Enneagram in my life. Somehow when you apply some of the things you learn from taking the test, you can see where you are going with your investments.

You can grow empathy through your Enneagram knowledge of yourself, and through that empathy, you find new ways to understand and communicate. You become more aware of nuances and tune in to where there may be problems.

In this way, you also begin to grow your intuition — and all of this combined become your own personal “magic potion.” One of the best things I learn from Susan Drumm and the Enneagram is to pay attention.

Image Credit: RODNAE Productions; Pexels; Thank you!