"Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions," wrote the philosopher Bertrand Russell, "which move with him like flies on a summer's day." The Enneagram points to the unconscious assumptions that drive the way you see yourself, do your work, relate to your colleagues, and make decisions. Instead of operating on automatic, from "comforting convictions," you can, with clear intent, invoke your natural talents and hard-earned skills.

The Enneagram begins with 9 basic styles. Here is a brief overview of the 9, and teachers are welcome to use it as a handout. Here is a quick reference chart. For a fuller description, click the number below. All material comes from The 9 Ways of Working.

• ONES want to get things right and they want to teach you to do the same
• TWOS want to help others and be acknowledged for their importance
• THREES want to work hard, accomplish much, and succeed
• FOURS want to explore their uniqueness and creativity
• FIVES seek the information and wisdom they need to be masters of their universe
• SIXES loyal to their team or ideals, worry about what can go wrong, who can be trusted and who will do them in
• SEVENS seek the full range of upbeat possibilities, plans and experiences
• EIGHTS want to exercise power and dominion and to protect those in their charge
• NINES want to empathize with all the players, resolve conflict and discomfit and make sure everybody is included and all views are heard

Though none of the types is bad in itself, being unconsciously wedded to an Enneagram style limits flexibility, imagination and choices. Caught up in habitual ways of perceiving, we miss important pieces of the whole. Knowing your vantage point and the positions of those you work with builds more than perspective: It clears the mind so that discernment is possible. It loosens the heart to the experience of others. It focuses the will, so that you can get out of your own way and act with concentrated intention, power and effectiveness.