Why Use the Enneagram in Team Development?
I still remember the first time that Ted Lasso scene really landed for me. Ted is chatting with Pep Guardiola, one of the most successful football managers in the world, and instead of talking tactics or trophies, Pep says this:
“Don’t worry about wins and losses. Just help these guys be the best version of themselves on and off the pitch. This in the end is the most important thing.”
It’s such a simple line, and yet it says everything. At the highest level of performance, the focus isn’t just on results, it’s on people. When people grow, teams tend to follow.
That insight translates directly into the world of work.
Most teams don’t struggle because they lack ability or commitment. More often, the real challenges show up in communication breakdowns, unresolved tensions, and different assumptions about what good work looks like. Traditional team development tends to focus on behaviours and skills, which are important, but they don’t always get to the heart of what’s really going on. This is where the Enneagram can be especially helpful.
The Enneagram is a framework for understanding human motivation. Rather than putting people into boxes based on behaviour, it explores the underlying drivers that shape how individuals think, respond to pressure, relate to others, and make decisions. In many ways, it helps shine a light on the box we are already subconsciously in, and shows us a way out. In a team setting, this depth can be genuinely transformative.
Understanding the “Why” Behind Behaviour
In teams, it’s easy to misinterpret one another. A colleague might seem overly cautious, emotionally distant, overly direct, or resistant to change. Without context, these differences can quickly become sources of frustration.
The Enneagram helps teams move beyond surface-level judgements by offering insight into why people operate the way they do. When team members understand the motivations, fears, and priorities that sit underneath behaviour, differences become easier to understand and far less personal. Conflict shifts from “you’re the problem” to “we’re seeing this from different angles”.
Building Empathy and Trust
One of the most powerful outcomes of using the Enneagram in team development is the growth of empathy. As people recognise their own patterns, especially how they react under stress, they often become more patient and generous towards others.
The Enneagram gives teams a shared language to talk about pressure, triggers, and needs. This makes it easier to name challenges without blame and supports a culture of psychological safety. Over time, this kind of openness strengthens trust and makes honest conversations more possible.
Improving Communication and Collaboration
Different people communicate in different ways. Some prioritise clarity and efficiency; others focus on relationships, outcomes, risk, or values. The Enneagram helps teams recognise these differences and adapt accordingly.
In practice, this means meetings become more effective, feedback is better received, and collaboration feels less effortful. Team members learn not just how they prefer to communicate, but how to communicate well with others who see the world differently.
Supporting Leadership Development
For leaders, the Enneagram offers a valuable mirror. It highlights strengths, but also the potential downsides of those strengths when overused. This kind of self-awareness is crucial for leaders who want to create healthy, sustainable team cultures.
By understanding their own patterns, leaders can become more flexible, more responsive, and more intentional in how they lead others.
A Tool for Long-Term Growth
Unlike many tools that are used once and forgotten, the Enneagram supports ongoing development. Teams can return to it as they grow, change, and face new challenges.
By addressing motivation, stress, and relationships, not just behaviour, the Enneagram helps teams build understanding that lasts. In complex, high-pressure environments, that depth is not a luxury. It’s essential.

If you’re curious about what might be possible if your team focused less on fixing behaviours and more on understanding people, I’d love to explore that conversation with you.
Feel free to get in touch, or simply comment below, I’m always glad to talk about teams, leadership, and helping people become the best version of themselves, on and off the pitch.