The Enneagram is having the best year ever.

If there was an award for FAVORITE PERSONALITY TEST, the Enneagram would win by a mile.

There are Enneagram mugs.

Enneagram t-shirts.

Enneagram wristbands.

Enneagram Instagram accounts. (My personal fave right now is Enneagram in Color.)

All the Enneagram things.

I learned about the Enneagram over 15 years ago and I have found it profoundly useful for understanding my need for healing at my core.

I identify as an Enneagram 3 which causes me to be highly tuned to the expectations of others and meeting those for love and acceptance. At my worst, I become disconnected with myself. At my best, I genuine embody the things that I value. 3’s are also called the Achiever or the Performer. The root sin is deceit. 3’s often practice deceit most pointedly toward themselves.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Enneagram, I recommend this book as a great primer on the topic. The authors are warm and I think they do a good job at introducing the 9 types in an easily understood way. The follow up book is about how the Enneagram can help you in relationships is also a pretty good read.

If you are already familiar and want to go deeper specifically to learn more about subtypes, I recommend this one which a friend recommended to me because it has a more nuanced explanation of the types and subtypes that I found profoundly helpful. Contrary to popular opinion, I did not really resonate with The Wisdom of the Enneagram and its descriptions of my type. I know that’s borderline heresy because so many people love that book. But I really didn’t.

I’m about to start this one and I’m excited about it.

(Please note: These are affiliate links so that if you purchase through them I earn a super tiny commission at no increased cost to you. I only ever give my honest opinion and link to things I would recommend wholeheartedly. Thanks for being willing to kick in some spare change to support this site.)

So what exactly, is the relationship between Enneagram and StrengthsFinder?

In my experience, they look at related but separate things.

Enneagram excels at telling you WHY you do what you do.

What is at the root of your motivations? As your best self and also at your worst.

What are general pitfalls to look out for and avoid as your type?

How do you know when you are moving from integration to disintegration?

And what might it look like to pursue deeper wholeness and healing in a way that fits you and your soul’s needs?

StrengthsFinder tells you HOW you do what you do.

By design, it is looking for and focusing on what is profoundly RIGHT with you.

So, StrengthsFinder is trying to ask the questions —

What is it that you do best?

How do you bring your best self to your life personally and professionally? How can it improve your relationships to understand your strengths and those of the people in your lfie?

What are the things that you do with ease, excellence, and enjoyment?

It’s really great at helping you uncover the processes that you utilize to greatest impact.

Both Enneagram and StrengthsFinder can help you understand yourself and your most important relationships better but each through a different focus.

Here are some other differences:

Strengths are designed to be used in team and organizational development. I’m not aware of Enneagram being used that way as much. (Tell me in the comments if you’ve seen otherwise.)
Enneagram comes from ancient wisdom whose roots are not completely known. It has deep connections with spirituality and wisdom that is real, real old. Strengths were developed from a scientific research point of view. FWIW, I value both of these perspectives.
Enneagram, as such, isn’t own by any one organization or person. There are places to get certified in Enneagram but it isn’t just one place. StrengthsFinder is trademarked and owned by Gallup.
Enneagram has a slightly more “negative” bent. I mean, one of the categories and core definitions is your “root sin.” StrengthsFinder is looking for the positive. In actuality, when you understand both you know that both point you toward your best self and negative things to look out for.

Here are some similarities between Enneagram and StrengthsFinder:

They both are powerful and usually engaging ways to learn more about yourself. They can provide self-awareness and help you realize things about yourself that you take for granted or haven’t articulated before.
They have an assessment that you can take to determine your own results. But really the important thing is figuring out how it truly applies to you and your experience.
They are both frameworks that are helpful but NOT the totality of who you are. You are more than your top 5 strengths or your Enneagram type. Might be obvious but just wanted to say that you are wonderfully unique and there’s a lot that goes to making you who you are.

In my experience, both the Enneagram and StrengthsFinder together were indispensable in my personal and spiritual growth. I highly recommend both if you are interested in self-discovery and greater awareness.

Whatever tool or framework you choose, it’s about understanding and developing ourselves (both strengths and weaknesses) to the level where they truly serve others so we can have the kind of impact we are called to have.

So most importantly, keep growing and keep learning.

What do you think? Do you like Enneagram or StrengthsFinder? Both or neither? I’d love to hear about your experience with these tools and any others like it that I should know about.