Truity's Personality and Careers Blog

Effective teams are ones that recognize each other's strengths, weaknesses and communication style. They can adapt to each team member’s needs while also lifting each other up. Teams that can work effectively together become greater than the sum of their parts. 

It can be tricky to figure out how to do this without a framework of some kind to assist and there are a range of tools that can provide these frameworks. The two we favor at Truity are the TypeFinder®, based on the Myers-Briggs system, and the Enneagram.

For teams, we offer half day workshops that include in-depth reports, a team map and insights about the team, in order to help your team develop a better understanding of each other and a shared language you can use when working together. 

As the TypeFinder and the Enneagram are very different, our workshops offer teams very different experiences. So we put together this short guide to help you decide which to use with your team. 

How does a personality-based workshop support your team’s productivity? 

There are many benefits to hosting a team workshop after they have taken a personality-based assessment. 

First, it gives each team member an opportunity to go deeper into the report, ask questions about their type, and see how they are applying it in the real world. Second, it gives them a chance to learn about the personality types of their colleagues, their preferences and tendencies – which provides context for why they find it easier to work with some people over others. 

But the real magic comes when the team can apply the results not only to how each person works individually, but also to how they work together as a team, including how to:

• Improve communication
• Increase collaboration
• Navigate conflict, and 
• Appreciate diversity

Improve Communication: Personality helps us see the different words and language people use as their default. When we recognize these differences, we can listen more openly, without judgment or confusion. 

Increase Collaboration: We all bring different skills to the table, but it can be hard to value other’s strengths unless we first feel that our own are recognized and valued. Knowing that you bring tactical, logistical, strategic and diplomatic skills to the table increases an individual's confidence and enhances a team's overall effectiveness.

Navigate Conflict: When we recognize that there are common core values for the different personality types, such as freedom, belonging, competence and significance, it is easier to get to the heart of the conflict and find a win/win solution. 

Appreciate Diversity: We all bring something different to the table and cognitive diversity is a key attribute of high-performing teams. Yet sometimes we don’t recognize the value in the skills we have or we undervalue our strengths and overvalue our weaknesses. Fostering an appreciation for a team’s different approaches and cognitive diversity can help lessen conflict, increase cooperation and boost empathy.

Each team receives a team map that plots the individual personality types across all the options. This helps the team see their strengths, blind spots, values and biases, providing the team with a platform to discuss how these aspects of the team are helping or hindering their day-to-day operations and long-term goals. You’ll also see whether changes need to be made, and have a framework for how to make them.  

Whether you choose the TypeFinder or the Enneagram, both workshops help your team:

• Value their individual strengths 
• Honor their colleagues’ strengths
• Recognize the value in cognitive diversity 
• Increase self-leadership 
• Build a shared language to reduce miscommunication 

Benefits of the TypeFinder at Work workshop 

For teams that are new to personality type and personality assessments, we recommend that they start with the TypeFinder and the TypeFinder team workshop. 

The TypeFinder in the Workplace workshop is interactive, practical, fun and engaging. It focuses on comparing and contrasting the strengths of each of the four dimensions of the TypeFinder (i.e., Introversion versus Extraversion, etc.) so team members can see the value of each. 

The workshop focuses on helping the team work together effectively and applies the TypeFinder to topics such as:

• Effectively running team meetings
• Problem solving as a team
• Giving and receiving appreciation
• Appreciating different working styles 
• Self-awareness and empathy for others in the workplace

This workshop is great for teams who:

• Are newly formed and looking for a way to get to know each other
• Want to explore better ways of working together 
• Are looking for a fun way to reconnect

Note: This workshop is designed to be completely virtual and works best if each participant joins the workshop from their own device. 

Benefits of the Enneagram at Work workshop

We recommend this workshop for teams that have prior experience with personal development and team-building and/or those that hope to increase their emotional intelligence.

Truity’s Enneagram in the Workplace workshop provides your team with an opportunity to understand their colleagues' deeper motivations, strengths and challenges. The workshop explores each of the nine Enneagram types, and applies them to topics like communication, stress, teamwork and leadership. 

It focuses on:

• The lens through which each Enneagram type sees the world
• The strengths and challenges for each type at work
• Growth activities for each of the nine types
• Applying the above insights to the team’s communication and working style 

This workshop is great for teams who want to:

• Reduce miscommunication
• Increase trust
• Develop their emotional intelligence
• Increase empathy for their colleagues
• Understand their motivations at a deeper level

This workshop is often run for in-person teams with the trainer delivering it via Zoom. It can also be delivered as a completely virtual session. 

An important note about the Enneagram: the Enneagram reveals why our strengths are also our challenges. It reveals the deeper motivation behind why we developed those strengths, based on strategies we developed to manage childhood challenges. For some people, this can feel confrontational and it is not uncommon for people to feel uncomfortable reading the report. Unless your team is ready for this, they may find it hard to speak up and share about their type before and during the workshop. And they may be uncomfortable admitting that they are uncomfortable. 

While sharing your workplace experiences in the workshop is entirely optional, it is what helps build trust within the team. Hence, we recommend this workshop for teams who have done some personal development or team-building workshops previously, and/or are focused on developing their emotional intelligence. 

How the process works

Once you decide to go ahead with the workshop, or if you are interested and would like more information, complete the form linked below. We’ll be in touch to confirm availability and provide more information about the process. Your workshop should be scheduled at least 3-4 weeks in advance to provide time to complete all the stages in a timely fashion. 

Stage 1: Testing

The first step is to have your team complete their tests. Our Truity @ Work platform allows you to send tests to your team using test credits and view their test results from within your own separate account. We'll get you started with a demo of the platform, so you understand how the testing process works before you start sending tests to your team. Please note that test credits are purchased separately and are not included in the cost of the workshops.

Set a deadline for your team to complete their tests of at least a week before the day of your workshop. This will allow your trainer sufficient time to prepare your team’s map and insights and customize your workshop based on the results.

Stage 2: Manager/Organizer briefing (30 mins)

Here you’ll meet your workshop trainer via Zoom. They will learn more about your team and its objectives, as well as take you through the workshops's agenda and slides. We’ll also confirm any technical logistics for running the workshop. If your team has completed their test results, the trainer will also share insights about the team.

Stage 3: Tech Check (15 mins)

As every setup is different, unless you will be using Zoom for a completely virtual session, our trainer will do a quick tech check with you to ensure everything works and will go smoothly on the day of the workshop. 

Stage 4: The Workshop (2-3 hours)

Depending on the size of your team, each workshop runs between 2 to 3 hours. We find this creates the right balance of theory and interactivity.  People learn best when they can contribute to the discussion in both small and large groups and we want to maximize each person’s opportunity to learn about their type, that of their colleagues, and how to apply that information in the workplace. 

We also recommend that everyone have a copy of their report to hand during the session. 

Stage 5: Post Workshop Info Pack

After the workshop is complete, we’ll email you a copy of the slide deck as well as links to other resources. 

Next steps

If one of these workshops sounds right for your team, complete this form and we will be in touch. We look forward to supporting you and your team.