Work/Career | The School of Visibility

You don’t have to be visible all the time

Recently I’ve been putting together a class on Visibility for Introverts as part of our 2020 curriculum and have been asking for input on the big issues introverts face when it comes to visibility.

This morning I heard two of the big misconceptions that everyone – not just introverts – seem to hold about visibility;

(i) to be really visible I have to keep showing up everywhere, all the time (which is a total nightmare for introverts and really anyone who wants to do any deep work or to have a life outside of work), and

(ii) to be visible I’m going to have to share more about me (another nightmare for introverts and anyone who just likes their privacy).

So let’s just bust those myths right now.

As the CEO of the School of Visibility I had two visibility priorities for 2019;

(i) improving consistency with list building (my … [Read More...]

Your visibility strategy and the enneagram

Before you read on, you should know that this article is part of a series on developing a visibility strategy. This is chapter 5 in that series.

Pick up all the chapters here.

Before we dive further into other people’s platforms and how you might utilise them as part of your visibility strategy, it’s useful to take a moment to reflect on the enneagram and how it might impact on the places you choose to focus your attention.

The enneagram is an ancient personality typing system which directs you to your deepest motivations for behaving the way you do in the world.

From a visibility perspective, studying the enneagram supports you to understand not just how you hide out, but why. Once you know why, then you can start clearing the blocks to hiding. (This is something we support you to do at the School of Visibility, should you choose … [Read More...]

Identifying your enneagram type (introducing the enneagram part 3)

The first question people invariably ask once they learn about the enneagram is; How do I find out what my type is?

There are tests you can do to give you a sense of your type but before you jump on over to test yourself, it’s vitally important that you remember this; tests generally examine behaviour.

But unlike some of the other personality typings out there, the enneagram isn’t so much about behaviour as it is about motivation. Sometimes you have to dig quite a bit deeper to uncover a motivation which makes it more difficult to test for.

That, incidentally, is why the enneagram is such a great visibility tool. When we dig deeply, we uncover what our deeper motivation is for being seen and heard in the world. We also understand quite clearly exactly why we’re hiding out, not choosing visibility even when we keep telling ourselves it’s … [Read More...]

What are they coming to you for? (Introducing the enneagram part 2)

A lot of marketing people talk about the importance, when selling, to focus on results. And yes, of course people want results. But results look different to different people. For some people a ‘result’ is finding connection. For others it’s learning something. For others it’s having an experience. Marketers talk about results because from an enneagram perspective, sales and marketing is a three world. And guess what threes value above all else? Results!

But you’re not always selling to threes.

A five’s ‘result’ might be learning something new. A seven’s ‘result’ might be having a great experience. A one’s ‘result’ might be reducing carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

Understanding the kind of result people are looking for, is critical to building a successful business.

Here’s one place to start; start with what they want from you. You might run the exact same business as 5,000 other people but what differentiates … [Read More...]

Generic formulas are a waste of time (introducing the enneagram part 1)

I’ll often see facebook ads which say things like, ‘Grow your business fast. I’ll give you the exact formula I used to achieve xxx’.

In a million years I would never want you to make a purchase on the assumption that if it worked for her, it’ll work for you.

You are an individual. And yes, it’s important to learn businesses principles. However, identifying the exact formula that’ll work for your business isn’t as easy as copying and pasting someone else’s and applying it by rote.

Understanding the enneagram helps you to understand why that is.

At the School of Visibility we teach our students how to use the enneagram to determine where to ‘lean in’ when it comes to visibility, and where they need to focus some block clearing attention so they don’t get stuck in what is their habitual place for hiding out. (Our enneagram training is coming … [Read More...]