ATA Enneagram:
Master the power of personality
Master the power of the ATA Enneagram with Mario Sikora and MJ Munita—global leaders in the theory and practical applications of the Enneagram in organizations.
Start Your Journey Today.
Executive Coaching
Preparing high-performing
leaders to scale effectively.
Group programs
Creating understanding around group
behavior through the Enneagram.
Enneagram OnDemand
Our asynchronous, self-directed introduction to personalities at work.
The ATA Enneagram for Coaches and Other Professionals
Enneagram insights to foster team effectiveness.
The ATA Approach
Understand Human Nature to Achieve Success
The Awareness to Action (ATA) Enneagram is a powerful and practical model for self-awareness, personal development, and leadership growth. Unlike traditional Enneagram approaches, ATA strips away unnecessary complexity and focuses on actionable insights that drive real-world results.
Rooted in clear, precise, and scientifically informed principles, the ATA Enneagram helps individuals and organizations recognize their Instinctual Biases, Strategies, and Core Qualities—key elements that shape behavior and decision-making. This approach is designed for business professionals, leaders, and anyone committed to personal transformation, providing a framework that is easy to understand, yet deeply impactful.
With a strong emphasis on practical application, the ATA Enneagram guides you from awareness to action, helping you break free from unproductive patterns and unlock your full potential in both your professional and personal life.
Understand. Adapt. Thrive. Experience the difference with the ATA Enneagram—where insight leads to action and transformation is within reach.
Why the ATA Enneagram?
Advancing the Enneagram: A Practical Approach to Growth and Success
Pragmatic and Action-Oriented:
The ATA Enneagram is designed with a focus on real-world application. It is grounded in the belief that knowledge should lead to action, helping individuals improve their relationships, decision-making, and personal growth and transformation. This makes it particularly useful in business environments and for those who prefer tangible results over abstract theories.
Simplicity with Depth:
While the model is simplified for ease of use, it does not compromise on the depth of insight it offers. It uses clear language that appeals to business and science-minded individuals, emphasizing the importance of clarity and simplicity. This makes the system approachable without sacrificing the complexity of human behavior.
Rooted in Adaptive Strategies:
The ATA Enneagram highlights the importance of understanding personality types as adaptive strategies that help individuals navigate life’s challenges. These strategies are habitual and subconscious but are not fixed. Recognizing these patterns allows individuals to break free from outdated behaviors that may no longer serve them, making the system useful for personal growth and problem-solving.
Emphasis on the Instinctual Biases:
The model includes the concept of instinctual biases, which are crucial for understanding what we prioritize in life. This adds another layer of depth to the Enneagram, showing how these biases influence not just behavior but also values, decision-making, and emotional responses.
Focused on Personal and Professional Growth:
While it is widely applicable to business settings, the ATA Enneagram also serves as a tool for self-development. It fosters growth in both personal and professional spheres, with an emphasis on achieving a sense of “eudaimonia”—a flourishing life in which individuals fulfill their potential.
Clear and Practical Prescriptive Elements:
The model integrates three prescriptive elements: the Awareness-to-Action Process, the nine Accelerators, and the 12 Personal and Professional Leadership Competencies. These elements guide individuals in turning self-awareness into actionable steps that lead to real improvements in their lives.
Adaptability:
The ATA Enneagram remains flexible, allowing for growth and change over time. It does not box individuals into static categories but encourages a deeper understanding of their behavioral patterns and tendencies, showing that people can grow beyond their habitual strategies.
Science-Informed and Evolving:
The ATA Enneagram integrates insights from psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral science, ensuring that its approach is both evidence-based and continuously refined. This commitment to scientific grounding enhances the model’s credibility and effectiveness, making it a dynamic tool that evolves alongside the latest research in human behavior.
Our Proven Approach
We Don’t Change People; We Help Them Grow. Faster
Our programs help individuals, teams, and leaders make small but powerful shifts in thinking, unlocking potential and fostering authentic growth. For 25 years, we’ve guided people in reshaping their narratives and developing a mindset for meaningful growth.
With this expertise, we’ve become global leaders in applying the Enneagram model across personal and professional contexts. In fact, we have revolutionized the theory and application of the Enneagram with the creation of the ATA Approach. Here’s how we do it:
Step 1: Awareness
We help you see the habitual patterns that might be holding you back and limit your ability to grow.
Step 2: Authenticity
We help you resolve the inner conflicts that you may not even be aware of so you can overcome those obstacles and create lasting growth.
Step 3: Action
We help you create clear and precise action plans that move you toward your goals and establish new ways of thinking and responding adaptively to changing circumstances.
The Awareness to Action Enneagram
Understanding the Two Dimensions of the ATA Enneagram Model
The ATA Enneagram is built on two essential dimensions: the nine personality types and the three instinctual biases. The nine types represent distinct patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that each of us tends to demonstrate more consistently than the others, although human behavior is dynamic and influenced by context. These patterns are mapped to a diagram with nine interconnected lines, showcasing the complexity and movement of human tendencies. Alongside these types, the model includes the Instinctual Biases, which describe what we value and prioritize in life. Together, these dimensions offer a comprehensive framework for understanding human nature and behavior.
The Three Instinctual Biases
The ATA Instinctual Biases—the deeply ingrained tendencies that dictate what aspects of life we focus on. These biases fall into three categories, each influencing how we approach work, relationships, and decision-making
Preserving Instinctual Bias:
People with a Preserving Instinctual Bias are focused on security and survival. Their primary concerns include health, safety, and stability.
Navigating Instinctual Bias:
Individuals with a Navigating Instinctual Bias are oriented toward group dynamics and social connections. They are concerned with trust, reciprocity, and understanding social hierarchies.
Transmitting Instinctual Bias
Those with a Transmitting Instinctual Bias focus on influence and spreading ideas. They are concerned with leaving a lasting impact by passing on their values, beliefs, or knowledge.
The Nine ATA Enneagram Types
The ATA Enneagram Strategies—referred to as Enneagram types—represent distinct patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that each of us tends to demonstrate more consistently than the others.
Type One
Striving to Feel Perfect
Ones are principled, orderly, and committed to doing things the “right” way.
Type Two
Striving to Feel Connected
Twos are empathetic and nurturing, driven by a need to form strong relationships.
Type Four
Striving to Feel Unique
Fours are creative and expressive, often seeking to differentiate themselves from others.
Type Five
Striving to Feel Detached
Fives are intellectual and private, preferring to observe the world from a distance.
Type Six
Striving to Feel Secure
Sixes are loyal and community-oriented, seeking safety in numbers and traditions.
Type Seven
Striving to Feel Excited
Sevens are energetic, optimistic, and always looking for the next exciting opportunity.
Type Eight
Striving to Feel Powerful
Eights are confident, assertive, and driven by a need to control their environment.
Your ability to be successful—as an individual or as part of a team—is limited by your understanding of human nature.
By understanding the key components of the ATA Enneagram, you’ll uncover the patterns that shape people habits, gain clarity on your core motivations, and implement proven strategies to create lasting change and success.
The ATA Enneagram in Business
A Game-Changer for Business, Teams & Leadership
Clear Thinking and Decision Making for Leaders
The best leaders have a clear vision, but it’s not just about knowing where to go. They can assess their surroundings, think clearly, and make decisions based on reliable information.
In today’s volatile, uncertain, and complex world, clarity is rare. Our brains are still wired for simpler times, creating biases and thinking patterns that obstruct our ability to think optimally.
“Clear Thinking and Decision Making for Leaders” helps leaders overcome these obstacles—brain and personality biases, cultural filters, ignorance, and misinformation—using the Awareness to Action Clear Thinking Model.
ATA Executive Coaching Program
“Everybody needs a coach.” – Eric Schmidt
Top performers know the value of a trusted advisor to maintain long-term success. However, many organizational leaders ignore this advice, believing past success ensures future success—this is a mistake.
At Awareness to Action International, we provide coaching to leaders across industries and cultures worldwide. With over two decades of experience, we help global leaders reach their potential.
ATA Instinctual Selling
Most sales training ignores what truly drives buying decisions. Instinctual Selling changes that.
Developed by Enneagram experts Mario Sikora and Maria Jose Munita, with sales strategist Jenny Byrnes, this approach helps you understand the three instinctual biases—Preserving, Navigating, and Transmitting—to build real connections and close more deals.
Master the human dynamics of sales to:
- Build instant rapport
- Speak to customers’ core values
- Overcome objections naturally
- Adapt your selling style for any buyer
Personalities @ Work
Success in organizations hinges on understanding the unique personalities and motivations of individuals. Personalities @ Work leverages the ATA Enneagram to help improve individual, team, and organizational performance by recognizing and adapting to these differences.
Our program equips you to navigate challenges, enhance communication, and bring out the best in your people. We offer tailored solutions, from virtual sessions to in-person training.
Awareness to Action Teams
Unlock your team’s full potential with the ATA Enneagram methodology, designed to reveal the hidden dynamics behind team behavior and performance. Traditional team-building often addresses symptoms but misses the root causes. Awareness to Action Teams goes deeper by understanding the instinctual biases and personality strategies that shape team interactions.
This isn’t just another team assessment; it’s a comprehensive program that blends one-on-one coaching with group instruction, providing sustainable alignment between team members, organizational goals, and execution strategies.
Through our three core components—Organizational Awareness, Change Management & Culture Development, and Leadership & Management Excellence—you’ll gain unmatched insights into what truly motivates your team, allowing you to leverage strengths and navigate challenges with ease.
People of all personality styles can be successful; and people of all personality styles can struggle.
A person’s personality style does not determine how effective they can be, or how well they collaborate with others; but understanding someone’s Enneagram style can help identify the common self-created obstacles that undermine our effectiveness.
We help our clients identify and overcome these obstacles and learn the skills and attitudes that will help them reach their full potential. We can do the same for you.
What People Are Saying About ATA
Become a better leader.
Stop letting habitual and limited narratives keep you from continuing to grow. Learn to work with your innate tendencies, better understand your environment, and capably adapt to any situation.
ATA Enneagram Certification Program
Are you looking to apply the ATA Enneagram in organizations, academia, or other settings that demand practicality, rigor, and clarity? Whether you’re already familiar with its power or struggling to translate its insights into actionable language for pragmatic audiences, we can help. Our approach bridges the gap, making the Enneagram a practical tool that delivers real-world results in any environment. Let us guide you in harnessing its full potential to create lasting impact.
What Coaches Are Saying
Why Choose Awareness to Action
Global Leaders in Enneagram-Based Business Solutions
Our experience spans decades and industries, making us the go-to experts in applying the Enneagram to leadership, team development, and organizational growth.
We tailor our approach to respect individual and team values, ensuring sustainable results.
Start Your Journey Today.
Clear Thinking for Leaders
Empower your leadership with tools that improve decision-making.
Executive Coaching
Preparing high-performing
leaders to scale effectively.
Instinctual Selling
Master human dynamics and sell with insight and impact.
Personalities @ Work
Enhance team dynamics with the insights of the ATA Enneagram.
Awareness to Action Teams
Enhance your team’s potential and achieve lasting alignment.
ATA Certification
Elevate your coaching and impact with the ATA Enneagram.