The Blog
Insights on the intersection of leadership, organizational dynamics, the Enneagram, coaching, clear thinking, personal and professional growth, and related topics.
By Mario Sikora and guest associates


One Tribe: A Message from Awareness to Action International
Humans are tribal creatures and at a deep, non-conscious level we often associate “different” with “bad.” This innate bias served our ancestors well. To them,

What Comes Next
Basic principle number one is that during a dual health and financial crisis, we are all going to be Preservers. Have you been focused on

Coaching Eights: Mercy, Grace, and Magnanimity
I was recently asked about an approach to coaching Eights; particularly, how to help them access the “high side of Two.” I’ve coached quite a few

Problems vs. Conditions
In life, there are problems and there are conditions, and they are not the same thing. Here is an example of what I mean: My

Looking Past Three: The Instinctual Bias Subdomains
People tend to view the three instinctual domains as three discreet and specific “instincts”: self-preservation, social, and sexual (or one-to-one). This is an archaic and outdated view of biology, which

Leadership and the Instinctual Biases: Preparing to Scale
Excerpted from the book “Instinctual Leadership: Working with the 27 Subtypes of the Awareness to Action Enneagram” by Mario Sikora with Maria Jose Munita. Copyright

Power: How to Get It and Why
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Lord Acton) Acton may be correct (most people leave out the important word “tends” when repeating this

My One Piece of New Year’s Advice
“So, what advice do you have for me?” asked Michael. The question took me a little by surprise. It came at the end of a

Working With the Instinctual Biases–Skill and Self-Management
When it comes to working with your instinctual biases, there are two things to focus on: Learning to manage our reactions to them rather than being

Responding to a Discussion on the Instinctual Biases
Warning–This post is for true Enneagram geeks! I was recently asked on a Facebook forum about my view on the instinctual biases and how they








