Strength in Numbers - An Enneagram Centered Podcast, specifically for the Quiet Leaders Out There

Jilann Carlson
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Strength in Numbers helps quiet leaders unlock confidence, clarity, & authentic influence through the Enneagram. It is designed for leaders who want to grow without pretending to be someone they’re not. You’ll discover practical tools for self-awareness, communication, & leadership that align with your natural strengths. We'll offer encouragement, real-life applications, & thoughtful conversations to help you: Understand yourself & others Navigate leadership challenges with confidence Build stronger teams and relationships Lead authentically, without burnout or comparison

  1. Sep 16

    Stop waiting until you feel ready: How quiet leaders can take action | Enneagram

    What if you’re not actually stuck because you need more information, more preparation, or more confidence? What if you simply need to take the next step? As quiet leaders, we can be really good at thinking things through. We plan, research, refine, and prepare. And while there’s wisdom in preparation, sometimes our desire to feel completely ready keeps us from moving forward. In Week 4 of Ten Minutes to Transformation, we’re looking at why quiet leaders can get stuck in “not ready” and how the Enneagram can help you recognize your particular pattern. You’ll learn how to: Notice what may be keeping you from taking actionRecognize the difference between thoughtful preparation and fearUnderstand how your Enneagram patterns can influence the way you waitTake a small, thoughtful step before you feel completely confidentBuild confidence by taking action and learning from the experienceBegin gathering evidence that you can trust yourselfYour challenge this week is simple: What is one thing you’ve been waiting to feel ready for? And what is the smallest step you could take this week? You don’t have to have the whole path figured out. You just need enough courage to take the next step. You might be more ready than you think. This is Week 4 of Ten Minutes to Transformation, a 10-week journey for quiet leaders who want to use the Enneagram to understand themselves, make small changes, and lead with greater confidence and authenticity. Ten Weeks to Transformation Work Sheet (Make a copy) Work with me!

    Stop waiting until you feel ready: How quiet leaders can take action | Enneagram

  2. Sep 9

    How to Speak Up as a Quiet Leader: Say What You Actually Think | Enneagram

    What keeps you from saying what you actually think? As a quiet leader, you may have valuable ideas, insights, and perspectives, but that doesn’t always mean you feel comfortable sharing them. In this episode of Ten Minutes to Transformation, we’ll explore how your Enneagram type can influence what happens between having a thought and actually speaking it. You’ll learn how to recognize what may be holding you back, give yourself permission to process in your own way, and practice sharing your perspective with greater confidence. You don’t need to become louder or more extroverted to become a stronger leader. Quiet leadership does not mean silent leadership. This week, you’ll choose one safe space to practice saying what you actually think, and begin building trust in your own voice. ✨ In this episode:• Why quiet leaders sometimes hold back their thoughts• How the Enneagram can influence your communication patterns• How to find a safe place to practice speaking up• Why processing time can be a strength• A simple “say one true thing” practice for this week• How to notice what happens when you use your voice This is Week 3 of Ten Minutes to Transformation, a 10-week journey designed to help quiet leaders make small, meaningful changes using the Enneagram. You don’t have to become louder. You just have to become more willing to let people hear the wisdom you already carry. Ten Minutes to Transformation Ready for deeper conversations? Go to jilenneagram.com to find out more.

    How to Speak Up as a Quiet Leader: Say What You Actually Think | Enneagram

  3. Sep 2

    Understanding Your Enneagram Core Desire: What’s Really Driving Your Patterns? | Ten Minutes to Transformation

    Why do you keep repeating the same patterns... even when you know you want to change? In this episode of Ten Minutes to Transformation, we’re going one step deeper than simply noticing our patterns. We’re exploring the Enneagram core desires that motivate each of us and the automatic strategies we use to get what we want and need. Your core desire isn’t the problem. But sometimes the strategies you use to pursue it can create the very patterns you’re trying to change. As a quiet leader, understanding what’s underneath your behavior can help you move from simply knowing your Enneagram type to making meaningful, lasting change. In this episode, you’ll discover: What your Enneagram core desire is and why it mattersHow your core desire can influence your everyday patternsThe difference between a healthy desire and an automatic strategyFour questions to help you uncover what’s really driving your behaviorOne small shift you can practice this weekYour transformation practice: Identify your core desire, notice where it shows up, and get curious about whether the strategies you're using are actually working. Download the Ten Minutes to Transformation worksheet in the show notes and add to it throughout this 10-week series. And finally, be sure you join in with me and the Wholehearted Online Enneagram Summit, September 9-11.

    Understanding Your Enneagram Core Desire: What’s Really Driving Your Patterns? | Ten Minutes to Transformation

  4. Aug 26

    Why Do I Keep Doing What I Want to Change? | Self-Awareness, Patterns & the Enneagram

    Have you ever found yourself asking, “Why do I keep doing the very thing I want to change?” You know the pattern. You may even be frustrated by it. Maybe you've promised yourself you’ll respond differently, stop overthinking, speak up more, set better boundaries, or break a habit—yet somehow, you find yourself doing the same thing again. In this first episode of the series, we’re talking about why self-awareness is often the first step toward real and lasting change. Sometimes the problem isn't that we aren't trying hard enough. Sometimes we simply haven't yet understood what is happening beneath the surface. In this episode, we'll explore: Why automatic patterns can be so difficult to changeThe difference between noticing your behavior and understanding what's driving itHow self-awareness can help you make different choicesWhy curiosity and compassion are more helpful than shameHow the Enneagram can help you better understand your motivations, reactions, and patternsI'll also share a personal example of how becoming aware of one of my own automatic responses has helped me begin to respond differently. If you're tired of asking, “Why can't I just change this?”, this episode is an invitation to pause and ask a different question: What pattern am I noticing, and what might be happening underneath the surface? Because once we can see the pattern, we can begin to understand it. And as we understand it, we have the opportunity to make different choices. 🎧 In this episode, you'll also hear about the upcoming Annual Wholehearted Enneagram Summit, where I'll be joining other speakers to explore how the Enneagram can help us better understand ourselves, our relationships, and our faith. And be sure to download the companion worksheet for this series and begin exploring your own patterns.

    Why Do I Keep Doing What I Want to Change? | Self-Awareness, Patterns & the Enneagram

  5. Aug 19

    Quiet Strength: How to Lead Authentically Without Becoming Someone You're Not

    You don't have to become a different kind of leader to lead well. You can lead from who you are. What if you don't need to become louder, more forceful, or more outgoing to become a stronger leader? In this final episode of Quiet Strength: The Power of Heart Postures, Jilann brings together everything we've explored over 16 weeks and four heart postures: the steady heart, soft heart, courageous heart, and open heart. For quiet leaders, leadership can sometimes feel like a constant invitation to become someone else. Speak up more. Be more assertive. Take up more space. Be more confident. But authentic leadership doesn't require you to abandon who you are. It invites you to become a healthier, more grounded version of yourself. In this episode, you'll discover how these four heart postures can help you: Ground yourself when you feel overwhelmed or reactiveStay soft without losing healthy boundariesPractice courage when fear or self-doubt keeps you stuckRemain open to feedback, curiosity, and continued growthRecognize where the Enneagram can help you understand your natural patternsLead from your strengths rather than trying to imitate someone else's leadership styleJilann also reflects on the deeper message woven throughout this entire series: quiet strength isn't about becoming a different kind of leader. It's about learning to lead more fully from who you already are. If you've ever wondered whether your quiet, thoughtful, reflective way of leading is enough, this episode is an invitation to see your quietness differently... and to recognize the strength that's already there. You are invited to join our next Quiet Strength Gathering! Sign up TODAY! This episode is for quiet women leaders, business owners, coaches, ministry leaders, and anyone who wants to lead with greater authenticity, self-awareness, courage, and grounded confidence. Keywords: quiet leadership, quiet leaders, authentic leadership, women's leadership, leadership development, quiet strength, Enneagram, self-awareness, courageous leadership, confident leadership, Christian leadership, women in business, heart postures, authentic leader, Strength in Numbers podcast.

    Quiet Strength: How to Lead Authentically Without Becoming Someone You're Not

  6. Aug 12

    Stop Assuming, Start Getting Curious | A Better Way to Lead as a Quiet Leader

    What if the story you're telling yourself isn't the whole story? Quiet leaders often spend a lot of time thinking, processing, and trying to understand what's happening around them. But sometimes that thoughtful processing can turn into assumptions... about what someone meant, why they didn't respond, what they're thinking, or what a situation says about us. In this episode of Strength in Numbers, Jilann continues the Quiet Strength: The Power of Heart Postures series by exploring the power of choosing curiosity over assumption. You'll discover how an open heart allows us to pause, ask better questions, and stay open to perspectives we may not have considered. Using the Enneagram's Hornevian Stances - Dutiful, Assertive, and Withdrawn - Jilann explores the different ways we may naturally respond when we're uncertain or trying to make sense of other people. You'll learn how your natural stance can influence the assumptions you make and how curiosity can help you communicate more clearly and lead with greater openness. In this episode, you'll discover: Why we so easily fill in the blanks when we don't have all the informationHow assumptions can affect leadership and relationshipsHow the Enneagram's three Stances influence the way we process uncertaintyWhy quiet leaders can sometimes process internally instead of communicating outwardlyHow to replace assumptions with curiosity and better questionsThree simple questions to help you pause before creating a story about someone elseIf you've ever replayed a conversation, wondered what someone really meant, or realized you may have made assumptions without having all the information, this episode offers a practical way to stay open, communicate more clearly, and lead with greater confidence. Would you like to join us for our next Quiet Strength Gathering? Learn more and sign up here! Keywords: quiet leadership, quiet leaders, Enneagram, Hornevian Stances, Enneagram Stances, curiosity, assumptions, communication, leadership development, relationships, self-awareness, open heart, personal growth, women in leadership, authentic leadership, Strength in Numbers podcast.

    Stop Assuming, Start Getting Curious | A Better Way to Lead as a Quiet Leader

  7. Aug 5

    When Defensiveness Closes Your Heart | How Quiet Leaders Receive Feedback and Keep Growing

    Why do we become defensive when we receive feedback... even when we genuinely want to grow? In this episode of Strength in Numbers, Jilann continues the Quiet Strength: The Power of Heart Postures series by exploring one of the biggest obstacles to an open heart: defensiveness. Whether feedback comes from a trusted friend, a difficult conversation, or an unexpected life circumstance, our first instinct is often to protect ourselves instead of remaining curious. As the podcast celebrates four years, Jilann reflects on one of the biggest lessons she's learned: growth doesn't happen because we have all the answers. It happens because we're willing to keep learning. Drawing on the Enneagram's Centers of Intelligence, you'll discover how different personality types naturally respond when they feel challenged and how greater self-awareness can help you receive feedback with humility instead of fear. Why defensiveness is a natural response; and how it can quietly limit your growthHow the Enneagram reveals different defensive patternsWhy feedback is information, not your identityPractical ways to respond with curiosity instead of self-protectionHow an open, teachable heart strengthens your leadership and relationshipsReflection questions to help you grow through feedback rather than resist itIf you're a quiet leader who wants to lead with wisdom, humility, and confidence, this episode will encourage you to embrace growth, even when it's uncomfortable. Join our next Quiet Strength Gathering! Keywords: quiet leadership, receiving feedback, defensiveness, personal growth, leadership development, Enneagram, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, teachable leadership, humble leadership, Christian leadership, women in leadership, open heart, Strength in Numbers podcast.

    When Defensiveness Closes Your Heart | How Quiet Leaders Receive Feedback and Keep Growing

  8. Jul 30

    The Power of an Open Heart | Why Teachable Leaders Keep Growing

    What does it really mean to have an open heart? Many of us think an open heart simply means being kind or emotionally vulnerable. But what if it's actually about something deeper? What if an open heart is a teachable heart... one that's willing to stay curious, listen well, and continue growing throughout every season of life? In this episode of Strength in Numbers, Jilann begins the final month of the Quiet Strength: The Power of Heart Postures series by exploring how curiosity and humility shape healthy leadership. Through practical insights and the Enneagram's Harmony (Harmonic) Triads, you'll discover how your natural response to challenges can either keep your heart open to growth or slowly close it off. If you've ever found yourself assuming you already know the answer, becoming set in your ways, or struggling to remain open to new perspectives, this episode offers a gentle invitation to lead with curiosity instead of certainty. What an open heart really is, and what it isn'tWhy curiosity is one of the greatest strengths of a quiet leaderHow the Enneagram's Harmony Triads influence the way you respond to life's challengesHow humility and teachability strengthen your leadership and relationshipsReflection questions to help you remain open to growth in everyday lifeWhy staying curious creates trust, deeper connection, and lasting personal growthYou'll also hear about the Quiet Strength Gathering, a monthly online community where quiet leaders connect, reflect, and encourage one another as they continue growing together. Keywords: quiet leadership, open heart, personal growth, leadership development, teachability, curiosity, Enneagram, Harmony Triads, Harmonic Groups, authentic leadership, Christian leadership, women in leadership, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, Strength in Numbers podcast.

    The Power of an Open Heart | Why Teachable Leaders Keep Growing
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About

Strength in Numbers helps quiet leaders unlock confidence, clarity, & authentic influence through the Enneagram. It is designed for leaders who want to grow without pretending to be someone they’re not. You’ll discover practical tools for self-awareness, communication, & leadership that align with your natural strengths. We'll offer encouragement, real-life applications, & thoughtful conversations to help you: Understand yourself & others Navigate leadership challenges with confidence Build stronger teams and relationships Lead authentically, without burnout or comparison

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