The DiSC model of personality focuses on four primary behavioral styles:

• D (Dominance): Results-oriented, confident, driven
• I (Influence): Enthusiastic, outgoing, people-focused
• S (Steadiness): Patient, accommodating, team-oriented
• C (Conscientiousness): Detail-focused, precise, analytical

DiSC is primarily about how you behave in certain contexts, particularly in the workplace, making it a helpful tool for understanding communication styles, work preferences, and team dynamics. DiSC highlights observable behavior patterns that can help improve collaboration and productivity.

The Enneagram, by contrast, isn’t just a behavioral model; it’s a growth model that goes deeper into the core motivations, fears, and desires driving those behaviors. While DiSC might tell us that “John is a D” (Dominance), meaning he’s results-oriented and assertive, it doesn’t explain why John behaves that way or what underlying motivations are at play. When the Enneagram tells us “John is a Type 8,” it suggests that his assertiveness stems from a core desire for autonomy and a fear of being violated or controlled. This understanding gives John leverage for transformation -- could it be that the way he is trying to protect himself from violation is actually creating enemies? Rather than just deciding to behave differently, how can he work to be run less by fear, and more by his more noble qualities? 

In essence, DiSC offers a framework for understanding how people interact, while the Enneagram provides a map to explore why they do what they do, offering a path for deeper self-awareness and transformation.

The MBTI model of personality is based on 4 spectra:

• [E/I] Introverted <> Extroverted
• [S/N] Sensing <> Intuiting
• [T/F] Thinking <> Feeling
• [P/J] Perceiving <> Judging

The MBTI spectra are about your preferences **for observing the world, taking in information, and making decisions. By contrast, the Enneagram not just a categorization model. It’s a growth model.

The Enneagram is about the ways you get stuck in narrow patterns of thinking and feeling, and how to get out. It is as much interested in your strengths and weaknesses as it is in your core drives and wounds, and it shows a spectrum of behaviors at different levels of “health” within each type.

When MBTI’s says “John is a J,” it means that John prefers to get things decided (J) rather than “stay open to new information” (P). That’s useful, but it’s not very revealing of his inner world.

If John gets the feedback from colleagues that he needs to delay decisions so that the team can gather more information before acting... what is he supposed to do? 

When the Enneagram says “John is a 6,” it means something about John’s core fears, desires, and path towards self-actualization. Could it be that John's "J"-ness is not just "how he is," but is a consequence of his fear for uncertainty -- a core 6 drive?

What's behind that fear of uncertainty? What would happen if he were able to relax it and learn to tolerate more complexity and contradiction?

Point is, the Enneagram's emphasis on motivation helps John see what he is driven by more clearly, so he can be more precise in how he approaches his personal growth. 

The StrengthsFinder (now called CliftonStrengths) assessment focuses on identifying a person’s top strengths from a list of 34 talent themes. The system is built around the idea that individuals are most successful and fulfilled when they focus on their natural talents rather than trying to fix weaknesses. It helps people understand what they are naturally good at, such as communication, strategic thinking, adaptability, or empathy. StrengthsFinder is often used in organizational settings to improve team performance, leadership, and personal development by leveraging people's innate strengths.

The Enneagram, by contrast, is a personality system that goes beyond just behaviors and strengths. It focuses on understanding core fears and desires that motivate you. The Enneagram helps you recognize how your unconscious patterns shape your thoughts, feelings, and actions, offering a map for growth. It’s a dynamic system that illustrates both your strengths and your weaknesses, and it shows a spectrum of behaviors at different levels of health, from the highest potential to the least adaptive tendencies.

While StrengthsFinder can be useful for identifying your proclivity towards certain interests, we feel that the Enneagram points to a deeper layer of the psyche. StrengthsFinder may say that “John’s top strength is ‘Relator’,” meaning he excels at forming deep connections with others, it doesn’t dive into why John feels the need to build these relationships or what fears or desires might drive that behavior. When the Enneagram Harmony “John is a Type 9 (The Peace Seeker),” it reveals that his helpfulness is rooted in a deeper desire to be in harmonious connection with  loved and appreciated, as well as a fear of causing tension and "being too much." This deeper understanding not only explains the "why" behind John's strength as a relator, it also opens a doorway to explore how he may be relating from a people pleasing or over-accommodating place. It also shows him how to bring more of himself into relationship, so that he can better harness his natural strength as a relator, and do so more authentically.

In essence, StrengthsFinder offers a framework for identifying and leveraging certain strengths, while the Enneagram provides a more holistic, growth-focused map to uncover the motivations driving your behaviors, both the strengths and the areas where you might be stuck. Both systems complement each other well: StrengthsFinder focuses on optimizing what you do best, while the Enneagram helps you understand why you do it and guides you toward greater self-awareness and transformation.