The Work of You

By Jen Ostrich

This is a podcast about the leadership that matters most — the kind that starts from within.

Hosted by certified behavioral coach and Enneagram expert Jen Ostrich, The

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FAQs about The Work of You:

How many episodes does The Work of You have?

The podcast currently has 30 episodes available.

The Work of You episodes:

December 10, 2025Moving Through the World as an Enneagram Body Type [8,9,1]
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What is it like to be an Enneagram Body Type processing the world somatically and through instinct?
Kicking off our 3-part series on diving deeper into all 9 Enneagram types, in this episode we explore the Body Center of the Enneagram—Types 8, 9, and 1—whose core drive is to have agency and autonomy over their world. We'll breakdown the core fear, primary motivation and core emotion to be managed for each type as well as how these translates in personality attributes and behaviors. We'll do a light touch on how each of the 3 instincts shade the core type as well as the pathways to growth for each type.
Episode Topics:
Type 8 - Controller/Challenger: exploring the core fear, motivation, personality, 3 instincts and growth opportunity
Type 9 - Peacemaker: exploring the core fear, motivation, personality, 3 instincts and growth opportunity
Type 1 - Reformer/Perfectionist: exploring the core fear, motivation, personality, 3 instincts and growth opportunity
Coaching Prompts:
Where or when do you notice the core fear of your type showing up?
What’s one area of your life – at home or at work or in relationships – where your motivation is more in the lead than you?
Where you have started to integrate toward one or both of your lines?
Resources | Links:
Website | The Enneagram 9 Types
GET YOUR ENNEAGRAM TYPE -- includes the Instinct data; most ideal for professional use: leaders and teams
ALT OPTION FOR TYPING - also includes the Instincts
Book | The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up: Find Your Path, Face your Shadow, Discover Your True Self By, Beatrice Chestnut, PhD and Uranio Peas, MM
Episode 5: Why The Enneagram is a Leadership Superpower (overview of the model).
Episode 10: The 3 Instincts That Shape Your Enneagram Type
The Grow Effect Coaching Model
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Website | Grow Collective
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27min
December 03, 2025Embracing More Play!
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Play isn’t just something fun — it’s a core part of resilience, creativity, and healthy leadership.
In this episode, we explore why play matters for adults, how it expands your capacity to handle stress (hello, Broaden-and-Build Theory), and simple ways to bring more lightness and joy into your daily life. A gentle reminder that doing “the work of you” doesn’t always have to be heavy… sometimes the most profound growth comes from letting yourself play again.
Episode topics:
Reflecting on your own inner narrative and beliefs around play - do they serve you / more play time?
The power in play and the Broaden and Build Theory by Dr Barb Fredrickson
A personal story for what I noticed when I prioritized play
Some ways to build play into your life
Coaching Prompts:
Joy Audit: List three activities that make your body feel looser, lighter, or more spacious. Which one can you do today for 10 minutes?”
Scheduled Play Break: Block out once a week 30-60 min block out time to choose anything playful; no productivity allowed!
Micro-Play Ritual: a mini hit/dose of joy or humor to infuse in various parts of your day both at work and at home

Resources | Links:
Broaden and Build Theory
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Website | Grow Collective
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23min
November 26, 2025Gratitude | Audience Q+A
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Milestone moment reaching episode 25 and perfect timing as it's falling over the week of Thanksgiving. I hold so much gratitude for my listeners and that's why this week I focus on what you want to hear! I've asked what you're curious to learn more about, questions you have, or resources you're looking for. Tune into this episode to hear all the answers and a special announcement for an upcoming Season 2 plan.
Episodes I Refer Back to in the Q&A:
Episode 4: Breaking Free from the Patterns that Hold You Back
Episode 12: Building Your Leadership Brand
Episode 14: Moving Your Brain from Threat to Reward State (SCARF Model)
Episode 15: Navigating Stress & Growth via the Enneagram (understanding the Lines)
Episode 22: Understanding Your Team via the Enneagram (System Awareness)
Resources | Links:
Website | The Enneagram 9 Types
GET YOUR ENNEAGRAM TYPE -- includes the Instinct data; most ideal for professional use: leaders and teams
ALT OPTION FOR TYPING - also includes the Instincts
The Grow Effect Coaching Model
Instagram | The Work of You
Instagram | Grow Collective
Website | The Work of You
Website | Grow Collective
...more
32min
November 19, 2025Finding Meaning in the Mess
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What if our "mess" is not a detour to be taken and instead a doorway to welcome?
Fresh off facilitating Enneagram work at the Soul Reset retreat I share themes that surfaced again and again: the power of community, what renewal actually looks like in real time, and why resilience is less about pushing through and more about softening into what’s true. I also open up about my own ongoing healing journey—what’s shifting, what’s still tender, and how the inner work continues to reshape the way I lead, connect, and care for myself. If you’re navigating a season of complexity or craving a deeper sense of clarity, this episode offers companionship, perspective, and gentle encouragement for whatever chapter you’re in.
Episode topics:
The Soul Reset retreat - a day of resilience, survival, rejuvenation
My own "Wintering" season
What does resilience and rejuvenation look like? Some practical considerations for how to generate more of this for you.
Coaching Prompts:
What season are you currently in?
What mess have you been avoiding?
What is it that you need to move through this season / mess?
Who is a safe person for you to share how you really feel?

Resources | Links:
SOUL Retreat
Get Your Enneagram Type Here
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Website | The Work of You
Website | Grow Collective
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24min
November 12, 2025How to Earn (and Keep) Trust
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What does trust mean to you? What does it look like in practice?
Trust is the foundation of every relationship — and every breakdown. But what “trust” means can look very different depending on your Enneagram type. In this episode, Jen unpacks what each type needs to feel safe and grounded in trust — and what may erode that trust without you even realizing it. You’ll also explore how each type can stretch toward greater openness and how understanding these differences can help any leader or team strengthen their foundation of connection.
Episode topics:
Trust can mean so many different things to different people - what does it mean to you?
Your Enneagram type is a motivation formed to protect you from an underlying fear. Often when trust is broken that subconcious fear emerges; it can be helpful to understand how to build trust across the 9 core motivations.
Even if you don't know your Enneagram type listen to the language to help you get real clear on what you need to build trust so you can then listen when others tell you what they need.
9 types/motivations and what each needs to build trust, what can break trust, and what to remember about each
Coaching Prompts:
Reflect: What might change in your relationships if you stopped assuming everyone defines trust the same way?
Journal: What helps me know I can trust someone? What makes me pull back?
Notice: Your own tendencies when it comes to trust (is it immediate, does it take time, what are you seeking to reassure you etc)

Resources | Links:
Enneagram for Teams
Co-create with Jen for Your Team
Get Your Enneagram Type Here
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Instagram | Grow Collective
Website | The Work of You
Website | Grow Collective
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26min
November 05, 2025Understanding Your Team via The Enneagram
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Self awareness is essential yet without system awareness you can still be stuck in patterns.
In this episode, we explore how the Enneagram can be used not just for self awareness and growth but also for system awareness -- to understand and support the dynamics of your team. We’ll look at how different core motivations, communication patterns, and instinctual priorities shape how each person shows up at work. You’ll learn how to recognize common tension points, how to create more psychological safety, and how to build a team culture where people feel seen, valued, and able to contribute in their own way.
Episode topics:
People reveal insights into their type and instinct by what they protect and pursue; even without knowing someones type you can notice these patterns
The Enneagram is not a label; instead it sheds light on what drives you, and what you need to feel safe, effective, and connected?
Self awareness vs system awareness and the values to both
The 3 Enneagram centers and what they each need to trust
Common team communication misfires between centers
The role of the instincts and how this can imprint on a team's patterns
Practical suggestions for how to both notice and name team patterns to build more system awareness
This isn’t about treating everyone the same. It’s about understanding that what builds trust is NOT universal. Understanding ourselves helps;
understanding the system transforms everything.
Coaching Prompts:
Notice: Try observing the team dynamics rather than just participating in them
Journal: What do I need to feel safe in communication?
Ask: What am I learning about my colleagues – what do they need to feel safe, effective, and connected?
Resources | Links:
Enneagram for Teams
Enneagram in a VUCA World
Co-create with Jen for Your Team
Instagram | The Work of You
Instagram | Grow Collective
Website | The Work of You
Website | Grow Collective
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28min
October 29, 2025Seeing What's Working via Appreciative Inquiry
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What if the key to leading change wasn’t fixing what’s broken, but amplifying what’s already working?
In this episode Jen explores how leaders can create a culture of growth by focusing on what’s already working — not just what’s broken. Using the Appreciative Inquiry framework, she walks through the 4D process: Discover, Dream, Design, and Destiny/Deliver, showing how each phase helps teams tap into their strengths, build collective vision, and sustain meaningful change. You’ll learn how shifting from problem-solving to possibility-thinking transforms engagement, connection, and trust — one appreciative question at a time.
Episode topics:
David Cooperrider's work in Appreciative Inquiry
Appreciative Inquiry vs Problem Solving approach
Mayo Clinic example
4 D Cycle: Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver/Destiny
How an appreciative approach builds a culture of growth
Applying Appreciative Inquiry in feedback -- the Shift Positive Method
Coaching Prompts:
When have I / we done this well before?
What strengths made that possible?
What could I / we design to repeat that success more often?
Resources | Links:
Appreciative Inquiry
Book | Feedback Reimagined by Jen Ostrich + Peter Berridge
Website | Shift Positive Method
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29min
October 22, 2025Leading with Humanity
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What if the most powerful thing a leader could do wasn't to have all the answers -- but to stay deeply human and authentic in the process?
Leadership isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being real. In this heartfelt conversation, Jen shares stories and lessons on how to lead with empathy, curiosity, and courage, even when the world feels uncertain. Learn how human-centered leadership can transform not only your team but the culture you create together.
Episode topics:
What it means to lead with humanity and considering the role of empathy + authenticity + imperfection
The leadership drift - when we lose our humanity
Remembering the SCARF model and the role humanity plays in meeting these social needs [refer back to Episode 14]
Practical invitations to lead with humanity
Coaching Prompts:
Where might you have traded being human for being efficient?
What’s one relationship that could use a little more humanity from you right now?
What's one small step you can take to move more toward humanity?
Resources | Links:
Episode 19: The Art of Real Connection
Episode 14 - SCARF Model
Book: Brené Brown The Gifts of Imperfection
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Website | The Work of You
Website | Grow Collective
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23min
October 15, 2025The Art of Real Connection -- Finding Our Way Back
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What if the way back to connection isn’t out there – but in here, in how we choose to show up to one another?
The world feels fractured and more divided than ever before. AND, the technology and algorithms are actually keeping us in separate sandboxes instead of bringing us back together through perspectives and forums of shared connection. This episode explores how we can rediscover genuine connection — with ourselves and others — in a time when the world feels increasingly pulled apart. Jen reflects on the simple yet powerful acts that rebuild trust and empathy, and how connection is at the heart of leadership and personal growth.
Episode topics:
Why connection matters
What drives disconnection
4 Ways to finding our way back to connection:
Find + Focus on common ground: through shared values, stories, interests
Listen over Fix: Building empathy is an invitation to see the world through another’s experience without trying to solve it and instead just sit in it and listen with compassiom
Ask over Assume: consider asking why or nudge someone to “say more” before you assume and potentially make up your own story that’s not grounded in the truth. This comes down to leading with curiosity and leaving the judgement at the door.
Self Check: pause and consider how you take in information and is that getting in the way of you connecting with those who operate differently?Enneagram can help here:
Ex: as a heart type – where are you taking something personally when in fact it’s nothing to do with you it’s about the other persons frame of reference
EX as a head type – where are you seeking certainty and that’s creating a barrier to seeing another perspective?
EX as a body type – where are you shutting down or pushing away because difference feels like a threat to your sense of autonomy and agency?
Takeaways:
We can’t build trust if we stop talking.
Connection starts when we choose curiosity over certainty
When the world feels divided, it’s our small acts of empathy that bring it back together.
Coaching Prompts:
What would it look like to reconnect with one person you’ve pulled away from?
What is one small shift you could make to move toward vs further away?
Take one small action this week to reach out or listen more deeply.
Resources | Links:
The Enneagram
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24min
October 08, 2025 Audience Q&A
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We are about four months into the podcast and this feels like a great time to check in with what the listeners are wondering about. I've asked what you're curious to learn more about, questions you have, or resources you're looking for. Tune into this episode to hear all the answers and a special announcement for an upcoming Season 2 plan.
Resources | Links:
Website | The Enneagram 9 Types
GET YOUR ENNEAGRAM TYPE -- includes the Instinct data; most ideal for professional use: leaders and teams
ALT OPTION FOR TYPING - also includes the Instincts
Book | Emotional Intelligence 2.0: by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves
The Grow Effect Coaching Model
Instagram | The Work of You
Instagram | Grow Collective
Website | The Work of You
Website | Grow Collective
...more
24min

FAQs about The Work of You:

How many episodes does The Work of You have?

The podcast currently has 30 episodes available.