Typology

What does it mean to "get it right" as a parent?
Not perfectly. Not without regret. Not with some airtight system that guarantees your children will become exactly who you hoped they'd be. But with intention. With humility. With the long view in mind.
In this replay episode of Typology, I sit down with Andy and Sandra Stanley—both Enneagram Ones—to talk about their book, Parenting: Getting It Right. And what unfolds is a deeply honest, practical, and surprisingly tender conversation about parenting toward relationship instead of mere compliance.
Andy and Sandra share how they came to define the "win" of parenting as raising kids who want to be with you and with each other when they no longer have to be. That one sentence is worth the price of admission. We also explore the role of discipline, apology, regret, repair, and why humility may be one of the greatest gifts parents can offer their children.
Whether you are raising toddlers, teenagers, adult children, or looking back with a few regrets and a lot of love, this conversation is full of wisdom, grace, and hope.
In this episode, we explore:
Why parenting is ultimately about relationships, not rules
How Enneagram Ones parent—and what happens when two Ones raise a Seven
The difference between punishment and discipline
Why learning to repair broken relationships is essential for lifelong happiness
How parents can live with tension without trying to solve everything
Why "progress, not perfection" may be the mercy every parent needs
So pour a cup of coffee, take a deep breath, and listen in. This is one you'll want to pass along to every parent you know.

We're going back into the vault for one of our most popular mailbag episodes from Season 3 — and the questions are just as good as we remembered.
In this episode, Ian and co-host Anthony Skinner answer listener questions on some of the Enneagram's most nuanced and personal territory: Can trauma actually change your type? What is the "sunny Four," and why do subtypes matter so much for Fours and Sixes? How do Threes and Fours process grief differently — and what does healthy grieving even look like through an Enneagram lens? What does it mean to have a heavy wing, and can you access both wings for growth? And for the Ones in the room — what do you actually do with all that repressed anger?
Whether you're new to Typology or you've been with us for years, this one is worth your time.
Have a question of your own? Send it to wendy@ianmorgancron.com and you might hear it answered on our next mailbag episode.

What if the reason your closest relationships feel stuck isn't about how much you care — but about how differently you and the people you love communicate? Today, I sit down with Jason VanRuler, therapist, Enneagram Two, and author of Discovering Your Communication Type: The 5 Paths to Deeper Connection and Stronger Relationships, as he introduces us to his P.A.T.H.S. framework — five communication styles he identified through years of working with couples navigating betrayal, teams in conflict, and individuals trying to understand why the same words land so differently depending on who's in the room. Those five types: the Peacemaker, the Advocate, the Thinker, the Harbor, and the Spark. 
The nine Enneagram types map fascinatingly onto these five communication styles, and we walk through each type together. We talk about blind spots (every communication style has one), what happens to our style under stress and in conflict, and why the most generous thing you can do in any relationship is learn to speak your people's language rather than demanding they speak yours.
Jason also shares honestly from his own marriage — he's a Harbor married to a Thinker — and what changed when he learned to stop reading his wife's precision questions as opposition and started hearing them as her version of love.
Whether you're an Enneagram enthusiast, a couples therapist, a team leader, or just someone who's tired of feeling unseen in conversations, this episode is for you.

What if the very thing driving your success is quietly breaking you?
Brooke Taylor, Enneagram Three, career coach, and author of Healing the Success Wound,  joins me for a searingly honest conversation about achievement, identity, and spiritual hunger.. Brooke grew up in Silicon Valley where worth was measured in gold stars, landed at Google by her early twenties, and found herself drowning in a success she couldn't feel. We talk about the success wound which, as Brooke describes it, is the pain that comes from mistaking productivity and achievement for self-worth — the deeply installed belief that the more you produce and achieve, the more worthy of love and belonging you become.
This wound isn't just for Enneagram Threes. It's a human condition — and it shows up differently depending on your type, your culture, your family system, and what "success" looks like in your particular world. 
We talk through Brooke's five types of unfulfilled achievers — the grinder, the hider, the seeker, the work-hard-play-hard, and the pleaser — and I couldn't help mapping those to the Enneagram types in real time. We also get into the distinction between the true self, the wounded self, and the socialized (or protector) self — a framework rooted in Internal Family Systems and gestalt psychology that I think will resonate deeply with longtime Typology listeners.
Whether you're a Three or you love one, this episode is for you.
 
 
Guest Bio:
Brooke Taylor is a certified career coach, speaker, and the author of Healing the Success Wound. A self-identified Enneagram Three, Brooke built her coaching practice specifically for women navigating the intersection of ambition, identity, and fulfillment — though her framework applies broadly across genders. Her research includes a survey of more than 5,000 high-achieving professionals who identified as unfulfilled, which forms the empirical backbone of her five-type model of the unfulfilled achiever. A veteran of Google and a long-term member of recovery communities, Brooke brings both lived experience and rigorous research to her work. She is the founder of the Lined Ambition framework and writes and coaches at the crossroads of psychology, spirituality, and career development. Learn more at brooketaylor.co.
Healing the Success Wound is available now wherever books are sold.
Find Brooke at https://brooketaylorcoaching.com.

Have you ever known where you want to go—but felt mysteriously stuck getting there? In this episode of Typology, I sit down with Dr. Henry Cloud, clinical psychologist, leadership expert, and bestselling author of Boundaries, to talk about his new book, Your Desired Future: The Five Essential Steps That Take You Where You Want to Go.
Together, we explore the intersection of faith, psychology, the Enneagram, self-awareness, and personal growth, and how real transformation begins when we stop shaming ourselves for where we are and start getting curious about what's possible. Henry brings his characteristic wisdom, warmth, and clinical insight to a conversation about healing, purpose, emotional health, and the practical path from "here" to "there."
This is a thoughtful and hope-filled conversation for anyone who feels stuck, is navigating change, or wants to better understand the patterns that shape the life they're living.