by Coach Barbara Jordan — AdvantEdge Leadership Coaching

Most of the leaders I work with look like they have it all together — and quietly carry far more pressure than anyone sees. That’s exactly where leadership anxiety coaching comes in. Recently I asked myself a simple question: How can the book Managing Leadership Anxiety and the Enneagram help me help leaders? The answer landed right in my wheelhouse — because these two tools fit together beautifully, and together they move leaders from being managed by anxiety to managing it. That’s transformational leadership coaching from the inside out.

What “Managing Leadership Anxiety” teaches

In Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs, Steve Cuss offers powerful, practical tools rooted in family systems theory. A few key ideas:

• Chronic vs. acute anxiety. Acute anxiety is a real response to a real, present threat. Chronic anxiety is a false alarm that fires when you don’t get something you think you need.
• Capacity & non-anxious presence. Anxiety spreads like a virus — and the antidote is a leader who can walk into a tense room with calm, grounded presence.
• Contagious reactivity. Reactivity is anxiety jumping from person to person; leaders can learn to diffuse it instead of spreading it.

Leadership growth, Cuss argues, begins with managing your own anxiety — and that opens the door to healthier teams and deeper connection.

Why the Enneagram supercharges leadership anxiety coaching

Cuss’s hardest step is finding the hidden need fueling the chronic anxiety. The Enneagram is a ready-made map of exactly those needs — each type is built around a core fear and a core need, with predictable triggers and a stress pattern. So instead of fishing for a leader’s anxiety driver, I can get there fast and even predict how it will show up on their team. In short: Cuss gives me the process; the Enneagram gives me the map.

How I coach with both

• Diagnose faster: “Your type tends to feel anxious when ___ — does that ring true?” (a lens, never a label).
• Name the chronic need behind the reactivity, then test it: real threat, or false alarm?
• Spot the de-railers — a 1 gets critical, a 3 overworks, a 6 catastrophizes, a 9 goes quiet.
• Build a non-anxious presence, tailored: a Type 8 practices not dominating; a Type 9 practices not disappearing; a Type 2 practices boundaries; a Type 6 builds certainty from within.
• Manage “theirs”: I show each leader how their anxiety infects the team — and how to become the calm transformer instead.

My by-type cheat sheet (with my guided recordings mapped in)

Type	Core anxious need	Shows up as	Coaching focus	My recording
1 Perfectionist	to be right/good	inner critic, rigidity	progress over perfection	Overcome Perfectionism / Letting Go of Perfectionism
2 Helper	to be needed	over-giving, no boundaries	self-worth + boundaries	Calm Confidence
3 Achiever	to succeed/look good	overwork, image mgmt	worth beyond results	Achieve Success in Spite of Stress
4 Individualist	to be significant	comparison, moodiness	grounded identity	Calm Confidence
5 Investigator	to be competent	withdrawal, hoarding energy	capacity + engagement	Manage Your Time / Laser Focus
6 Loyalist (the anxiety type)	safety/certainty	worst-case thinking	confidence from within	Calm Confidence + Achieve Success in Spite of Stress
7 Enthusiast	to avoid pain/limits	distraction, avoidance	focus + follow-through	Laser Focus
8 Challenger	to stay in control	domination, intensity	lead without controlling	Master of Motivation & Influence
9 Peacemaker	to keep peace	avoidance, self-forgetting	voice + healthy conflict	Speak with Credibility & Confidence + Unleash the Leader Within

Calm, confident leadership — from the inside out

This is my genuine differentiator: I help leaders name their deepest fears, build self-awareness through the Enneagram, and practice calm presence — reinforced by my own guided audio recordings. It’s more than skill sets — it’s emotional intelligence and mindset, too. Beyond information, to transformation.

(One note: this is leadership development and coaching. If a leader is facing genuine clinical anxiety, I help them find the right clinical support — that’s a separate lane I hold with care.)

Ready to lead from a calmer, more confident place? Explore my guided audio recordings or book a consultation with AdvantEdge Leadership Coaching. Let’s turn your hard-won experience into calm, confident leadership.

Barbara Jordan · Certified Leadership Coach · AdvantEdge Leadership Coaching · coachbarbarajordan.com

#LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #Enneagram #LeadershipAnxiety #AdvantEdge

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Why Leaders Feel So Overwhelmed

Our world is louder, faster, and more demanding than ever. According to the American Psychological Association, chronic interruptions and information overload significantly impair focus and working memory (APA, 2023). Leaders feel this intensely because they’re expected to:

• Make rapid decisions
• Manage complex teams
• Juggle competing priorities
• Stay emotionally regulated
• Maintain high performance

That’s where coaching and structured support come in.

• Accountability
• Structure
• Emotional grounding
• Practical tools
• A clear plan for success

You can learn more about my leadership coaching approach on my About Page:
https://coachbarbarajordan.com/about/

If you’re ready to feel more grounded and less overwhelmed, call me at 920‑246‑1309 or email AdvantEdgeGreenBay@gmail.com.

Visit the Products & Resources | Leadership Book & Success Recordings to purchase the leadership book “Leadership Success in Spite of Stress: 20 Powerful Questions to Take You From Disaster to Master” and the powerfully transforming audio recording, “Laser Focus for Increased Success“.

Also, share this blog post with someone who needs encouragement today.

Warmly,
Barbara Jordan, MS, CEC
AdvantEdge Leadership Coaching

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