The Work of You

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 Work of You is for high-achieving humans ready to stop repeating patterns and start leading themselves differently. Through insights from coaching, the Enneagram, and her own personal inner overhaul, Jen brings honesty, humor, and sharp emotional clarity to the table. With real talk, self-awareness tools, and a healthy dose of tough love, she helps you uncover what’s driving you, shift what’s no longer serving you, and ultimately do the work of you — one honest episode at a time. This isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about finally understanding yourself — so your choices, relationships, and leadership can actually align with who you truly are.

The Work of You is a education podcast hosted by Jen Ostrich, with 68 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Jen Ostrich hosts The Work of You, a education show with 68 episodes published.

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  Episode #34

  The 50th Decade — Pausing, Pivoting, and Choosing Me [S2 Ep34]

  Sep 2, 202631 minS2

  Send some fan mail Click Here to Support : *If you're able to support this free independently produced podcast it would mean so much to me * In this solo episode, Jen shares the real story behind a major life decision: selling her home and moving into a new season she's calling her "50th decade." She walks through the framework that got her there — knowing when to pause, when to pivot, and when to proceed — and how each of those shows up differently depending on how you're wired. Jen also gets honest about what's behind the podcast's own pause: a season three that's being rebuilt from the ground up, centered fully on the Enneagram. This is a episode about permission — to change your mind, to prioritize yourself, and to trust your own timeline even when it doesn't look like what you promised. In This Episode We Explore The Pause/Pivot/Proceed Framework: Jen introduces the three-word lens she uses for reading what a decision actually calls for, and how your default wiring can make one of the three harder than the others. Choosing Yourself Without Justifying It: Why Jen decided to sell her home and move — a decision she describes as not needing to make sense to anyone but her. Leading Through an Enneagram 2 Lens: How Jen's Type 2 wiring shows up in the guilt of "letting people down," and what it looks like to keep leading herself through it anyway. What's Ahead for Season Three: Jen shares why the podcast is pausing its weekly cadence, what's coming instead between now and the relaunch, and her vision for a season built entirely around the nine Enneagram types and their subtypes. The Work of You — Reflective Prompts 1. Consider where you might need something that you may not be allowing yourself to fully name or see or accept. 2. Do you need to pause or pivot or proceed around something? Is doing so in service of your needs specifically? Resources and Links Enneagram Type Deep Dive Mini Course - Promo Code: POD2026 (valid through the end of 2026) Download this Free Resource: Discover Your Hidden Layer of Leadership iEQ9 Enneagram Assessment The Work of You | Substack Instagram | The Work of You Website | The Work of You Instagram | Grow Collectiv e Website | Grow Collective Support the show

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  Episode #33

  A Koko Birthday Tribute: The 9 Types as Dog Breeds [S2 E33]

  Aug 26, 202625 minS2

  Send some fan mail Click Here to Support : *If you're able to support this free independently produced podcast it would mean so much to me * You already know your patterns show up in how you love, how you compete, how you protect yourself, and how you avoid pain. What you might not know is that they show up in your dog, too. This episode is a tribute to Jen's 15-year-old boy Koko, and a joyful, surprisingly clarifying tour through all nine Enneagram types as dog breeds. In this rerun-turned-tribute episode, Jen celebrates her dog Koko's 15th birthday by bringing back one of her favorite frameworks: mapping the high side of each Enneagram type onto the dog breeds that embody it. She moves through all three centers of intelligence — heart, head, and body — pairing two breeds per type, from the people-pleasing Cavalier King Charles Spaniel of type Two to the no-nonsense Blue Heeler of type One. Along the way, she weaves in stories about her own dogs and the dogs of friends and listeners, using each one as a mirror for the motivations, fears, and gifts underneath the type. It's a lighter entry point into the Enneagram model, but the goal is the same as always: helping you get curious about your own inner drive, not just your outward behavior. In this episode, we explore: The three centers of intelligence : How the heart, head, and body types organize all nine Enneagram numbers, and why the type breakdown moves in that order. The high side of each type : Two dog breeds per type, chosen to capture the different expressions of that type's core motivation and energy. Subconscious motivation over behavior : Why your type is defined by what drives you underneath, not by how you appear on the surface. Wings and lines as a growth map : A reminder that your core type is a starting point, not a box, and that the neighboring numbers and connecting lines show you the path to your most integrated self. The Work of You - Reflective Prompts: 1. Which dog description felt the most like you, and which parts deeply resonated? 2. Was there a dog type or an Enneagram type that you felt resistance to? What might that be telling you? 3. How do you show up when you're at your best? And what kind of dog would that be like? 4. Who in your life might be a totally different dog type, and how does that shape your dynamic? What are some things you might notice between you and another "dog" in your life? Resources | Links: S1 E9: What if the Enneagram Had a Tail? Learn the 9 Types as Dog Breeds Enneagram Type Deep Dive Mini Course - Promo Code: POD2026 (valid through the end of 2026) Download this Free Resource: Discover Your Hidden Layer of Leadership iEQ9 Enneagram Assessment The Work of You | Substack Instagram | The Work of You Website | The Work of You Instagram | Grow Collectiv e Website | Grow Collective Support the show

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  Episode #32

  Your Enneagram Lines -- What They're Telling You, Part 2 [S2 Ep32]

  Aug 19, 202625 minS2

  Send some fan mail Click Here to Support : *If you're able to support this free independently produced podcast it would mean so much to me * What if you thought of yourself as more than just your Enneagram type? Learning how to work with your main type plus the two connecting lines pulling at you constantly — one when you're falling apart, one when you're growing. Part two of this Enneagram deep dive walks through exactly what that pull looks like for the head types and the body types, and by the end you'll know precisely which direction you go under stress, and which direction gets you back. This episode picks up where part one left off, moving through the remaining six Enneagram types — the head center (five, six, seven) and the body center (eight, nine, one) — and mapping exactly how each type's two connecting lines function as a two-way street: one side pulling you into old, reactive patterns under stress, the other offering a specific, nameable path back to your best self. Jen uses her own type — a two moving to the low side of four and the high side of eight — as a working example of how this shows up in real life, not just in theory. From there she breaks down each remaining type's stress pattern and growth pattern in detail, so you can hear your own type described plainly and recognize the exact behaviors to watch for. This is a map, not a personality quiz — and understanding it is what makes the difference between spiraling and course-correcting. In this episode, we explore: Jen's Personal Line Work : How Jen, a type two, experiences the pull to the low side of four (feeling consumed and misunderstood) and the high side of eight (reclaiming boundaries, confidence, and voice). The Head Types (5, 6, 7) : What stress and growth look like for the investigator, the loyalist, and the enthusiast, and the specific line shifts that move each one out of their heads and into balance. The Body Types (8, 9, 1) : How the challenger, the peacemaker, and the reformer each swing between control, avoidance, or rigidity, and what accessing their high-side lines actually requires. Using the Model in Relationships : How naming your own stress pattern — and recognizing someone else's — can defuse tension and open a real conversation about what each of you needs. The Work of You - Reflective Prompts: 1. What am I noticing and learning about myself when I feel insecure or stressed? 2. What do I need in those moments? 3. When I'm operating at my very best, what does that look like? Resources | Links: Enneagram Type Deep Dive Mini Course - Promo Code: POD2026 (valid through the end of 2026) Download this Free Resource: Discover Your Hidden Layer of Leadership iEQ9 Enneagram Assessment The Work of You | Substack Instagram | The Work of You Website | The Work of You Instagram | Grow Collectiv e Website | Grow Collective Support the show

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  Episode #31

  Your Enneagram Lines -- What They're Telling You, Part 1 [S2 Ep31]

  Aug 12, 202630 minS2

  Send some fan mail Click Here to Support : *If you're able to support this free independently produced podcast it would mean so much to me * When you're stressed, you don't become a worse version of yourself — you become a predictable one. There's a pattern to where you go under pressure, and once you can see it, you can stop being run by it. This episode is learning how the Enneagram works as a map. In this episode, Jen breaks down one of the most misunderstood parts of the Enneagram system: the lines, sometimes called arrows, that connect each type to two others. These lines aren't abstract theory — they show up in real time, in the specific ways you default under stress and the specific ways you can grow beyond your core type. Jen walks through the difference between the high side and low side of a type, what integration and disintegration actually mean, and why understanding this gives you an early warning system for your own patterns. This first installment covers the framework itself, plus a deep dive into how the lines operate for the three heart types — two, three, and four. Part two picks up next week with the head and body types. In this episode, we explore: The map, not the box: Why the Enneagram's wings and lines exist to open you up rather than confine you to a single number. High side vs. low side: How to recognize when you're accessing the most integrated version of a type versus its most reactive, stress-driven patterns. Wings as access points: How the two types neighboring your core number can offer easier, more immediate growth opportunities. The heart types under stress : How twos, threes, and fours specifically disintegrate along their lines — and what the high side of the opposite line offers as a way back. The Work of You - Reflective Prompts: 1. What are the low side patterns you notice coming up for you, and what are some alternative pathways to pull you out of that? 2. What might it look like to move to the high side of your alternative line and see how that changes up the stress cycle? Resources | Links: CP Enneagram Lines Diagram Enneagram Type Deep Dive Mini Course - Promo Code: POD2026 (valid through the end of 2026) Download this Free Resource: Discover Your Hidden Layer of Leadership iEQ9 Enneagram Assessment The Work of You | Substack Instagram | The Work of You Website | The Work of You Instagram | Grow Collectiv e Website | Grow Collective Support the show

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  Episode #30

  Understanding Your Enneagram Subtype [S2 Ep30]

  Aug 5, 202636 minS2

  Send some fan mail Click Here to Support : *If you're able to support this free independently produced podcast it would mean so much to me * You already know your Enneagram type. But do you know why two people with the same type can look nothing alike? The answer is your instinct — the unconscious force running beneath your type that decides what you protect, what you prioritize, and how you show up when things fall apart. This week Jen unpacks the three instincts — self-preservation, social, and sexual (or one-on-one) — and how each one colors your Enneagram type in a completely different shade. She walks through all nine types under each instinct, calling out the "countertypes" where the instinct actually pulls a type's behavior in an unexpected direction. Jen also gets personal, sharing her own subtype and what it's taught her about a lifelong pattern she's still working to understand. This episode builds the foundation for everything that comes next in the August Enneagram series, including a future deep dive into all 27 subtypes. In this episode, we explore: The three instincts : What self-preservation, social, and sexual instincts each protect and prioritize, and why they operate like an animalistic survival drive. Counter types : How certain types behave opposite to what you'd expect once a specific instinct takes the lead — like a self-preservation Four who looks upbeat instead of moody. Your instinctual stack : Why understanding your dominant, secondary, and repressed instinct matters, and how overusing one keeps you from your growth edge. Jen's own subtype : What it's been like living as a Type 2 with a dominant sexual instinct, and the personal pattern it's taken her years to understand. The Work of You - Reflective Prompts: 1. Which instinct feels most like home to you? 2. For the next week, try going without one of your comforts/routines or try focusing on someone else's needs or desires over your own and see what that's like. 3. Which of the three instincts perhaps sounds the least like you? Resources | Links: Enneagram Type Deep Dive Mini Course - Promo Code: POD2026 (valid through the end of 2026) Download this Free Resource: Discover Your Hidden Layer of Leadership iEQ9 Enneagram Assessment The Work of You | Substack Instagram | The Work of You Website | The Work of You Instagram | Grow Collectiv e Website | Grow Collective Support the show

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