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 — on...
Building Your Leadership Brand
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Why building your leadership brand is an inside-out job.
Think about a brand you absolutely love — maybe it’s a coffee shop, a clothing label, or even your favorite airline. Got it? Now… why do you love it? Is it the quality? The way they treat you? The way you feel when you interact with them? This information is helpful to understand because it works the same for your brand -- your leadership brand. Whether you realize it or not, you already have a leadership brand — it’s how people expe...
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
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What if a story you told yourself wasn’t true? What impact are the stories you tell yourself having on how you live and lead?
In this episode Jen explores how the stories we tell ourselves shape our reality—and often get in the way of truth, trust, and connection. She dives into what are stories, a framework called Ladder of Inference, real-life examples, and self-coaching prompts to help manage your own stories. When we don’t have all the facts, our brain fills in the gaps with a story...
The 3 Instincts That Shape Your Enneagram Type
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Unpack the hidden drives that shape how your Enneagram type shows up in life and leadership.
Have you ever met someone who shares your Enneagram type but acts nothing like you? You might have thought, ‘Wait — are we even the same type?’ That’s the magic of instincts. Instincts explain why two people of the same type can have totally different priorities, fears, and energy. This is another powerful aspect of doing the work of you – both your core motivation and your dominant instinct act automatically, like how patterns can work as...
Bonus: Reflections on the Inner Work Journey
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How's it going for you -- doing the work of you?
As we approach a milestone of 10 episodes coming up this week; I felt called to drop an "off the cuff" bonus episode. In it I share what came up for me after hearing Oprah interview the co-founder of the Hoffman Process, Raz Ingrasci. And this notion of substituting vibrancy and happiness with success. I also check in and reflect on where I'm at in my own inner work journey since attending Hoffman in 2016 and I nudge you to c...
What if the Enneagram Had a Tail? Learn the 9 Types as Dog Breeds
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Today’s episode is all about connecting with the Enneagram in a fresh and engaging way that sticks while helping you do the work of you by understanding yourself on a deeper level. Jen taps into the best qualities of each Enneagram type by bringing to light some of the most soulful, intuitive and lovable creatures: DOGS. As a passionate dog lover, Jen shares two breeds per type to cover the different expressions of each type’s energy. Be sure to listen closely for some special dog shoutouts (and check the @theworkofyou Instagram page...
Reimagining Feedback: A New Way to Grow
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What if feedback felt inspiring and inviting vs something you dread or want to avoid?
Feedback doesn’t have to feel like criticism. In this episode, Jen explores a new way to think about feedback using the Shift Positive® method — a strengths-based, solution-focused approach she co-created that's centered around creating a supportive feedback experience. Despite the best of intentions most of the feedback methods out there have not been designed with the brain in mind. We'll get into the neuroscience and why it makes feedback feel so hard. Then we'll...
The Truth About Change: A Birthday Tribute to the People Who Helped Me Grow
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Life is not designed to go at alone; neither is change.
This episode drops on my 49th birthday so what better than time than now to pause and reflect on some special people who have helped my growth journey. True growth happens in connection — through allies, mirrors, feedback, and belonging. This episode is a personal celebration and a coaching truth: we do not transform alone. If you're a dog lover - be sure to listen to the very end for Koko’s special birthday cameo.
Episode topics...
Why Your Strengths Matter More Than Weaknesses
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What if the key to your growth isn't fixing what you've been told is a weakness or an area that you need to improve; instead, it's about doubling down on your strengths?
Today's focus is on strengths and why they matter more than your weaknesses. Strengths are a foundation for self-leadership and growth. This is an invitation for you to, instead of obsessing over where you need to improve or what might be some of your weaknesses, to actually think even more than you ever have before about your s...
Why the Enneagram is a Leadership Superpower
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The Enneagram is powerful, but also widely under leveraged and often misunderstood. Let's get into why it's your leadership superpower!
This episode is an introduction to clarify what is the Enneagram (and all of its layers), what it's not AND how to use it in practice. ENNEA (greek word for nine) and GRAM (greek word for diagram) makes the 9 point symbol or diagram that is the Enneagram model. This episode is to ground you in the ways you can use the Enneagram in people and team development and all t...
Breaking Free from the Patterns That Hold You Back
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What if your patterns — even the ones that trip you up — are actually trying to protect you?
Let's dive into personality patterns -- what they are, why they are essential to understand about ourselves and how to learn how to manage them. I share the single most profound developmental experience I've been through, the Hoffman Process (link below) where I came to terms with my patterns and learned how to manage them. We'll dive into how to identify yours and tools to learn how to recognize when and where they...
The Myth of Fixing Yourself
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What if growth doesn’t start with fixing, but instead with understanding ourselves?
In this episode I reflect on how as a society it seems we're so focused on needing to fix ourselves. Or even thinking we are broken in some way aka in need of fixing. We look at the role fixed and growth mindset can play in this (and my own experience of falling off a bike at a young impressionable age) as well as negativity bias and other concepts brought to light via Positive Psychology. Ultimately I...
Start Here: The Work of You
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What exactly does 'the work of you' mean and is this podcast for you?
Simply put -- it's the work of getting to know yourself and how to manage yourself so you are living and leading as your most authentic self. This show is for high achieving humans who are happy enough, maybe successful enough, probably high functioning enough, but also recognize there are areas that could be optimized.
In this episode I share a little bit of who I am and why I feel called to p...
Living in Alignment - The First Step in Leading You
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Why are you the hardest person you'll ever lead?
In this episode we reflect on how we move through life often being out of alignment with our most authentic self. This makes leading you much more complicated. I share a simple framework I created that challenges you to see where you are living in full alignment with who you are, and where are you not? I share my crossroads moment and invite you to consider each and every aspect of your world and how it could be more aligned to...
The Leadership Gap No One Talks About
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What if the part of leadership that needs the most attention isn’t on your resume?
In this episode I talk about how professional development and personal development are not the same and it's critical to not assume one can accomplish the other. If/when professional development is a priority within an organization, aka there is budget, rarely does it focus on personal development – where the real work lies and where there is an ever greater impact for the leader and everyone around them. Professional development teaches strategy and execu...
Trailer: The Work of You
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Welcome to The Work of You — a podcast about the leadership that matters most… the kind that starts from within.
I’m your host -- Jen Ostrich — certified behavioral coach, Enneagram expert, and someone who’s been through my own personal inner overhaul. And let me tell you: real leadership isn’t about climbing ladders or checking boxes. It’s about learning how to lead the one person who’s hardest to lead: yourself.
If you’re a high-achieving human who's ready to get honest about the patterns holding you back or the stories...
