How Owning Your Personality Can Transform Your Career with Chris Staudinger

In this episode of the Own Your Awkward Podcast, Andy Vargo sits down with Chris Staudinger, a Tacoma-based travel journalist turned tour guide, to explore how embracing your so-called “awkward” traits can lead to deeper fulfillment and career clarity. From owning a desire to be in the spotlight to using curiosity as a superpower, Chris shares how self-awareness, personality tools like the Enneagram, and a love for his local community helped him build a life that feels both authentic and impactful.

Chris’s story is a powerful reminder that personal growth does not come from shrinking yourself to fit expectations, it comes from understanding who you are and finding ways to express that in service of others.

From Travel Journalist to Tacoma Tour Guide

Chris didn’t start out planning to become a local tour guide. His early career was rooted in travel journalism, storytelling, and exploring new places. But over time, he realized that what he loved most wasn’t just seeing new locations, it was sharing stories, guiding people through experiences, and being the person at the front of the group connecting all the dots.

That realization eventually led him to found Pretty Gritty Tours, a company dedicated to highlighting the rich, complex, and often misunderstood story of Tacoma, Washington.

Instead of chasing generic “Top 10” travel lists, Chris leaned into something more meaningful, helping people fall in love with a place by understanding its history, character, and quirks.

And yes, those quirks include grit.

Why Curiosity Might Be the Most Underrated Skill

One of the strongest themes in this conversation is Chris’s belief that curiosity is one of the most positive forces in the world right now.

He describes curiosity as the willingness to engage in learning, even when it means letting go of ideas you once believed were true. That openness is what allows people, and entire communities, to grow.

Curiosity does a few powerful things:

• It helps you ask better questions

• It keeps you flexible instead of rigid

• It allows you to understand people instead of judging them

• It fuels creativity, problem-solving, and innovation

Chris shared that for him, curiosity is not just a professional asset, it is deeply personal. He is “intensely curious about everything,” and finds real joy in helping others feel proud when they learn something new.

In a world that often rewards certainty and loud opinions, curiosity is quietly revolutionary.

Owning a Love for Attention (Yes, Really)

Here is where the conversation gets beautifully awkward.

Chris openly shares that one of his core traits is a genuine love for being in the spotlight. And for a long time, he struggled with that.

Society often labels that desire as narcissistic or self-centered. So Chris tried to be less visible, to stay in the background, to mute a part of himself that felt “too much.”

The result? It was soul-crushing.

What changed everything was discovering the Enneagram personality system and realizing he is an Enneagram Three, a type that thrives on achievement, recognition, and being outstanding at what they do.

Instead of trying to suppress that drive, Chris reframed it:

Just because I feel this way does not mean it is wrong. There are good ways to manifest it.

That mindset shift is at the heart of Own Your Awkward. Not every trait needs to be eliminated, many simply need to be redirected.

And for Chris, that redirection came through becoming a tour guide.

Finding the Perfect Outlet for Your Personality

As a tour guide, Chris gets to stand in front of groups, tell stories, lead experiences, and yes, be the center of attention.

But here is the key difference: in that context, the attention is not self-serving. It is in service of others. People want him to talk. They expect him to lead. His spotlight becomes a tool for connection, education, and inspiration.

This is what alignment looks like.

When your personality, skills, and purpose intersect, work stops feeling like a performance and starts feeling like a contribution.

For anyone listening who has struggled to fit into traditional career boxes, Chris’s story is a powerful example of how fulfillment often comes from designing your work around who you already are.

The Enneagram and the Power of Self-Awareness

Another layer of this conversation dives into how personality tools like the Enneagram can improve not just self-understanding, but relationships.

Chris shares how learning his type helped him understand his motivations, triggers, and strengths. But he did not stop there.

He also learned his wife is an Enneagram Six, a type known for planning, anticipating problems, and creating safety. Together, they form what he calls a “power duo” in both life and business.

This highlights something crucial:

Self-awareness is not just about you, it is about how you interact with others.

When you understand different strengths, you stop competing and start complementing.

Rewriting the Story of “Gritty” Tacoma

Tacoma has often been labeled as gritty, rough, or overlooked. Chris decided to challenge that narrative, not by ignoring the grit, but by reframing it.

For him, grit is not a flaw, it is character.

Through Pretty Gritty Tours, Chris works to help both visitors and locals see Tacoma through a new lens, one that celebrates its resilience, creativity, and deep history.

In doing so, he models something listeners can apply anywhere:

Be proud of where you are from.
Look for what is good.
Tell better stories about the places and people you love.

How to Start Owning Your Awkward

Toward the end of the episode, Andy and Chris bring it home with practical advice for anyone who feels stuck, misunderstood, or disconnected from their authentic self.

Chris encourages listeners to:

• Take a free Enneagram test to better understand your motivations

• Reflect on what traits you have tried to hide or suppress

• Ask yourself how those traits might actually create value

• Look for roles, careers, or environments where those traits are welcomed

• Stop asking “What is wrong with me?” and start asking “Where does this fit?”

As Chris so perfectly puts it, the thing you have been judged for might be the very thing that allows you to contribute meaningfully to the world.

That is not just good career advice, it is good life advice.

Final Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass in reframing identity, embracing curiosity, and designing a life that feels true instead of tolerable.

Chris Staudinger’s story reminds us that owning your awkward is not about being louder or flashier, it is about being honest, intentional, and brave enough to show up as you really are.

And when you do that, fulfillment tends to follow.