Understanding Yourself and Others
Effective leaders are comfortable within themselves. Both outgoing, quick witted leaders and quiet, thoughtful people can be effective leaders. People follow people who are clear, confident, and know them selves.
I first discovered the Enneagram at least 35 years ago through study of the Jesuits. Ennea from the Greek for nine; gram from the Greek for picture or diagram. The Enneagram is a diagram showing the nine basic personality types and some relationships among them.
The origins of the Enneagram are hazy, but an early church father is thought to have put out the original ideas.
The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile provides an overview of the nine types and their nuances. Most importantly, since the Enneagram has Christian origins, it is more useful for personal and spiritual development than it is for psychological profiling.
Oh, the nine types:
- One-The Perfectionist, Reformer
- Two-Helper, Giver
- Three-Achiever, Performer
- Four-Individualist, Romantic
- Five-Investigator, Observer
- Six-Loyalist, Loyal Skeptic
- Seven-Enthusiast, Epicure
- Eight-Challenger, Protector
- Nine-Peacemaker, Mediator
I am a Five with a strong Four—just so you know why I write observations so much and prefer reading and researching. Don’t ask about the Romantic side 😉
Ian Morgan Cron has partnered with a company for Enneagram assessments.
As you go deeper, you discover that 9, for example, may have a relationship with 8 and 1. All three are in the “anger” triad. Each deals with the anger that began in childhood differently. They call these “wings”, so you could be 9 with an 8 wing, for example, which will describe you in more details.
Even that is simplified. However, each number has a healthy side and an unhealthy side. It becomes important to your growth and spiritual journey to recognize when you are healthy and when you are not. Then you have work to do to get to healthy.
Also, we all have some of each number. So in the mixture comes an occasional misunderstanding. Depending upon the assessment, I can come up with a strong 9. But upon reflection, it is really a manifestation of 5 where I take time to digest things, think about it, see both sides of the issue, and so on.
The purpose of the Enneagram is not just to know your type, or your significant other’s type, or the numbers of your co-workers. It is to do the work of growth and spiritual development. It never ends.
