The Enneagram Personality System

Imagine if you had a system for knowing what makes people tick. A system that allows you to bring out the best in others, tap into their strengths, and navigate through their challenges. Not only that, a system that will teach you, as much, if not more about yourself.

Overview & Benefits

Welcome to the Enneagram! It’s a dynamic personality system of nine styles and is widely known as one of the most powerful tools for personal and professional development. In fact, we were so impressed with the Enneagram’s depth of knowledge, practicality, and resourcefulness, it has been an integral part of our business for over 20 years.

Taking the Enneagram Test and learning your style opens many doors for:

self-knowledge and personal development
understanding and appreciating others
communicating effectively
increasing emotional and social intelligence
authentic leadership
resolving conflict
engagement and motivation
transparency and authenticity
compassion, and deepened spirituality

What is the Enneagram?

The Enneagram offers a unique model of nine ways of being in the world. It is a key that opens the door to a deep understanding of yourself and the patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. Originally developed as a blueprint for self-observation, the Enneagram system describes nine distinct personality styles and how they interact with one another.

This system provides a thorough foundation for understanding why people behave the way that they do. The Enneagram personality system is considered one of the most accurate and useful systems available to help develop both emotional and social intelligence, which is why companies all over the world are embracing it, specifically in the areas of:

Communication Skills
Conflict Resolution
Coaching
Leadership Development
Team Coherence
Strategic Planning
Organizational culture change

Socrates said, “Know Thyself.” He furthered this thought with “The unexamined life is not worth living.” If you do know yourself then you will know your thoughts, feelings, desires, and motivations and you will have a good idea of just how you will react given a particular situation. If you have a very direct and assertive manner the chances are fairly high that you will also be direct and assertive in your professional style.

Self-awareness is an essential part of bringing out the best in ourselves and others. It allows us the freedom and flexibility needed to choose how we want to respond in a work situation versus reacting habitually. This is the basis of emotional and social intelligence, the top predictors of leadership success across any industry.

Understanding the Nine Enneagram Types

9 Ways of Viewing The World

One – Idealist

The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic

Two – Promoter

The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive

Three – Performer

The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious

Four – Creator

The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental

Five – Thinker

The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated

Six – Loyalist

The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious

Seven – Optimist

The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered

Eight – Asserter

The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational

Nine – Mediator

The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent

For more Enneagram frequently asked questions visit our FAQ page.

Using the Enneagram For Your Business and Career

It is currently being used in many fields and disciplines such as:

Coaching
Therapy
Education
Consulting
Business
Sales
Medicine

One of the reasons it is recognized as an asset for business is the correlation between the Enneagram and emotional intelligence (EQ). The number one predictor of leadership success,

EQ, is a combination of intrapersonal intelligence, understanding and managing yourself and interpersonal intelligence, understanding and effectively communicating with others.

In addition to being taught in Stanford Business School, it is used in top companies such as ATT, The Federal Reserve Bank, the Walt Disney Company, Silicon Graphics, Hewlett Packard, Sony, Kaiser Permanente Research Center, and the CIA, which uses it to predict the behavior of foreign leaders.

Helen Palmer-A noted author of the Enneagram says, “The Enneagram is one of the few systems that concerns itself with high-functioning behavior rather than pathology, and that it condenses a great deal of wisdom into a compact system that is relatively easy to understand.”

Conventional theories related to psychology and professional development can often be beneficial in assisting us to develop insights into why we act and feel as we do. However, they do not necessarily give us the tools to transform some parts of ourselves that may keep us complacent and unhappy. The Enneagram is an effective tool, which guides us to change these parts of ourselves that keep us from experiencing freedom of choice, responsible communication, self-confidence, success, and unlimited abundance.

The Meaning of “Enneagram”

Enneagram (“ANY-a-gram) is derived from two Greek words ennea, (“nine”) and gram (something written or drawn”) and refers to the nine points on the Enneagram model. The Enneagram first, assumes nine unique ways of experiencing the world and second, describes how each style functions and how they interact with one another. It offers profound insights into the nine very different ways in which people think, feel, and behave. The premise is that each of us has a unique style or in other words we each have a unique method in managing ourselves and conducting ourselves in our work environment. The way we act is a direct expression of our professional style.

Origin

The Enneagram goes back many centuries and according to most researchers its roots lie in Asia and the Middle East. It has also been reported that it was once reserved only for a king’s use because of its power. A king was able to have a strong knowledge of his leaders and subjects simply by knowing their style.

Since the 1930’s the Enneagram has been studied and refined throughout modern culture. Presently, numerous individuals continue to expand and deepen our knowledge of Enneagram theory and practice. Because the Enneagram is both powerful and easy to use, it is becoming increasingly popular internationally as it accurately describes people of every culture. The Enneagram style remains the same across cultures given it relates to an individual’s underlying personality dynamics and motivations.

The Enneagram has been one of those tools, similar to brainspotting for us, that has been a true game changer in our personal and professional lives. There is not a day that goes by that it doesn’t influence how we understand and connect with ourselves and others. We believe knowing your type is a gift you give yourself and those you care about.