Understanding the Enneagram
The Enneagram is a tool that can help us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and each other from an objective standpoint. Through this system, we can gain insight into how people interpret their surroundings differently. This ancient model includes nine distinct personality types mapped on a diagram that illustrates how they relate to each other.
Most people find themselves in many or all of the numbers, but typically find one they connect with most. This is their primary personality type. Using the Enneagram can help to identify your own strengths and opportunities for improvement while also helping teams learn to work together better and maximize each member’s talent and contribution.
Join an upcoming Bettermeant Circle to discover your personality type and learn more about yourself and the world around you.
How the Enneagram is used
According to the Enneagram Institute, the ancient roots of the Enneagram symbol contain components from Taoism, Sufism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and ancient Greek philosophy. George Gurdjieff reintroduced it to the modern world in the early 1900s as part of his inner work teachings but it wasn’t until the 1960s that the personality typing system was developed from the symbol by Bolivian philosopher Oscar Ichazo.
Today, the Enneagram is used in many settings to help with personal and professional growth. From traditional therapy to corporate workshops to the classroom to development programs in prisons, the Enneagram has laid its claim as an effective tool for self-discovery, transformation and building empathy and compassion. Exploring yourself, your teammates and your relationships through the Enneagram can help you find your better in all aspects of your life.
What we can learn from the Enneagram
Unlike other personality typing systems, the Enneagram supposes that each type is defined by a core belief, which guides how we see the world and those around us. While these beliefs may have truth to them, they also can be limiting. Learning to recognize when behavior is being influenced by these core beliefs or motivations can help us understand why we react to situations in certain ways—and often different ways from each other.
The 9 types tend to react to stress and positive reinforcement in unique ways and developing an understanding of these can help us communicate more effectively and develop better relationships in our work and personal lives.
At Bettermeant, we teach the Enneagram to help our clients with:
Personal Growth - Develop a better understanding of themselves, learn their tendencies and connect with their authentic self instead of who they think others see.
Leadership Development - By understanding how others see and experience the world, leaders can catalyze growth, diffuse conflict and find confidence and courage to live their better, healthier self.
Team Dynamics - Teams can use the Enneagram to create awareness, empathy and language to discuss their differences. This leads to increased success, morale and retention as well as improved growth and development for the members of the team.
Exploring your type
The Enneagram includes 9 personality types. While people may relate to aspects of multiple numbers, it is generally believed that your primary type does not change as it is rooted in your basic beliefs, fears and motivations. Early development of these can be influenced by biological, relational and environmental factors, but because they are part of your core, your primary type will stick with you through your life.
Here we provide a brief introduction to the core motivations for each type, but there is much more to learn about each of them. Read more about the 9 types here or join our Bettermeant Circle to learn more.
The Enneagram is dynamic. While people are typically guided by our core beliefs, we demonstrate more or less of our types in stress and in health, while also displaying characteristics of other types as our circumstances ebb and flow.
The Enneagram symbol
The nine-pointed symbol consists of an outer circle on which the 9 types are spaced evenly in a clockwise direction.
Triads
Triads are also called Intelligence centers and can be a great place to start working with the Enneagram. Each center relates to a different part of the body that drives the types within it: head (Thinking), heart (Feeling) or gut (Instinctive). The Thinking triad (5-6-7) is driven by anxiety and a need for security or predictability. The Feeling triad (2-3-4) is concerned more with self-image and emotions and can be attention seeking. Lastly, the Instinctive Triad (8-9-1) seeks autonomy and is more concerned with survival. We will get more into the triads as we discuss personal growth and team connection, but for now it can be a great way to understand if you have identified the right primary type.
Growth and Stress
A triangle in the middle connects types 9, 3 and 6 while two irregular lines connect the other types to each other. These lines demonstrate the direction of development, often referred to in the Enneagram as integration and disintegration. Each type is connected with two others: one which resonates in times of stress and difficulty and another that can be reached in times of health and growth. When these other types present themselves in you, it can help you recognize where you are in your development and if you may need to focus on reintegration and growth.
Wings
Each Enneagram type is thought to have two wings—one of which can be much stronger for many people. The wings are the numbers to the left and right of the primary personality type (for example, the 9’s wings are the 1 and 8). For most people, the primary type explains the core of our behavior and beliefs, while the wings drive additional aspects of who we are.
Wings can be leveraged in your development. As you try to get out of any patterns or behaviors that don’t serve you, you can ‘try on’ your wings because they are the closest to your comfort zone. You may find that you identify strongly with one or both of your wings and can transition into these styles as you develop parts of yourself.
How do I get started with the Enneagram?
Where do you think you are on your development journey? Do you relate to the beliefs and motivations of your type or either of your wings? To start exploring your personality type and see which parts resonate with you, take an online assessment, sign up for our Bettermeant Circle or reach out to inquire about booking a workshop for your team or personal development time with a coach and we’ll get you started on your own Enneagram path to better.
Once you have a basic understanding of your own type, you can unlock a wealth of knowledge and tools to help you learn to communicate, interact and empathize with those around you. Look out for Bettermeant’s next post on using the Enneagram for your personal development.