Unlocking Team Potential with the Enneagram
The Enneagram is a powerful tool that can help teams increase self-awareness and drive collective growth and performance. When individual team members understand their predominant Enneagram type, along with its associated motives, strengths, challenges, and blind spots, they are better able to understand their behavior and its impact on the overall dynamics and success of the team.
When individual team members gain insights into the Enneagram types and the associated motivations, strengths, and challenges of their team members, something quite remarkable happens. Teams develop greater understanding, empathy, connection, collaboration, trust, and psychological safety, and they are better able to work together to achieve common goals.
Although we each have all nine personality types within us, there is one predominant type that influences our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This type also directs our focus of attention. In a team setting, it can be helpful to know our own predominant type and the predominant types of our teammates. This is because even when we are all looking at the same problem, our focus of attention will differ based on our underlying motivations, which are often hidden from view, even to ourselves.
When we understand our own driving motivations and those of our colleagues, we can start to see whether we are focusing on the right things or if our ego is in the driving seat. For example, if I'm in a team meeting and I'm fixated on getting my point across to the group and I start to get angry or frustrated, it can be helpful to explore why I’m getting triggered, and to ask myself: Am I doing this because I'm genuinely trying to contribute to the best outcome for the team, or am I more concerned with being right? This awareness can allow us to lead from a place of curiosity and compassion, recognizing that we are all driven by different motivations.
Here is a brief overview of the core motivations of each Enneagram type:
Type Eight: Strives to be strong and in control.
Type Nine: Aims for balance and harmony.
Type One: Strives to do the right thing.
Type Two: Has a need to be liked and appreciated.
Type Three: Strives to achieve and outshine the rest.
Type Four: Strives to be authentic and unique.
Type Five: Seeks to understand.
Type Six: Strives to be safe and to belong.
Type Seven: Strives to avoid pain and experience it all.
Each core motivation leads to a different focus of attention, which is helpful to understand.
Type Eight: Known as The Challenger or Active Controller, is driven by a core motivation of control and power. They are natural leaders who are not afraid to take charge. Their focus of attention is on the bigger picture, achieving significant results, and making a big impact. Eights also value truth, so their focus of attention is on honest and direct dialogue, which can often be seen as aggressive or domineering.
Type Nine: The Mediator or The Peacemaker, values peace and harmony. Their focus of attention is on the agendas of others, seeking inclusivity and gaining consensus, while avoiding conflict and discomfort. Their focus on consensus and inclusivity can make them appear indecisive.
Type One: The Improver, Reformer, or The Perfectionist, is driven by a need to improve and do the right thing. Type Ones focus their attention on improvement, whether it is in themselves, others, or the world around them, while striving to avoid mistakes. They constantly seek to correct things and make them better, often resulting in being perceived as overly critical and judgmental. They focus on details and ensuring that everything is done perfectly, but can come across as critical or demanding.
Type Two: The Helper strives to be liked and appreciated. Their focus of attention is outward on relationships and helping others, which below the surface can be a "give to get" strategy, driven by an unconscious need for recognition and praise. They focus on putting others needs before their own, which can often lead to burnout and a lack of awareness of their own needs and boundaries.
Type Three: The Competitive Achiever is focused on achieving results, and strives to outshine the rest. Threes focus on outstanding performance, achieving goals, and gaining recognition. They want to be seen as successful and avoiding failure at all costs. Threes can risk overwork and tend to prioritize work over life balance.
Type Four: The Individualist or Intense Creative is driven by a need to be unique and authentic. They are creative, expressive and honest, but can often feel misunderstood. Their focus is on their own feelings and experiences, particularly on what's missing or unavailable. They are driven by a need to do work that has purpose and meaning. They can be perceived as overly-emotional, self-absorbed or dramatic.
Type Five: The Observer or Quiet Specialist is driven by the need to understand and to protect their energy and resources. Fives seek knowledge and understanding, are analytical and insightful, and often prefer observation over participation. Their focus of attention is on data, ideas, concepts, and protecting their resources. Fives can be seen as overly detached or withdrawn.
Type Six: The Loyalist or Loyal Skeptic is driven by a need for security and safety. Their focus of attention is on risk, potential threats, problems, and with what could go wrong. They tend to be risk-averse and can experience anxiety about the future. Sixes can come across as paranoid or indecisive.
Type Seven: The Enthusiastic Visionary or Enthusiast, aims to avoid pain and experience pleasure. Their focus of attention is future-oriented, centered on possibilities, options, ideas, plans, and adventures—anything that fosters a sense of freedom. Optimistic and spontaneous, Sevens tend to be focused on vision, brainstorming, ideation, and what’s possible, but they can also be seen as scattered, distracted, and unfocused.
Knowing the driving motivations of our team members can be a game-changer. When we understand why people behave the way they do, we are better able to empathize with them and see things from their point of view. Rather than judge or label someone for reacting in a certain way, we can get curious about what might be driving that behavior. This can help us to build stronger relationships and resolve conflict more effectively.
Recommended Resources:
The 9 Types of Leadership: Mastering the Art of People in the 21st Century Workplace, by Beatrice Chestnut, PhD.
Bring the Enneagram to your team with a half-day or full-day workshop. Find out more here.