The Enneagram

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The Enneagram
Enneagram Personality Types
MTL Course Topics
The Enneagram
ENNEAGRAM
PERSONALITY TYPES

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
ARE YOU READY?
OK, LET’S START!

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
INTRODUCTION
The Enneagram is a typology of human personality that has
existed in one form or another for thousands of years. The
current interest in the contribution which people make in
the workplace has renewed interest in it. The Enneagram
has many facets. At one level, it can be viewed as a simple
description of nine personality types, allowing us to identify
and understand the characteristics of those who work for
us. At another level, it gives clues about how people will
behave in certain situations, thus enabling us to make better
decisions about selection, delegation and teamwork and
about the personal development of those who work for us.

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
WHAT IS THE ENNEAGRAM?
The Enneagram (pronounced "Any-a-gram") is an ancient
typology of human personality which has recently been re-
discovered.
It offers an accessible system of understanding individual
personality based around nine types, or points, hence
Enneagram, a Greek word for a nine-starred diagram. The
nine personality types tie in with our knowledge of human
development and how we relate to others.
The importance of the Enneagram as a personality typology
lies not just in its accuracy and simplicity, but in the
signposts it offers for personal growth.

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
ORIGINS
The origins of the Enneagram are lost to history. No one
knows exactly how or where it was first discovered. Some
writers trace it back as far as 2500 BC to Mesopotamia. It is
thought to have been known to Pythagoras and Zoroaster in
Babylon in 524BC. It was certainly passed by the Moslems to
the Sufi sect in the fourteenth century AD.
The development by Moslem mathematicians in the
fifteenth century of the decimal numbering system allowed
the Sufi's to create the Enneagram symbol consisting of a
triangle and hexagon and imbue it with mystical
significance. The Sufis saw in the Enneagram nine constant
models of why men and women are never able to fully
overcome their human personalities and find God. They
called the model "the face of God".

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
RECENT HISTORY
The Enneagram has been transmitted from generation to
generation by word of mouth. One of the best ways to
understand it is in working groups.
The modern development of our understanding of the
Enneagram is credited to four main sources:
1. the work of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff (1877 to 1949)
at the Institute for the Harmonious Development of
Man near Paris
2. the work of Oscar Ichazo who founded the Arica
Institute in Chile
3. the work of Claudio Naranjo at the Esalen Institute in
California
4. the work of Jesuit theologians and writers in America
and Europe in the 1970's and 80's.

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
THE BASIC MODEL
It is important to note that in the handed-down models of
the Enneagram there are no definitive titles given to any of
the personality types. This is a deliberate attempt to avoid
limiting our understanding of each type. Many writers, as in
this programme, refer to a number first and then their own
description.
These are the nine types...
1. Ones: the need to be perfect
2. Twos: the need to be needed
3. Threes: the need to be successful
4. Fours: the need to be special
5. Fives: the need to perceive
6. Sixes: the need to be secure
7. Sevens: the need to be happy
8. Eights: the need to be strong
9. Nines: the need to be free

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
THE DIAGRAM
The Sufi Moslem sect who are credited with refining the
Enneagram believed that the model held the secret of
human self-renewal. Taken together, all nine points of the
diagram comprise a human being who is perfect. Since only
God can be perfect, human beings are destined to do no
more than start at one point on the diagram (their
personality type) and hope to move beyond the restraints of
their type to other levels on an endless quest for personal
improvement.
The Enneagram is made up of an equilateral triangle at
points 3, 6 and 9 and a hexagon at points 1,4,2,8,5 and 7.
These numbers have mathematical and mystical
significance.
1. When a decimal (10,20,30,40 etc) is divided by 7 it
always produces the sequence of the hexagon -
1,4,2,8,5,7.
2. When a decimal (10,20,30,40 etc) is divided by 3, 6, or
9, it always produces a recurring sequence of itself.

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
THE THREE PARTS
The Enneagram was developed long before our current
understanding of the human brain, yet it intuitively depicts
the three parts of what is now known as the "triune" brain.
The triune brain of human beings consists of:
1. an instinctive brain which determines how we relate to
the world around us
2. a feeling brain which determines how we feel about the
world around us
3. a thinking brain which processes the world around us
through our heads.
These three parts of the brain are represented in the three
triads of the Enneagram. Types at points 8, 9 and 1 make
their primary contact with the world through their
instinctive brains, often known as "gut reaction". Types at 2,
3 and 4 make contact through their feelings; and types 5, 6
and 7 through their thinking brains.

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THE INSTINCTIVE GROUP
The instinctive, or sensing, group of 8's, 9's and 1's can be
seen as operating from the oldest part of the human brain,
the instinctive brain. This is the part of the brain that
focuses on survival. Power is at the heart of the instinctive
group.
Ones like to impose the right way on others; Eights their
way; while Nines like to avoid expressing any way.
When their will, or power, is thwarted, this group each turn
to a form of anger. Eights go outward and attack; Ones go
inward and criticise themselves; Nines become wilful ("I
won't!") and do nothing.
The decision style of the instinctive group reflects their
feeling that they are superior to others. Decisions are based
on precedents: Eights decide by the way things have always
been done; Ones by previously laid-down rulings; and Nines
by habit.

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THE FEELING GROUP
The sensation, or feeling, group of 2's, 3's and 4's can be
seen as operating from that part of the brain that deals with
the emotions. They see themselves through their
relationships with others.
Twos feel for others; Fours feel for themselves; Threes put a
hold on their feelings.
To make decisions, Twos, Threes and Fours compare and
contrast. They ask themselves: Which do I prefer? Which is
better? Because they know straightaway the answer to
these questions, the feeling group are quick decision-
makers.

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The Enneagram
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THE THINKING GROUP
The intellectual, or thinking, group of 5's, 6's and 7's can be
seen as operating from the newest part of the human brain,
the thinking brain. Their principal way of dealing with reality
is to analyse what they see until they come up with a way
that makes sense to them. They do this because at bottom
they are fearful of what the world presents.
Fives take their fear inward and construct a safer world
where they can retreat. Sixes struggle with opposing ways of
dealing with reality: fight or flight.
Thus the Six will devise a range of strategies for dealing with
others, from being nice to being nasty.
Sevens avoid fear by continually bouncing into new
possibilities that take their mind off things.
This group resolve problems by trying to understand them.
To do this, they will analyse, take apart, find a theory,
develop a system.

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
THE PSYCHOLOGY
There are numerous parallels between the work of the
psychologists Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Karen Horney
and the Enneagram, even though there is no evidence that
any of these knew of the Enneagram.
The typology used by the psychoanalyst Karen Horney (1885
- 1952) is perhaps the most interesting. Horney suggested
that there are three basic types of people: those who move
towards others in a compliant fitting-in way; those who
move against others in an aggressive way; and those who
move away from others in a withdrawing way.
Applied to the Enneagram, we find that the three types
appear in each of the triads:
1's, 2's and 6's are compliant and move towards others
3's, 7's and 8's are aggressive and move against others
9's, 4's and 5's are withdrawn from others.

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RELATING TO OTHERS
In each of the three groups of the Enneagram, we have an
equal mix of personality types moving towards others,
moving away from others or trying to fit in with others
according to their predominant mode of behaving.
So,...
• Ones relate to others compliantly
• Twos feel towards others compliantly
• Threes feel aggressively competitive towards others
• Fours feel withdrawn from what others feel
• Fives make decisions to withdraw to work things out
• Sixes make decisions to act compliantly with others
• Sevens make decisions to act aggressively towards
others
• Eights relate to others aggressively
• Nines withdraw from relating to others.

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WHEN WE WERE YOUNG...
One explanation for why nine different personality
characteristics exist in the Enneagram can be found in
development theory.
This theory suggests that our basic personalities are
probably formed in our childhood years and are the result of
the dominant way we relate to one or both of our parents.
For each of these three possibilities (relating to mother,
father or both) we may relate positively, (eg "I feel loved by
my mother") negatively ("I feel disapproved of by my
father") or ambivalently ("I'm not sure if my parents care for
me or not").
These orientations produce nine possibilities, each of which
develops into an Enneagram type.

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RELATING TO PARENTS
Childhood development theory suggests that our
personality characteristics develop when we are growing up
and are determined by our orientation to one or both of our
parents or parent figures.
Accordingly, this theory suggests that the way we are in
later life is a result of our early experiences and attitudes.
The nine possibilities create the nine Enneagram types.
1. Ones had a negative view of their father when young
2. Twos had uncertain views of their father
3. Threes had a positive view of their mother
4. Fours had negative views of both mother and father
5. Fives had uncertain views about both mother and father
6. Sixes had a positive view of their father
7. Sevens had a negative view of their mother
8. Eights had uncertain views of their mother
9. Nines had positive views of both mother and father.

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SELF-PROTECTIVE STRATEGIES
Ron Kurtz suggests that there are nine possible responses
that take place when we are children in response to a need
to regain the love of our parents or to protect us from a
hostile world.
The child...
1. behaves like a good child (1’s)
2. clings to their parents (2’s)
3. is clever and acts friendly (3’s)
4. pretends to be weak and needy (4’s)
5. seeks a place to hide (5’s)
6. does what the parents want (6’s)
7. seeks any activity or toy to deaden the pain (7’s)
8. acts tough (8’s)
9. learns to rely on themselves. (9’s)
If these strategies succeed and help us survive, they become
ingrained in the child and in later life, consciously or not, are
the child's typical response to the world.

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
WIDTH AND DEPTH
The Enneagram provides us with nine personality types and
makes the astounding claim that all humanity at any time
and in any location must have fitted one or other of the
types.
While there is a basic psychological truth in this claim, there
are two corollaries:
1. each basic type has two sub-types, according to the
numbers on either side of it. A person can therefore be,
for example, a One with a Nine leaning or a One with a
Two leaning, as well as a straight One
2. within each type there is a range of psychologically
healthy or unhealthy characteristics. A very healthy Six,
for example, displays different features of the Six type
from a very unhealthy Six.
Given these sub-types and varying levels of psychological
health, there are a possible 243 different personality types.

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MTL Course Topics
THE LONGING POINT
The clockwise point on the Enneagram is our Longing Point.
Unlike the anti-clockwise point, which is the point we are
running away from, the clockwise point draws us in,
energises us and fulfils all our real desires and longings.
1. Ones really want to help others not preach to them
2. Twos really want to be appreciated for their
competence not taken for granted
3. Threes really seek their true calling rather than being
good at everything
4. Fours want to find a good vantage point rather than to
be in turmoil all the time
5. Fives long to belong to a team not stand outside it
6. Sixes long to have fun and not be subject to fear
7. Sevens wish they had the power to do some good not
just live with the possibility
8. Eights would like to feel empathy for others
9. Nines would like their own clear path of action not
others'.

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THE SHADOW
The anti-clockwise point on the Enneagram is our Shadow
point. Each type casts a shadow behind it where we say:
"Thank God that's not me." When we learn what we are
running away from, we can start to accept it, look at its
potentialities for us and not flee from it.
1. Ones say: "Thank God I'm not lazy!" (like Nines)
2. Twos say: "Thank God I'm not stuck to routines!"
3. Threes say: "Thank God I'm not such a loser!"
4. Fours say: "Thank God I don't have to pretend!"
5. Fives say: "Thank God I don't get so emotional in
public!"
6. Sixes say: "Thank God I'm not so isolated!"
7. Sevens say: "Thank God I'm not so anxious all the time!"
8. Eights say: "Thank God I don't waste my energy so
much!"
9. Nines say: "Thank God I don't create so many
enemies!".

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PERSONALITY AT WORK
Many, if not all, problems at work have their roots in the
way people relate to one another. Often impossible or
difficult work situations are regarded as unsolvable because
they are seen as personality clashes or communications
breakdowns. In reality, many of these problems are due to
the problems of personality types.
For example, if a Five and a Nine do not share a particular
point of view, it is likely that the Nine will not seek
confrontation and the Five will withdraw to a safe distance.
However, if the two people happen to be both Eights, there
is the possibility of an out-and-out conflict to see whose will
can prevail.
An understanding of personality typologies means that
managers can tread more surely on difficult territory and
start to manage situations instead of blindly making them
worse.

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APPLICATIONS
Although a knowledge of the Enneagram typology is of
value in itself, managers of people can make use of this
knowledge in at least seven key ways.
1. to throw light on why relationships go wrong
2. to give people jobs that suit their personality types (eg a
Two is likely to be a better person to train a new trainee
than, say, a Six)
3. to get a better understanding of a person's good points
and bad
4. to manage so-called "difficult" types and "difficult"
situations
5. to separate the personality traits that you may dislike,
such as a Nine's apparent laziness, from the person
6. to see things from the way others see them and so get a
different and more diverse view
7. to manage the chemistry of a team.

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MANAGING PEOPLE
The Enneagram has immense value for practising managers
for the following reasons...
1. it presents personality types in layman's terms. There is
no theory to learn, no esoteric language to master.
2. the Enneagram requires no prior learning. Anyone with
a basic knowledge of the nine types can start to apply it
at once to themselves, their colleagues or staff.
3. it is remarkably accurate, as those who apply it in their
own management quickly realise
4. the Enneagram is deceptively profound. It will continue
to throw light on personal relationships and motivations
for years to come.
5. it is a practical handbook for understanding the
common threads in the way people think, feel and
behave.

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LIMITATIONS
The Enneagram repays continuous study but it has
important limitations:
1. it is not a scientifically-based model of psychology (nor
is it meant to be)
2. it is not always easy to apply. While some people's types
are easy to identify, others are annoyingly elusive. This
does not detract from the value of the system, but
rather enhances it.
3. it can shock in its revelations. The awareness of one's
type and the force that drives and limits our whole lives
can sometimes come as an unpleasant shock. Some
people will choose to reject what they learn; others will
ignore it.
The use of the Enneagram by those who manage others
requires respect and humility.

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PRINCIPLES
Some important pointers which are worth bearing in mind
when using the Enneagram...
1. no one type is better or worse than any other type
2. we cannot change our Enneagram type. There is no
exchange, no bargaining, no compromise.
3. we can all show features of each Enneagram type, (I
sometimes need to be strong, relaxed, perfect, helpful,
successful, special, perceptive, secure and happy).
4. there is no discrimination in the application of the
Enneagram. It can be applied to young children, old
people, men and women, and people of different
backgrounds and cultures.
5. there is no single way to apply the Enneagram.
Sometimes insight may be instant, at other times it will
creep up on you.
6. personality is still only one aspect of what makes us
who we are. A king can be a 3 and so can a factory
worker.

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
THAT’S
IT!
WELL DONE!

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The Enneagram
MTL Course Topics
THANK YOU
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn

The Enneagram

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