EDG Enneagram Nine types

© Ennea Development Group [EDG] 2010

The Nine Types

Overview

If you need to find out what type you are  visit
www.enneadevelopmentgroup.com to take a short test.

EDG also offers a detailed self assessment test that can
then be submitted to obtain a  Personalized Profile
Report (PPR)™  which gives detailed customized insight
into your strengths and challenges related to many
different areas of your life including communication and
decision making styles, conflict management  and
relationships and interaction with other types  in your

personal life and  also in business. Leadership and
management styles can be assessed as well as core
business competencies.
For more information visit
www.enneadevelopmentgroup.com

You will recognize The Perfectionist (The One)
by listening to the specific words they use; the
words ‘must’, ‘should’ and ‘right or wrong’ are
often chosen by the One. Ones have a strong
sense of what is right and wrong and follow their
strict moral compass. The One is extremely
Type 1 in One Word
critical of himself and others and is constantly
guided by an inner ‘judge’. The ‘inner judge’ is
exacting and quite hard on him and Ones
therefore do not easily forgive or excuse
themselves for making mistakes.
Ones are highly principled and ethical and walk
their talk in daily life. Disciplined,
Positive Attributes: Direct, orderly people
principled, idealistic, conscientious,
reliable, fair and productive. fickle, light‐headed
and nonchalant people
Negative Attributes
judgmental, critical, inflexible and
controlling.

The One in Business:
is highly reliable and will not give you
any unforeseen surprises: ‘what you
see is what you get’. Communication style:
The One is committed to the task and
finishes what needs to be finished. A precise and detail-oriented
hard worker that leads by example. sometimes with a
The One can be extremely patient with
people who are motivated to work hard tendency to moralize

and at the same time can be short- or preach.
tempered with those less serious or not
learning from their mistakes.

Probably my worst quality is that I get very passionate about what I think is right!
– Hilary Rodham Clinton

Awareness Understanding Leadership Mastery

The Two or The Helper is the most people‐
oriented of all nine types. They want to serve
and to help and really connect with people.
Their interest in others can extend beyond
acceptable to the most intimate and detailed
level. They know and remember your birthday,
Type 2 in One Word
what food you like best and how you take your
coffee or tea. They want to be needed and
appreciated and support others with their
attention, love and care and feel that you should
do the same to them.
People in general
Positive Attributes: especially  if they are sensitive
helpful, nurturing, empathetic, sensitive and or make an effort with them.
tactful.
aloofness, coldness
Negative Attributes and people that are very direct.
interfering, not being straightforward,
possessive and emotionally manipulative.
How can I help?
The Two in Business:
They go out of their way to collaborate and
have many friends among their colleagues.
They are allergic to colleagues that treat
them with coldness have difficulties with
boundaries (their own as well as the Communication style:
boundaries of others). They can be
aggressive and argumentative proclaiming Talkative, empathetic
they have been treated unfairly or wrongly. warm and sympathetic

They are great in ‘getting the job done’ but
at the same time can take on too much Attentive, full of compliments
(can’t say: no) and then are unable to and flattery
deliver.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed at least one
– Mother Theresa


The Achiever is the true developer of his
own potential and as a result that of others.
He is deeply motivated by his own success
and the fear of failure and the need for the
respect and admiration of others.
He works tirelessly to achieve any goal (and
he usually has many). For a Three work is Type 3 in One Word
not a hardship and be it the office, the gym
or even family life they must be the best.
This over competitive approach leads to
work:life balance challenges.

Positive Attributes: success and people who can
passion, decisiveness, flexibility and drive contribute to or
deliver their success.

lazy people and people that are
Negative Attributes
unfocused or have a
overly competitive, impatience and lack of self tendency to dramatize.
awareness.

The Three in Business:
At work they are self-motivated and need little
encouragement from others although they do
need acknowledgment and visibility. At the
same time be very encouraging to others and
sweep them along on their energetic path to
success. They are good coaches and Communication style:
teachers and strong motivators and leaders.
They don’t have much patience with lazy or enthusiastic highly
less energetic colleagues, though.
They do feel, however, a lot of pressure in motivating speaker
their constant strive for excellence and their Focus mostly on achieving

intensity can drain themselves although they
possess a tremendous amount of energy. success or
They will not show any form of weakness connected to goals.
since they perceive it as failure which is their
biggest fear and is to be avoided at all times.

“…you have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than
anyone else”. – Albert Einstein

The Fours or the Individualist want to know
themselves and to understand their  own
personality and uniqueness.
They are most aware of their emotions and
inner thoughts or feelings and are very
tuned into their own emotions and  are
able to understand and empathise with
Type 4 in One Word
others.
While other personalities might question
their type, the Four usually knows he is a
Four because he feels he is unique and not
like others. They can lose themselves in
their fantasy world and withdraw from Recognition for their uniqueness,
their social environment. The different not the every day,
Attention to feelings.
Positive Attributes: Bureaucracy,
eccentric, sensitive, creative artistic and people who are insincere
passionate and topics that are meaningless

Negative Attributes
tendency to show feelings of depression and
can be withdrawn or moody

The Four in business:
Fours want to be acknowledged as unique and
creative . They are tuned into others emotions and Communication style:
can read what is really going on with people. They
are sensitive to moods of others and will come up Intuitive with feeling
with original and creative ways to solving Good Listeners, empathetic
problems.
Their creativity and desire to express themselves Can be Dramatic or Aloof

must be addressed or the Four can not operate
I, Me and My focused
successfully within any organization.
Being invisible or one of many is the Individualist Desire to be understood
biggest fear and de‐motivates the Four to the point
where they withdraw completely. Use Imagery and visual references

“I cannot be that I am not, I want to be that I am."
(Charlotte Sebego)

The Investigators are fascinated by questions and ideas.
They are the ultimate thinkers who devote themselves to
acquiring knowledge and understanding.
Fives want to understand everything so they will never be
without the answer or look foolish.  Fives spend too
much time in their head thinking that they become
detached from the world and others. A Five will only feel
comfortable moving into action when they have all the
facts.
Type 5 in One Word
They struggle with personal relationships and are often
quite negative about or distrustful of others.They can be
intellectually arrogant and very critical.

Positive Attributes:
Clarity, logic and respect
dedicated, calm, self reliant, logical analytical Adequate Time to think
even wise, curious and quite innovative. through their position on issues.

Negative Attributes large gatherings or meetings
uncommunicative, critical, cold, intellectually less intelligent
arrogant , cynical, eccentric and detached or over emotional people

I rely on my hard disk
The Five in business: .
Fives are focused on knowledge and reason and
determined to solve problems and they will not
give up until they have found the solution (or
concluded that it is unsolvable).
Communication style:
They feel more comfortable in their minds than
in engaging with people. Precise, detailed content
They observe, analyze and internalize don’t like “small talk”
knowledge. They want to explore new ideas and
new systems. Often they are conceptual emails and written communication

thinkers capable of simplifying complex issues
or ideas and developing practical solutions for
Pauses and reflective gaps
difficult challenges. Quieter than others
.

“The chief function of the body is to carry the brain around “
(Thomas Edison)

The Six is loyal to friends and family and
importantly to their own values and beliefs.
They want to create a stable and safe
environment and are very eager to work and
cooperate with others to achieve.
The Six is also the biggest worrier; they worry
about themselves, the world and the future.
If the One (the Perfectionist) has an inner judge Type 6 in One Word
that constantly criticizes his actions and
behavior, the Six has a panel of judges and
juries questioning and evaluating his every
move.
coordinating and planning
Positive Attributes: things and working
Loyalty, compassion, practicality and with others like himself
accountability
uncertainty, fickle
Negative Attributes or negligent people,
rules and authority
Lack of self‐confidence, pessimism, resistance
to change Watch your back…
The Six in Business:
At work The Six is disciplined, organized and
good with details.
They have a talent for detecting potential
problems and are often ‘the critic’ during
brainstorming or creative sessions.   They ask: Communication style:
‘what if…’.
Sixes will prioritize tasks and finish what they asks and has many questions.
start. They are reliable but they need security negative, anxious or defensive
and are full of self‐doubt. They mistrust their
Can be warm and open

own judgment and often question their own
abilities.
Often contradict themselves  and
Because of their lack of trust in their own
repetitious
judgment decisions take time because they
need to gather the opinions of many others. connected to goals.

“How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise! “
Alexander Pope (English Poet)

Sevens are the life and soul of the party often
delivering and ensuring its success. They radiate
fun, spontaneity and curiosity displaying high
levels of energy and optimism. The Seven is the
most extroverted of all nine types. They are the
busiest and are often multitasking and
committed to many things at the same time.
Type 7 in One Word
However this is usually driven more by the desire
to keep their options open in case something
better come along than by the desire for
efficiency or productivity. They are allergic to
boredom and inactivity.
new projects (but not finishing them),
exploring and creating,
Positive Attributes:
social gatherings  engaging others
Spontaneous, generous, confident, caring,
imaginative and adventurous.
control, rules and boundaries,
pessimism or being bored
Negative Attributes
ruthless, undisciplined impulsive and manic

The Sevens in Business:
They are the true ‘multi‐taskers’ within the
Enneagram.
Sevens have tons of ideas and move quickly
from one idea to the next enjoying the creative
phase but not being good with details and Communication style:
implementation.
They are the energetic colleagues that buy into positive and tend to reframe the
new ideas with full support and enthusiasm and negative.
can motivate others to do the same.
open and fearless

They are future oriented and instead of merely
thinking about the future they make it happen.   tell personal stories that can be
They can struggle with self discipline and are provocative but highly entertaining
easily distracted and consequently often fail to (and a bit self‐absorbed)
live up to their true potential.

….“i f l i f e g i v e s y o u l e m o n s , m a k e l e m o n a d e … ”
(unknown)


The Eight or The Challenger has the most courage
of all nine types challenging and leading others
and himself to do more, think deeper or feel
stronger. The Eights are the natural leaders and
champions of others. Eights take on new things
with tremendous willpower.
They strive to empower others to be their best
and to succeed and  for independence for
themselves and others. Eights are the industrious Type 8 in One Word
types who are happiest when they can take the
lead. The last thing they look for is dependency or
to give others power over them. More than any
others, they stand alone.
challenges and goals
Positive Attributes: especially a good cause
direct, risk takers,  honest, fair and strong. to be in control

flattery, hidden agendas
Negative Attributes or lack of information
insensitive, aggressive, hard task masters even and lack of follow‐through.
dictators, intimidating pushy and dominant.

The Eights in Business:
They are people of vision, decision and action. At Follow my Lead
work they are the natural leaders and if tough
decisions have to be made they will be the ones
to do so. They are strong and decisive leaders with
the initiative and the will to make things happen.
Eights are very committed and if they agree to Communication style:
something they will deliver especially to protect
Direct, loud, forceful
the weak.
They often have a major impact on people Task orientated, but can be

surrounding them. They can be extremely soft
and helpful and then one minute later hard as a   Caring and concerned for others
rock especially when others force them against Bossy or angry when
their will.  They are hard working and pragmatic
verging on the autocratic. Things go wrong

“ I do not follow any prescription given by theoretician or democracy rules
or what ever: I work from my first principles of what will get me there”..
(Lee Kwan Yew)

The Nine or the Mediator seeks to bring harmony
and peace. An easy‐going type that gets along with
all, Nines are open, trusting and patient. They have
a calm sort of energy and are good‐natured. Nines
are great in seeing all points of view and can be
excellent mediators and peace‐makers for others.
They can at times tune out and withdraw inside
their spacious inner‐world and become disengaged. Type 9 in One Word
Especially, when potential conflict disturbs their
peace and they don’t see the need to get involved
they will disappear inside their imaginative own
space.
Positive Attributes: personal freedom and
open & calm stable environments
tolerant, easy‐going, balanced and patient. being asked for their opinion

conflict or high pressure situations
Negative Attributes and people who are
aloof and silly.
anger, disengaged, indecisiveness can tend to
become inert and detached from others
Live and Let Live
Nines in Business:
At work the Nines can bring people and teams
together and are excellent in solving conflicts.
They are great colleagues, highly inclusive and
share their knowledge and experience unselfishly
with others.
Nines are excellent listeners and are able to see Communication style:
many perspectives to one issue. They are hard
workers and stand up for others (more than for Warm and inclusive
themselves).
good listeners
They need their autonomy and independence and

to be in charge. They do, however, have trouble trouble getting to the point.
making decisions and don’t like to be pressured
into making them. seek input / opinions of others
If they feel pressured they can become passive very patient in decision making.
and go into ‘idle’ mode.

….“ I prefer not to let things get to me..”
(Sandra Bullock)

EDG Enneagram Nine types

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to EDG Enneagram Nine types

Similar to EDG Enneagram Nine types (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

EDG Enneagram Nine types