The Enneagram

Written By Stephan Goupille

There are hundreds of personality tests and frameworks out there: Myers-Briggs, Strengths Finder, Big 5…but honestly, I never found any of them particularly insightful. More recently, I discovered the Enneagram and was captivated by how consistently it identified the various personality types I’ve met across numerous countries and cultures. Here’s a little more about it, and what sets it apart from the others in my mind.

Introduction

The Enneagram enumerates nine distinct personality types with their own desires and fears, levels of development, and defining characteristics. You can read more about the Enneagram and the various types all over the internet - I find the Enneagram Institute's overview and type descriptions to be particularly clear.

Here’s an overview:

Each the nine types generally wants to maximize their core desire and minimize their core fear. Let's take an example: a Peacemaker (9) works to promote harmony and reduce conflict within their world. In an unhealthy state, they may develop a Schizoid or Dependent personality disorder.

Levels of Development

One of the best parts of the Enneagram is that it provides a range of behavior for each type. Instead of just labeling someone as “type 3” you can also leverage the Enneagram to get a sense of how healthy or stressed they might be. For example, the Achiever (3) when healthy is described as follows:

“Self-accepting, inner-directed, and authentic, everything they seem to be. Modest and charitable, self-deprecatory humor and a fullness of heart emerge. Gentle and benevolent.”

On the other hand, when they become unhealthy, 3s can manifest in a totally different way:

“Become vindictive, attempting to ruin others’ happiness. Relentless, obsessive about destroying whatever reminds them of their own shortcomings and failures. Generally corresponds to the Narcissistic Personality Disorder.”

You can read about all nine levels of development for the Achiever here. The addition of this layer in the literature is useful both for recognizing where you are in your own journey (self-awareness) and also where others are in theirs (awareness of others). To me this is a huge improvement over more one-dimensional frameworks like MBTI.

The Shape

The creators of the Enneagram envisioned the nine personalities as circle such that each type has “wings” that are the numbers immediately adjacent to it. For example the wings of 5 are 4 and 6 and the wings of 9 are 8 and 1. Here’s what this looks like.

I’m not so sure about this representation. My first thought after reading through the various personalities was that adjacent types were not that similar. For example, it feels like Investigators (5s) often have more in common with Peacemakers (9s) than Individualists (4s) who are typically more creative and expressive. I was inspired to think about what could be a more helpful representation. Why are there nine types in the first place?

Often you see square numbers arise when are two independent characteristics being measured. 9 is a square number, 3 x 3. If one personality trait has options A, B, and C and another has options X, Y, and Z then you’ll get exactly 9 total combinations: AX, AY, AZ, BX, BY, BZ, CX, CY and CZ.

Let’s cut to the chase: I believe there are two personality traits lurking beneath the surface of the Enneagram.

Axis One: the Psyche

  • 1st row: conscientious types with a focus on principles and values

  • 2nd row: pragmatic types who balance values and personal goals

  • 3rd row: instinctive types with powerful innate motivations and goals

This axis is similar to Freud's decomposition of the human psyche into the id, ego, and superego. Conscientious individuals aspire to stay true to their principles. They value fairness and ethical behavior and frequently put the desires of others above their own. This is the superego type. In contrast, instinctive individuals have strong desires and a tendency to act on them - the id type. Pragmatic types are a combination of both - the ego type.

Axis Two: Decision-Making

  • 1st column: thinking (head)

  • 2nd column: intuitive (gut)

  • 3rd column: feeling (heart)

This axis corresponds to the way that individuals make decisions. Thinking types are cerebral. They are often in their heads, and tend to evaluate situations hyper rationally, without too much emotion. Feelers are the opposite - they pay close attention to feelings and the emotional responses of others. Intuitive types fall somewhere in between, this gives them the ability to understand both sides of the aisle.

Putting the Pieces in Place

Here's a 3x3 square with the nine personality types filled in:

Let me walk you through a couple examples. Helpers (2s) are conscientious, feeling types. They care about others and are finely-attuned to their needs. When unhealthy, they can neglect their own well-being and become Histrionic. Enthusiasts (7s) are instinctive, rational types. They often channel their high energy and motivation by dreaming up ever more exciting things to do. Peacemakers (9s) are right in the center of the action - relatively balanced on both axes, they have a unique ability to connect with every other type. They are sometimes referred to as “the crown of the Enneagram.” Take a look at the six other personality types and see what you think!

Wrapping Up

Since discovering the Enneagram, I have come to appreciate what it has to offer. It sheds light on the primary personality types I’ve met and how those types manifest in various situations and levels of stress.

I’m a combination of Peacemaker (9) and Investigator (5) personality types. When I was younger, I thought that everyone else was also seeking truth and world peace (Miss Congeniality anyone?). As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that people have all sorts of intrinsic motivations and fears and I’ve come to appreciate the various strengths that each type can bring to the table.

The Enneagram is just a framework, and like every other personality test and classification, it's a simplified version of the truth. In the end, I believe that through a combination of self-awareness and effort, we all have the capacity to act like any type to adapt to the needs of a particular situation.

Stephan Goupille