Episode 22.
The Enneagram (Part 1)

Question:

Can this personality stuff get any more complicated?

Key Points:

  • We touched on MBTI, Quadrant Theory, and Strengths Finder
  • The Enneagram comes from the Greek words "ennea" meaning 9 and "gram" meaning written
  • The Enneagram also has numbers, 9 of them (i.e. 1-9), so that there is no positive or negative connotation to each type
  • Our greatest strengths tend to also be our greatest weaknesses
  • The Enneagram is drawn with Type 9 at the top, see the picture below
  • In the Enneagram, anny of the 9 types can be someone's primary type, but only one of the 2 types that are adjacent on the circle to your Primary can be your Secondary
  • Everybody has some of each of the types
  • Enneagram Types:
    1. Principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic
      • This is Aunt Kelly
    2. Generous, People Pleasing, and protective
      • Want to be sure everyone is happy
      • A Helper
      • Mama Nieman is this
    3. Driven, Adaptable, Excelling, and Image-Concious
      • This is both Leonard and Malachi
      • Care about competence and accomplishment
    4. Expressive, Dramatic, Self-absorbed, and tempramental
      • A drama queen
    5. Perceptive, Innovative, Secrative, and Issolated
      • Observant
      • Would be a scientist in a lab and then come out two years later
      • Very perceptive and can see things that others cannot see
    6. Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious
      • Wants to be friends with people
      • Has a really strong "Code of conduct" that they expect everyone to meet, including themselves
      • Want to be participating
      • Want to be reassured; they are suspicious of other people's motives
      • Sometimes called a "Loyalist"
      • Are not sure that they can do things on their own
      • This is probably Alyssa
      • Similar to Type 2s, there are a lot of possitive for those around them, but are a burden to the person; so they need a lot of care by those around them to be reassured and not over-extend themselves
    7. Spontaneous, Versatile, Aquisitive, Scattered
      • Similar to the "Input" strength in Strengths Finder
      • Very flexible, but also creative and expressive
      • Can be fun to be around because they have a lot of ideas
    8. Self-confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational
      • As soon as they realize they are not on the same page with someone, they will bring it up to get everyone on the same page
      • Are very confident in their positions because they expect everyone to bring something up if they are not on the same page
      • Can help to be great leaders because they want to get people on the same page
      • Can easily get the reputation as being too mean
    9. Receptive, Reassuring, Complacent, and Resigned
      • Just happy being there
      • Similar to "Adapter Mode" in Top Brain, Bottom Brain
      • Sometimes called a "Peacemaker"
      • Kind of like a middle-child, who wants to go along with either the older or younger child
      • Probably part of Type 2 in Quadrant Theory