OVERVIEW
The Enneagram is one of the most effective “people tools” that you can use in workplace. While traditional personality tests focus on a person’s actions and behaviors, the Enneagram takes it a step further.
It looks for “the why” behind those external responses – helping us understand the internal motivators driving someone’s actions and behaviors. Because of this, organizations can use this tool to significantly improve things like retention, communication, and collaboration – just to name a few.
So, what exactly is the Enneagram? And how can you leverage it in your own day to day? To help us unlock this tool, we brought in Tina VanSteenbergen – an Enneagram expert who has helped hundreds of organizations create better cultures and human relationships at work.
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PART 1
Enneagram 101
What is the Enneagram and how does it work?
"The Enneagram is about understanding the why behind the behavior... I learn so much more about myself when I understand the core motivation behind my behaviors. And the same is true when I'm learning to understand other people. If I can understand what motivates you, I can better reach you."
So, what is the enneagram? Great question. I’m glad you asked. It is a personality assessment at its core, that’s what it is. You take an assessment, answer a bunch of questions about your patterns and behaviors and likes and dislikes, and then based on your answers to those questions, you’re sorted into one of nine categories.
Nine personality types. Why nine? Well, because the enneagram itself is an actual gram. It is this shape right. Right here, and it has nine points on it.
Now, that diagram has been around since, like Pythagoras, it’s been here for a minute. And there are several schools, several educational spaces that have taken credit and responsibility for taking that diagram and turning it into a personality assessment. So it’s hard to give credit to one specific place. But over time, it has turned into a way to better understand how we, as humans, show up in the world and interact with other people, just like all other personality assessments.
What’s different about the enneagram, though, is that it’s not just about taking your patterns, your likes and dislikes, your stressors and joyful moments, and putting you into a box. It goes a layer deeper, in my opinion, it goes several layers deeper and sorts us as humans based on our core motivators. Every single one of us is motivated by something, usually one core pull in our gut, in our heart, in our brain that keeps us moving. It motivates us forward.
Are you motivated by security? Are you motivated by freedom? Are you motivated by success or by being loved? Well, the enneagram gives us eight different motivating options, eight things that can make us feel called to move forward or make us feel afraid and freezing. Those core motivators and core fears are how the enneagram is different. It’s not just about understanding the behavior.
It’s about understanding the why behind the behavior. If I can understand that my core motivation is blank, then all the behaviors connected to that core motivation make so much more sense or given so much more context. I learn so much more about myself when I understand the core motivation behind my behaviors. And the same is true when I’m learning to understand other people. If I can understand what motivates you, I can better reach you. That’s professionally, that’s in an intimate or friendly relationship. There’s so, so many layers to how this all helps us make better sense of ourselves and one another.
What are the 9 Enneagram types and what are their core motivators?
"Type one is the perfectionist. Type two is the helper. Type threes are achievers. Number four is called the individualist. Type five is the investigator. Sixes are the loyalists. Type sevens are the enthusiasts. Type eight is the challenger. And type nine is the peacemaker."
There are nine types and I want to give you a very brief overview of all nine types.
Type One is the perfectionist. The perfectionist is detail oriented, very organized, and motivated by being good and right in the world.
Type Two is the helper. The helper is relationship focused, people pleasing and motivated by feeling loved in the world.
Type Three are achievers. They are insanely productive, very impressive, and motivated by success and worthiness in their success.
Type Four is called the individualist. They are deeply feeling folks, constantly searching for the place that they belong. Their core motivator is authenticity.
Type Five is the investigator. They are typically very intellectual, introverted folks who are motivated by competence. They always want to feel competent.
Type Sixes are the loyalists. Loyalists are always prepared, very responsible, and are motivated by security.
Type Sevens are the enthusiasts. Our enthusiasts are typically extroverted and energetic and are motivated by freedom.
Type Eight is the challenger. The challenger is leading and has presence and is motivated by independence.
Type Nine is the peacemaker. They are motivated by calm and peace. They are typically empathetic, understanding and conflict avoidant.
PART 2
Why Enneagram is More Effective at Work
What are the benefits of using the Enneagram vs. other personality assessments we commonly see used at work?
"Understanding someone’s core motivation is the best way to help them be successful. For instance, there might be someone in your workplace who is very detail oriented, always on top of their stuff. You might assume they're a type one – The Perfectionist – because their behaviors would indicate to us that they are. But what if the reason that person is always on top of their stuff and perfect in their work is because, in their brain, they have run through every single scenario of what could go wrong and feel immense amounts of pressure to take care of all the people at work and make sure that nobody is let down because of them? Well, then they may be a six instead of a one. And we can’t know that if we don’t get to the core of what motivates somebody."
What’s the benefit of using the enneagram in the workplace? Well, how much time do you have? I’m certain I’ve convinced you of my passion for the enneagram. But more importantly, I think it’s worthy of our time to help you understand why it’s an effective tool in the workplace. And from my perspective, there are two components of the Enneagram that make it worthy of our effort to connect and better understand people where we work.
First, we’ve already talked about a little bit, which is the core motivating piece. Understanding someone’s core motivation is the best way to help them be successful. For instance, there might be someone in your workplace who is very detail oriented, always on top of their stuff. And you might think, well, they’re number one. They’re a perfectionist.
Their behaviors would indicate to us that they are. But what if the reason that person is always on top of their stuff and always so put together and perfect in their work is because in their brain, they have run through every single scenario of what could go wrong and feels immense amounts of pressure to take care of all the people at work and make sure that nobody is let down because of them? Well, then they may be a six instead of a one. And we can’t know that if we don’t get to the core of what motivates somebody.
If we want to help our teams be more successful, and if we want to help our people better understand and therefore work with each other, understanding the core motivation is the best way to do that. That’s number one. Number two is a facet of the Enneagram we haven’t even talked about yet, which is that you’re more than one number. Now, I know that’s a little confusing because I’ve told you that you get sorted into one of nine numbers. That is true.
But because of the way the diagram of the Enneagram works, you’re connected to more than just one number. Everyone has one type. That one type is situated next to two other numbers. If I am an eight, I’m situated between a seven and a nine. We call those numbers your wings.
And while they may not be my primary personality type, there are elements of the personalities and priorities of sevens and nines that I’m able to draw upon in my life. And understanding those numbers, the wings, as they’re called, helps me even deeply, even more deeply understand how I show up in the world. We can pull from our wings. My favorite part of the enneagram isn’t even the wings, though it’s the other numbers we’re connected to. And I do mean connected to on purpose.
If you look at this diagram, you’ll see that it’s several triangles. Every number is connected to two other numbers. One number is called your growth number. And it is where, as you become a better version of yourself, you can learn from, pull from, connect with, and every one of us has a stress number. A place when we are under duress or stress or feeling overwhelmed.
Where we go, personality traits, characteristics, priorities we pull from. For example, I am an eight. My stress number is five. I become much more introverted when I’m in stress. I read on the Internet and scroll for hours and don’t always do the best connecting with other people or sharing my feelings.
I pull on unhealthy traits of a five. My growth number is a two. Twos are the helpers. Eights can be a little dominating in leadership. So focused on seeing the project across the finish line, on getting things done excellently, on being efficient, that we can forget about the people.
Twos never forget about the people. So as I become a better, more healthy version of an eight, I learn from pull from, grow towards twos. The enneagram isn’t just about, hey, here’s your personality type. Enjoy it, read it, identify as it. It gives you a direct pathway to not only understanding how we respond to stress, but to growing.
I don’t just now know about who I am. I know how I can be better. And that makes it such an effective tool in the workplace. It’s not just about categorizing your team. It’s about helping them learn how, as humans and employees, they can become better.
PART 3
Leveraging Enneagram at Work
How can the Enneagram help improve things like workplace culture, personal/team development, and leadership?
"We can better retain people when we better understand what drives and motivates them. This is especially true of younger generations moving into the workplace. There's as strong correlation between retention for younger generations and how safe and secure they feel at work. And when we understand their core fears, we can help them feel more safe and secure in the workplace."
I don’t think it’ll come as a surprise to any of you that I could rant about the answers to this question for days, because I genuinely don’t think there’s a place in workplace culture or team development or personal development where this tool isn’t effective. And let’s edit it down to a few minutes. A few ideas of where the Enneagram can be helpful to you as a team, as humans, as people who work together.
First of all, from a retention standpoint, the Enneagram is a wildly helpful tool. We can better retain people when we better understand what drives and motivates them. Perhaps most importantly, especially with these younger generations moving into the workplace. When we understand their core fears, we can help them feel more safe and secure in the workplace. For instance, I am an Enneagram eight.
I am motivated by independence and I fear being controlled. If I have a supervisor who is micromanaging, who is dominating and doesn’t give me autonomy, that does not make me feel safe in the workplace, and I am very unlikely to maintain my job or persist in that employment. You’re not going to retain me because you’ve touched the nerve of my core fear. One of the largest indicators of retention, especially of these younger generations, is safety and security in the workplace. And the Enneagram helps us better understand those components of each of the people that work with us.
We can also help our team members individually grow, sure, truly in skills and output that make them better at their jobs, but also in self awareness and overall development. By helping our team members understand how they default function, how they can grow, how they show up when they’re stressed. They can show up as more well rounded, self aware employees, and that makes everybody’s workspace better, more functional, more communicative, and healthier. You’re investing not only in their productivity, but in their person. It also helps us build teams.
Yes, it helps us build individual team members. But as a team, we are able to bond and connect when we use the Enneagram to better understand each other. If we take the enneagram as a team and discuss it together, I will better understand why Sarah behaves that way and why Christian behaves that way, because I’ll know they’re core motivators. It also then gives us some shared language to use to discuss it as a team.
On my team, I now get feedback. People are like, Tina, you just be in a hard eight right now. I just feel your eight energy coming forward. And because we all know what that means, we can give each other feedback with shared language. It creates this level playing field, allows everybody to connect meaningfully and already have the language. Nobody needs to search for the right words because they’re given to us through the enneagram.
We’re communicating productively and moving forward as a team when we use this language. Every new team member, from an onboarding standpoint, should participate in the enneagram, if for no other reason than it immediately gives their manager an insight into what motivates them. Understanding what motivates them helps them be productive in the workplace. And speaking of managers, every manager should take the enneagram. It will help us so much better understand why we do what we do.
I know so much more about why I lead the way that I lead, what motivates me to be driven in some places, stressed in other places, why certain behaviors are so frustrating to me, and why other ones don’t seem to bother me, but seem to bother my business partner. I better know myself as a human and as a leader. Nobody needs to change who they are to be an effective leader or manager. But understanding who we are, taking responsibility for who we are will always set us up for more success in managerial roles. I could go on and on, but clearly there are places where this assessment, this tool, can help us better connect in the workplace with more meaning, more purpose, more compassion.
You touched on using the Enneagram as a self-awareness tool. How has it helped you with this in your own career?
"I used to feel like as a leader, I was taking up too much space. I could see that people were intimidated or uncomfortable by the way that I led. It made me feel like I had to shrink myself to show up better... Turns out that trying to be somebody else didn't make me any more effective a leader. I was just taking up the wrong kinds of space. Then the enneagram is permission granting. Understanding who I am, my natural instincts, and why I am that way made me feel like I don't have to change who I am. I just need to better understand it and take responsibility for it."
I’m an Enneagram eight. Learning that I’m an Enneagram eight, as I shared, was so powerful to me because I finally started to understand some of my behaviors, some of the responses I get from other people, some of the ways that I take up space in the world.
Enneagram eights are challengers. They have presence and leadership. You’re in a room and nobody’s in charge. The Enneagram eight is going to be in charge of that room, whether or not they are qualified to do so. And I used to feel like as a leader, I was taking up too much space. I could see that people were intimidated or uncomfortable by the way that I led.
And it made me feel like I had to shrink myself to show up better. That in order to be a more effective leader, I needed to change who I was. I needed to turn down some of my natural instincts and impulses and instead make choices that were motivated by being somebody else, being a smaller version of myself, or maybe an entirely different version of myself. But that’s not true.
Turns out trying to be somebody else didn’t make me any more effective a leader. I was just taking up the wrong kinds of space then. The enneagram is permission granting. Understanding who I am, my natural instincts, and why I am that way made me feel like I don’t have to change who I am. I just need to better understand it and take responsibility for it.
I now know that I’m an Enneagram eight. And any group of people I lead, I help them understand what that means about me. Help them understand that, because I am the way that I am. Here’s how I’m going to lead. Hopefully, they can come with me along that journey of awareness.
The enneagram has given me permission to show up as myself. And I think every single one of us deserves that. Self awareness is powerful, and this tool can give that to all of us.
Related Resources
Enneagram Social Accounts
Free Enneagram Assessments