Personality testing has been used for decades to determine how we work and how we work with the people around us. One method, the Enneagram, provides suggestions for what in our personalities may need attention and adjustment. The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system that identifies the nine basic personality styles. Each personality type influences how we act, think, and feel at any given time. The word enneagram stems from the Greek words “ennea,” meaning nine, and “grammos,” a written symbol. Therefore, the nine-pointed symbol represents nine types relating to the self, others, and the world, according to The Narrative Enneagram.(1) The different types are spread around the edge of a circle, and each point has connecting lines to the others.
By identifying your unique Enneagram and understanding what it means, you have the information to become a better person, partner, and doctor. The Enneagram helps us understand parts of our personality that make us aware of what we can do to improve.
The Enneagram helps us learn what makes people tick. It illuminates what is best and worst about us. Studies have shown that the critical predictor of success among leaders is self-awareness.(2) Self-awareness is observing, monitoring, and regulating how you act, think, and feel. How is your personality functioning? How is it affecting other people? How is it affecting your decision-making?
There are nine types of Enneagram personalities.(3) Once you know your Enneagram type and the types of the people around you, you can adjust and improve your leadership skills and your relations with your team. Each of the nine personality types is something of a pathway through blind spots. Each personality style has its own assets, limitation, information, facts, feelings, and understandings while ignoring other information, especially anything that doesn’t fit preconceived notions or inclinations. The Enneagram exposes unconscious assumptions, closely held opinions, and expectations that we hardly knew we had but which drives the way we see ourselves, do our work, convictions you can focus on your true talents and skills.
The following paragraphs describe the nine Enneagram types.
Ones: The ones are the improvers, the perfectionists. The unconscious motivation of a One is a need to perfect themselves and others in the world. They desire to be very good people because they believe the world punishes people who are flawed and rewards those who are virtuous.
Twos: The Twos are the helpers. They are warm, supportive, generous, and warm-hearted. Their unconscious motivation is to be liked and admired. They want to be appreciated. They are also the most interpersonal number on the Enneagram. They can help meet the needs of others as a calculated way to win the appreciation and approval of others.
Threes: The Threes are the performers. Everyone thinks all entrepreneurs are Threes, and many are. They are productivity-oriented, goal-oriented, driven, ambitious, and competitive. Many people believe they are Threes because sometimes it seems the best one to be. Nobody gets more done than a Three. The Threes have to-do lists on top of to-do lists. The unconscious motivation of the Three is a need to succeed, to appear successful, and to avoid failure at all costs. Threes believe that the world only values people for what they do and accomplish versus who they are inside.
Fours: Fours are incredibly creative and imaginative. You will find them in careers where aesthetics is emphasized — graphic designers and decorators. Their dark side is they can be melancholy, self-absorbed, and complicated. They are the most complex number on the Enneagram. They are motivated by a need to be special and unique because Fours believe that there is something wrong with them at their core, but they don’t know what it is. They feel like it’s all their fault. It seems to them that everybody else seems to have the missing piece they most want. They need to be special and unique to compensate for the missing piece.
Fives: The Fives are the individualists. They are the most analytical number on the Enneagram. They are also the most emotionally distant, if not unavailable. They are information junkies. These are people who see a world that is intrusive and overly demanding. They are typically introverted. These people are always cramming as much information and new knowledge into their heads to fend off feelings of inadequacy and ineptitude.
Sixes: The Sixes are the loyalists. It’s been theorized that there are more Sixes in the world than any other type. They are earthy, practical, witty, and funny. They have an unconscious need for safety, security, and support. They are worst-case scenario thinkers, constantly scanning the horizon, looking for what could go wrong. They suffer from pre-traumatic stress disorder. A risk manager is a perfect career for a Six.
Sevens: The Sevens are the joy bombs of the Enneagram. Sevens are adventurous and very future-oriented. Their mind is always in the future, and it’s difficult for them to stay in the present moment. They are one of the best entrepreneurs on the Enneagram because they see overlapping patterns and systems. Their mind goes to work, saying, “You know, if you put this together with this, we’ll get that. And no one has ever done it like that.” Their unconscious motivation is to avoid painful or distressing feelings, thoughts, or situations. So all that fun, future-mindedness, and believing in a world of unlimited possibilities is a way to stay out of difficult feelings and painful situations and skip all that stuff.
Eights: Eights are called the challengers. Along with the Threes and the Sevens, they are also drawn to being leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators. They can be blunt and combative and often have larger-than-life personalities. They can start an argument with anyone for any reason or no reason. Their unconscious motivator is a need to assert strength and control over others in their environment to mask tenderness and vulnerability.
Nines: The Nines are the peacemakers. They can be called the sweethearts of the Enneagram. They are easy-going, supportive, “hakuna matata,” or go with the flow. The unconscious motivator of the Nines is maintaining a connection with other people to preserve inner and outer peace. One of the strategies they use to make sure that happens is to avoid conflict at all costs.
Enneagram experts state that it is possible to identify just a little bit with each of the nine personalities. Probably everyone has a little of each type. It is likely that you have more of one type than the other eight. A metaphor that might make this clear is to think of your personality like a house. It’s got nine rooms. We may prefer to spend most of our time in one room. We can enter multiple rooms. Ask yourself where you go when you’re happy and relaxed. It is usually one room.
How can you use the Enneagram to make yourself a better self and build better teams in our medical practices? We know self-awareness is a key factor for success. It is important to know and understand your team and the people around you. If you and your team learn about the Enneagram, it will allow the leaders — that is, the physicians and office managers — to use the personality assessment to enhance morale in the office, improve communication, and perhaps decrease burnout.
The Enneagram indicates that there are nine different definitions of normal. Each of the nine types has its own normal. Understanding that can lead to better relationships, better retention, and better morale in the workplace.
For example, if you put someone who is an Enneagram Two in a closed office environment, you can understand why they are struggling. Twos need to be reassured; they want to hear how much they are appreciated. Twos need to be with people, work with others to be productive. The other side of this Enneagram coin is that a Five works best in solitude. Threes want to know what the goal is, how they can exceed the goal, and what the reward is when they reach or exceed the goal.
Is any number better than the other eight types to function as a leader, or running a medical practice? The answer is no. Some numbers — such as Threes, Ones, or Sevens — might not work as hard to be successful because they are wired that way. They are more aggressive and extroverted.
Is it possible for your number to change? If you’re a Four at age 5, you’re still a Four at age 55. You’ve just done some growing up and maturing so you’re hopefully a bit more stable and adjusted. You probably know yourself a bit better and can navigate through the highs and lows of your number.
Finding Out Your Number
You may be trying to figure out what number you are. Take the quiz and find out. And, as with any personality test, answer honestly and don’t put too much thought into it. There are links at the end of this article.
Let me share my personality number with you. I am a Three — the performer. I am extroverted and like to be the center of attention and be on stage. However, I am also very close to being an Eight — the challenger.
As a Three, I want to excel and to be the best. I seldom sit around doing nothing. I always have an article to read when I am in line or waiting for an appointment or to board an airplane. I usually carry a pocket puzzle to stimulate my creative juices and to generate dopamine that makes me feel good. When I’m stressed, I go on autopilot. I want those around me to know how busy and important I am trying to be. That is the Enneagram in a nutshell. There is so much more to explore. Take some time to do your own research.
One of the benefits of learning the Enneagram is increased empathy and compassion for others, which reduces conflict and miscommunication.
Sharing the Enneagram with your team makes for a great staff meeting exercise or can be used at a practice retreat. It is a way to discover our strengths and weaknesses and how we can harness our strengths and decrease our weaknesses. The Enneagram provides an opportunity to work together to improve the healthcare for our patients and improve our productivity.
Bottom Line: The Enneagram illustrates how we approach the world with contrasting patterns of intention and attention that give meaning to our world. When we understand and use these nine personality types, we become open to the experience of others which helps us to get out of our own way.
References
The Narrative Enneagram. Learn About the 9 Enneagram Types. https://www.narrativeenneagram.org/tour-the-nine-types/
Rubens A, Schoenfeld GA, Schaffer BS, Leah JS. Self-awareness and leadership: developing an individual strategic professional development plan in an MBA leadership course. The International Journal of Management Education. 2018;16(1):1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2017.11.001
Hook JN, Hall TW, Davis DE, Van Tongeren DR, Conner M. The Enneagram: a systematic review of the literature and directions for future research. J Clin Psychol. 2021;77: 865-883. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23097
Further Resources
Cron IM. Use the Enneagram to understand yourself better. Ian Morgan Cron. ianmorgancron.com.
The most accurate and in-depth Enneagram report available. Typology Institute. Typologyinstitute.com/assessment.
Discover your Enneagram type. Enneagraminstitute.com.
Enneagram of personality. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality