Finding the Enneagram Type: Part 1
by Peter O’Hanrahan
How can I find my Enneagram type? Or the type of my client? That’s a familiar question. It’s also an important one. To access the benefits of the Enneagram we need to discover our personality type. When we do, we gain access to feedback and suggestions for our personal and professional growth that are specific to our type. It’s a big help! Some people get their type quickly. I’ve seen people look at the list of names and go “that’s me.” Or people at a panel workshop all of a sudden see/hear a type panel and say “wow, here are people who see the world like I do.” For others it can take more time.
What’s important is to hold the space for learning and observing one’s patterns and motivations. In a rush to find their type people can miss it. Working with the incorrect type won’t get to the root of their type structure. They miss finding their specific strengths and challenges, so the Enneagram doesn’t really land for them.
If you are a practitioner or friend of someone who you think has the “wrong” type, it’s hard to watch this happen. We want to give them the “right” information. And we may know more, see things they don’t. But it’s best not to argue or come on with too much authority. Giving some feedback, suggesting another possibility, keeps the conversation going. They may come to the right type down the road. And besides, it’s not actually our job to determine their type. We may be wrong in our evaluation. In my early years as an Enneagram teacher I made many incorrect decisions about people’s types. Now I can give suggestions while at the same time insisting that it’s up to each person to type themselves. Saves me a lot of embarrassment! And gives them responsibility and the job of self reflection. With encouragement and keeping an open mind most people figure it out – eventually.
People miss their type for a variety of reasons. One reason is that the types may not be described in a way that includes both the strengths and the challenges. We can err on the side of being too negative. In the early days of the Enneagram programs the ego was considered a problem with few redeeming qualities. Early Enneagram books were very critical on the nine ego structures. Some people are not willing to pursue a typology that emphasizes the negative aspects of our personalities. And it just may not fit for everyone. Plus there are lots of influences from family, culture, race, and gender. For example, I have talked with a number of women who related to some of the type Eight patterns but did not identify as an “angry, controlling person.” (A few men didn’t either). They were able to identify as Eights later as the approach became more balanced. And what about other people who don’t fit the usual descriptions such as “happy Fours” or “introverted Sevens”? Or leaderful Nines? And can we please retire the word “sloth” for their emotional habit? With respect for the religious traditions, it’s time for the language of the Christian sins to be replaced by modern psychological language. For the emotional habit of the Nines, better I think to say stubborn unwillingness, inertia or self forgetting.
Another way people miss their type is that they are identified with a professional skill set. Our “at work” profiles do not always incorporate the complexity of type and the adaptations that we have made for our careers. We may pick a type that matches the skills we have developed over time in the workplace; certain types/styles are often prioritized over others. For example, Threes are often the role models in in the workplace. They are likely high achievers, hard workers, meet expectations etc. But many other types can fit this profile. Ones are often very hard workers. They also want to have a good image. They are “other referencing” like the Threes. But if you know Ones you know they are profoundly different! What about the Sixes? Why identify as a “fear-based” type Six when you can identify as a “success-oriented” Three? And Sixes can pull off this role – for a while. But we need the talents of the Sixes in any workplace – the planning, the problem solving, the loyalty, the questioning mind. Sixes and Threes are a great combination – when they can work out their differences. Every type has a vital contribution to make, and no type is better or worse.
Sometimes people just pick a type that seems attractive, or compelling, to them at a particular time in their lives. For example, I’ve met people who were in a time of deep grief and decided that they must be a type Four. But everyone can have grief at times, and sadness/melancholy is only one part of the type Four structure.
And then there is “Enneagram light.” While it’s fun to learn a new typology, this version of the Enneagram doesn’t show people how to identify their issues and blind spots. You could be this type or that type, or both types. Or you can be all the types. No need to pin things down. Personality is flexible, it changes a lot, and so on. (Which can be true). Much of the chatter online about the Enneagram reveals a lot of confusion and mis-typing. People make the mistake of typing based on behavior instead of motivation. Or it could be about how people look. In the very early days of the Enneagram the way you found your type was to send a photo to Oscar Ichazo, the teacher who brought us the basic outlines in the 1970’s. He was a brilliant guy, he passed on vital information, but his approach to typing didn’t work very well. (One year I visited an Enneagram class taught by Ichazo’s students. They told me I was a social Six because I have a prominent chin).
With 45 years of learning and applying the Enneagram, I can feel impatient with “Enneagram Light.” And yet I am a believer in multiple levels of learning. Some learning, even what could be called superficial learning, can still offer people something important: people are different, don’t take it personally, all those other people have a valid point of view. And if you find your Enneagram type you get a brilliant short list of “do more of this and do less of that.” If taken to heart these brief directions alone can save marriages and family relationships, defuse conflict in the workplace, and reduce unnecessary suffering. We’d like people to take the next step, to the practice of self awareness, which opens the door to deeper work. But not everyone will go there; they don’t have the interest and/or they are not ready for it. But while people may start with superficial understanding, some will be drawn in for the deeper work, even to the level of transformation.
Why Nine?
There is a long answer here about the history of number sets and geometry to organize information about people, nature, and Divine Spirit. I won’t try to give the complete story here. A few things: the great Trinity is central to Christians and Hindus. The set of Nine was used by the ancient Egyptians and Celts to describe aspects of Divinity. In 1305 a Franciscan friar and scholar named Ramon Llull first published an Enneagram which organized nine aspects of “Divine Dignities” as well as nine human vices and virtues. These are still part of our Enneagram work today, even though we are updating the language.
And in 1915 George Gurdjieff, a teacher of human development, brought the modern Enneagram to the public with what he called the universal laws and how to apply them. (No personality types yet). Mr. Gurdjieff says he got the Enneagram from Sufi monastics in the mountains of the Mideast. But we don’t really know. And many people are not much interested in these stories anyway.
The short answer to “why nine?” is that it works. After 50 years the Enneagram of personality has proven its value to millions of people around the world. It’s good, accessible psychology. But inquiring minds want to know: where is the scientific research? We just don’t have much research; it’s expensive and time consuming. The many PhD dissertations on the Enneagram don’t have large enough samples/numbers to be of much help. (Thanks for doing these anyway, dear PhD candidates). We know of only one article in a peer reviewed journal with a positive result for the Enneagram (see the resources at the end of this article).
Meanwhile I find it curious that some psychologists and therapists reject the Enneagram based on a lack of research when the “bible” of the mental health care system in the US, the DSM or “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” is not so much based on research but is the product of experienced psychologists and therapists who gather in hotel rooms every so many years and do their best to classify people’s problems and justify insurance payments. Not an easy job but a necessary one.
Meanwhile the system continues to prove its value in many fields, including psychology, spirituality, education, leadership and team building. It’s one of the most effective ways to increase our emotional intelligence and it’s a huge help in our relationships.
I think it’s important to say that the Enneagram did not invent the nine types. These psychological types can all be found in the literature and practice of psychology. But they are scattered around, a few here, a few over there. Before Enneagram books we could find clear type descriptions in psychology, although weighted on the neurotic side. David Shapiro’s book “Neurotic Styles” and Karen Horney’s “Our Inner Conflicts” published in the mid 60’s had brilliant descriptions of what we considered Enneagram types. (Available on Amazon)
The Enneagram provides a wonderful map of the human experience; it doesn’t come with any ideology or methodology. We have to add those in. And this a big reason why it’s been so useful in so many fields. Whatever your method or practice the Enneagram will empower this by showing you how to adapt the method to the person. What one person needs for healing and is different than another’s. Of course you don’t need the Enneagram to understand this. Experienced practitioners know to adapt their method depending on who they are working with in order to get the best results. But the Enneagram illuminates this process.
