Your Path to Higher Ground (using the Enneagram)
Last week I was lucky enough to get to be a student again and participate in the Level 2 Advanced Enneagram Team Dynamics training with Integrative Enneagram Solutions.
It reminded me of just how much power this tool has for individual growth and deep team development work. The Enneagram framework is a sensemaking tool that classifies human personality into nine basic types. These types describe how individuals see the world and what motivates them (read more on why I love the Enneagram).
Each Enneagram type has lines to two other types. Any two types connected by a line represent a polarity -- two qualities that may exist in tension that can ultimately be integrated.
In this playful photo taken at the training, you can see that my feet are anchored on type 6 which is my core type. My arms are stretched out to type 3 and type 9. This symbolizes my development work of integrating type 3 and type 9 qualities.
When looking at your own type, consider your lines your map to “higher ground”. Often leaders want to know "so what?" when it comes to personality tools such as the Enneagram. The 'so what' of the Enneagram is that it gives you the roadmap OUT of your box. The box being those fixations that limit you from reaching your potential and cause you discomfort.
I'll use myself as an example. As a type 6, a common limiting quality is doubt, or worry. “What if” this, “what if” that. The narrative in the mind of a type 6 is constant. My work, then, is to use my line to 9 to inspire a go-with-the-flow mentality and allow some events to just play out. I can also use my line to 3 as inspiration to set ambitious goals and focus on positive success.
If you are an Enneagram type 1, your line to 7 will help you find more freedom from the structure you impose on yourself, integrating more fun and playfulness. Your line to 4 will help you own your authentic emotions, especially the ones that are not 'ideal' in your mind.
To summarize, here is your path to higher ground:
Figure out your core type. There are many resources for this. We can administer the iEQ9 for you, or you can try another online test. Free tests tend to give less accurate results.
See which lines connect. Read about those types. What in those types feels opposite, or just out of reach, of your normal mode?
Practice and iterate. Try on one of the line characteristics for a day or a week. Then try another. Notice where it challenges you and where it serves you. Keep repeating.
The Enneagram is a sensemaking tool that is both practical and deep, mapping the work to integrate characteristics of ourselves that we have forgotten or actively suppressed. To return to wholeness, we must ultimately embrace the best of all 9 Enneagram types.
