C L E A R   I M P A C T

Joel M. Rothaizer, Ph.D., CEO

Sandra L. Hill, M.A., President

What is the Enneagram?
Use and misuse of the Enneagram
What are the types?
How do you find your type?
Type-specific coaching tips
The nine neurotic styles of wanting more
What is Enneagram coaching and consulting?
Read our handout: The Enneagram: Filters and False Hopes
Read our article on Employee Retention and the Enneagram

Read more about the Enneagram as a Productivity Tool - new information

We have been using the Enneagram for many years. It is the most powerful such tool that we have discovered. It is invaluable in coaching. The Enneagram increases awareness of our particular perceptual filters, deepens our understanding of ourselves and others, and shows us how to get out of our own way to have more of what we truly want. It is extremely useful in optimizing the functioning of corporate teams. 

The Enneagram is a nine pointed figure. In addition to showing the types, it also displays relationships among the types, including characteristic "movements" during times of stress or flow. You can click on the Enneagram WebRing icon below to visit a variety of Enneagram internet sites, to learn more about different perspectives on the Enneagram (some of which we support, and some of which we don't).

Use and misuse of the Enneagram
Like any tool, the Enneagram can be misused, and often is. Many people use it to put people into "boxes," including themselves. People believe that they "are" their type, and then the type becomes an excuse for lack of awareness, honesty, and development. For example, an Enneagram Three (The Achiever) can say, "Sure, I'm not in touch with what I'm feeling. I'm a Three!" Others use an understanding of the Enneagram to manipulate others, as a way to get what they want from people ("I'll give the Three a lot of praise so he performs well"). 

When used correctly, the Enneagram shows us nine different patterns of how we get in our own way of having what we most want in our lives.  In the corporate arena, it is a powerful tool to increase the functioning of teams, and is very helpful in removing the barriers to optimal productivity. It is particularly useful in executive coaching. In the personal arena the Enneagram reveals the nine patterns of trying to find happiness where lasting happiness does not exist, and helps direct us towards inner harmony and peace. 

What are the types?
The nine Enneagram points are nine perceptual filters, nine different ways of looking at the world. While we may have aspects of several types, we each have only one core type, and that type does not change. On the high/healthy side, they reflect nine different gifts each of us has the potential to bring to our personal and professional lives. On the neurotic side, they reflect nine patterns of trying to find happiness where lasting happiness does not exist, nine prescriptions for frustration and suffering. Our interest is in using the Enneagram to assist people in discovering deeper levels of joy, harmony, inner peace, and relaxed productivity.

How do you find your type?
There are a variety of books on the Enneagram. While we do not fully agree with any of them, there are some that we find more accurate and useful. Our recommendations include Riso/Hudson's Personality Types (revised edition only) and The Wisdom of the Enneagram, Goldberg's The Nine Ways of Working and David's The Enneagram for Managers.  Reading these books can be a useful introduction to the Enneagram, and people are often able to identify their type through them. It is important to know, however, that people often mis-type themselves.

Many people learn about the Enneagram through the "oral tradition," attending workshops where people of the same type are interviewed on a "panel." This provides an opportunity to experience the Enneagram on a deeper level. The similarities among people of the same type become clear, as well as the differences among the types.

Tests have been developed to help identify your type. In our experience, none of them are consistently reliable in accurately identifying type. The true type is generally among the top two or three scores. We have had people take the test to get a first approximation, and then provided additional coaching to confirm the type. There is an online test available at the Riso/Hudson site, <http://www.Enneagraminstitute.com>. 

Type-specific coaching tips
If you know your type, click here to see some type-specific coaching tips. If you don't know your type, there are books and tests to help you determine it (see above).

The nine neurotic styles of wanting more
On the neurotic side, the Enneagram points reflect nine patterns of trying to find happiness where lasting happiness does not exist, nine prescriptions for frustration and suffering. Neurotic styles take the form of wanting more of something, in the belief that this "more" will lead to inner peace, fulfillment, or joy. The One wants more rightness and purity, while the Two wants to be more helpful. The Three wants more success, the Four more uniqueness, the Five more knowledge, the Six more security, the Seven more experiences, the Eight more power, and the Nine more peace and comfort. Ego always wants more. Our essential nature always wants less. The more each type can be warmly OK with settling for less, the less power is given to the neurotic pattern.  Less indulgence in the neurotic pattern leaves more space for one's true essential nature to fill, expand, and grow. Within the business context, less indulgence in the neurotic pattern allows people to work together more harmoniously. Teams work together more effectively, with a greatly enhanced sense of ease and flow. Executives experience a dissolving of resistance to doing what needs to be done, as well as greater fulfillment and satisfaction.

What is Enneagram coaching and consulting?
In general the easiest part of coaching and consulting is determining what needs to happen, setting goals and clarifying a path to reach those goals. The art of coaching and consulting is in helping individuals and groups see what gets in the way of achieving those goals. Why, with the best intentions, do we not follow through consistently? Why do groups spend so much unproductive time? Why do we not do the obvious? In our experience, the Enneagram provides powerful information for both seeing the roadblocks and dissolving them.  If you would like to incorporate the Enneagram into executive or personal coaching, or as a consulting service with your organization, contact us and we will discuss the possibilities.

Read more about the Enneagram as a Productivity Tool - new information

Listen to talk on the Enneagram as a Developmental Model: Version One Version Two

                  Executive Coaching SIG 9/23/04 (the first few moments are garbled)