In these blog posts over the last year, I’ve described a number of the concepts that we use regularly in our work, such as whole body thinking, the line of choice, and emotional health. From time to time I’ve also mentioned the Enneagram, without providing detail of what it is. So this time I thought I would briefly introduce the Enneagram.
There are a couple of reasons why I have not attempted to explain the Enneagram in a blog post before now. One is that short explanations risk doing it a disservice, given the complexity and sophistication of ideas which sit behind it. The other is that, while the Enneagram is a tool we use often, it is just that – a tool – and not an end in itself. In our work, the Enneagram is used in the context of an overall aim of improving the emotional health of a leader, team or organisation. (To that end, if you have not done so already, I would encourage you to follow the links in the previous paragraph and read those articles before reading continuing here.)
At first glance, the Enneagram is a personality profiling tool, akin to the Myers-Briggs profile, DISC or any of numerous other such tools. It is true that, as with those tools, undertaking an Enneagram Type Test will provide you with an indication of your ‘type’ – in this case one of nine types, or styles. However an indication of your Enneagram type is just the starting point on a journey of self-discovery. It should not be seen as an ‘absolute’ in any way. For a good discussion of the difference between the Enneagram and other profiling tools, see this page on Ginger Lapid-Bogda’s Enneagram in Business website, where you will also find detailed descriptions of the Enneagram types.
Today’s Enneagram is derived from philosophies dating back at least far as Pythagoras in ancient Greece. It also incorporates components from early Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Sufism, Taoism and Buddhism. The first modern use of the Enneagram is attributed to Oscar Ichazo in the 1960s.
Ichazo distinguishes between the unblemished ‘essence’ of a person and that person’s personality or ego. The latter is a distortion of the former: as our personality develops, so we move away from our pure ‘essence’. Adapted to the language that we use, this essence represents a perfect balance of the head, heart and gut centres – the ability to draw on each of these at any time. It is the peak of emotional health. Our personality, by contrast, is our tendency to behave according to our Enneagram type, which includes a tendency towards one of the three centres. The lower our emotional health, the more rigidly we adhere to type.
In exploring the Enneagram and learning about our preferred type, we learn more about ourselves, about the gifts and limitations of our type, and about the likely nature of our relationships with others. As I said earlier, none of these are absolutes – they are indicators. But they provide us with information and insights which we can then use to develop ourselves and increase our emotional health.
Malcolm and I were first introduced to the Enneagram in the late 90’s, some time before we started working together. When we settled on self-realisation as one of the three guiding principles of the Global Leadership Foundation, it made perfect sense that the Enneagram would be something we could use. Since then, we have been fortunate to meet and work with many of the Enneagram’s most prominent exponents, including Ginger, Don, Russ and David Daniels. As we continue to use it, we continue to learn about its amazing potential to provide insight to individuals, teams and organisations.
Gayle
