Enneagram and Archetypes

enneagramEnneagram is an intricate model of personality types, giving us detailed information about our personality archetype and its patterns of behavior.

There are 9 basic personality types. I, for example, identify with type 7 (“Enthusiast”) – an optimistic, variety-seeking, spontaneous personality, that thrives on action and experience, especially doing a variety of things.

Each type has both a strength and a pathology. For example, Enthusiasts’ strengths are versatility, vivacity and quick learning while the pathology is the tendency to become scattered and feel lost or directionless. There are many other nuances in this elaborate system; here is a great book on the subject.

Enneagrams can be incredibly useful for understanding your startup team’s patterns and dynamics. For example when we explored the typologies on a retreat with the MeetingPulse team, we found that we had one (thankfully the CEO!) Reformer (a purposeful, principled, rational type) and three Enthusiasts. This helped explain a common dynamic: that the CEO constantly struggled to keep the team focused on the core product, while the other teammates kept coming up with new feature or product ideas.

These insights can help the team make appropriate adjustments. For instance, the MeetingPulse team could have a “hackathon” day every week or two to allow the Enthusiasts to invent and experiment with new ideas. During the rest of the time, the Enthusiasts can become more conscious of their tendencies to become scattered and trust the Reformer CEO more to keep them on track.

The Enneagram archetypes can also be extended in a trans-personal way to encompass key principles of business organizations:

To start and operate a successful enterprise, one needs vision and confidence (Eight), the ability to bring people together and to listen to them (Nine), ethical standards and quality control (One), the ability to serve people and anticipate their needs (Two), promotional and communication skills (Three), a well designed product and a sensitivity to its emotional impact on individuals (Four), technical expertise and innovative ideas (Five), teamwork and self- regulating feedback (Six), and energy and optimism (Seven). Thus, each type, seen metaphorically, is a necessary component of the whole, and without it, something important will be deficient or even entirely missing.

Enneagram types are not fixed boxes that we put ourselves and others in, but rather they are metaphors of universal archetypes, each endowed with unique wisdom. In order to be powerful (in life and in startups), we want to strive to transcend our particular type, and be fluid to freely embody whatever is called for in the moment: in some situations we will be a principled Reformer, in others a caring Helper.

The Enneagram is incredibly fun to explore. I invite you to take a quick online test with your teammates, and share the results and insights that emerge.