It has recently been brought to my attention that there’s this wonderful thing called Enneagrams! It is a 9-personality model designed to help us understand the different personality types and how we can learn to empathize with others.
The 9 Enneagram Types
I’ve found that most people are drawn to one type while also having a “wing”. Since nobody truly aligns 100% with a single type, your wing is another personality type that you align with. Your main number and your wing are the combination that makes up your supposed personality type.
I’ve read that people do not change from one personality type to the other, and these 9 apply universally to males and females. Please note that the numerical ranking of the personalities is not significant, i.e. a “9” is not superior to a “3”.
Type 1 – The Reformer – principled, perfectionist, self-controlled
Type 2 – The Helper – caring, demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing
Type 3 – The Achiever – success-oriented, excelling, driven, image-conscious
Type 4 – The Individualist – sensitive, dramatic, expressive
Type 5 – The Investigator – perceptive, innovative, isolated
Type 6 – The Loyalist – engaging, responsible, anxious, suspicious
Type 7 – The Enthusiast – spontaneous, versatile, distracted, scattered
Type 8 – The Challenger – self-confident, decisive, confrontational
Type 9 – The Peacemaker – receptive, reassuring, agreeable, complacent
How to Make the Most of Your Type
I am still figuring this out, but supposedly, knowing your Enneagram unlocks so many tips and tricks with navigating differently personality types among friends, coworkers, peers, classmates, etc.
Enneagrams are powerful tools for personal growth and a reminder that people respond to situations differently than ourselves. Here’s an article I found on using your type to lead healthier relationships.
Think of all the different management styles you’ve experienced in the workplace! I’m looking forward to using this tool to widen my perspective on others management and working styles. I have several friends whose employers have leveraged Enneagrams within their workplaces and use them to improve their performance within their roles.
Think: knowing how you interact with other personality types = emotional intelligence (EQ).
Taking the Test
There are paid exams that provide a variety of materials and resources, but I was able to track down a reliable online test for free here. It takes roughly 10 minutes and consists of 105 questions. I’ve taken this exam twice for consistency reasons, and found it is most effective when you are 100% honest answering these questions.
Personally, I’ve found that sometimes my answers are skewed based on what I think somebody else would want me to choose, as opposed to how I actually feel.
An example question, “I make more significant contributions than the average person” and then you are to rank from “inaccurate” to “accurate” as how this actually depicts your feelings towards the prompt.
Resources
If you’re interested to learn more, here are some resources I’ve found.
Truity – free personality test
