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Elements of the Enneagram

The Enneagram

I suppose as one begins their journey to explore the deeper workings of oneself you instinctually try to better understand the why behind what you do, it is helpful to use tools and paradigms which could not just help you understand yourself better but also how to interact more productively with the people in your life. This is how I was drawn to the Enneagram during my own journey towards self-enlightenment. What I love about this model is that it helps you to embrace all the parts of yourself, the “yin and the yang” that makes up your personality. Learning this model helps you to harness compassion through increased understanding of your normal tendencies or habitual traits you often adopt. It is a powerful tool that helps us understand our motivations, core beliefs and unconscious patterns that drive our behaviour.


SO, WHAT IS IT?

The Enneagram is a model of human psychology and personality theory, that is based on the idea that each person has a unique and innate personality structure, or "essence," that shapes the way they see the world and themselves. It is an archetypal framework consisting of 9 personality types, consisting of 3 centres of intelligence, wings and 27 subtypes. We have all 9 Types in us, although one of the Enneagram types is dominant for each of us.  Knowing all 9 types helps you to use the model in daily life.


The 9 Enneagram Types:

1.    The Reformer/ Perfectionist

The rational, idealistic type which often have a strong desire for fairness, accuracy and order.

2.    The Helper/ Nurturer

This type is generous, empathetic, altruistic, hardworking and motivated with a drive to connect to the world.

3.    The Achiever/ Pragmatist

This type is success-oriented, they are ambitious, adaptable and enthusiastic.

4.    The Individualist/ Romantic

This type is sensitive, creative and expressive. They like to be unique and seek their own identity.

5.    The Investigator

This is the cerebral type often perceptive, innovative, curious, independent and love to pursue knowledge and seek a deeper understanding of the world. 

6.    The Loyalist

This type is engaging, hardworking and responsible. They want to feel safe and are concerned with outside threats often making them known as sceptics.

7.    The Enthusiast/ Optimist

This type is enthusiastic, adventurous and spontaneous in their behaviour.

8.    The Challenger

This type is often self- confident, powerful and assertive. They often love engaging in debates and are skilful at making difficult decisions.

9.    The Peacemaker

This type is accepting, optimistic and adaptive. They often seek peace and avoid conflict at all costs. 



 

 

 


THE WINGS:

Your basic type is your overall personality type, your dominant type and then our wings which often compliments our type and adds important or sometimes contradictory elements to our personality type. The wings are the two adjacent types, before and after your number. For example, if you are a 3 your wings are 2 and 4.



 

WHY KNOWING ALL TYPES ARE SO IMPORTANT?

During times of growth or times of stress we often lean towards our neighbouring wings. If you examine the diagram below you will see arrows pointing with red arrow heads and arrows marked with black arrow heads.





The red arrow head indicates the movements you make form your basic personality type in times of stress which is often behaviours not serving to help you in your current situation.



 

The black arrow heads indicates the movements you make form your basic personality type in the direction of growth or integration to foster growth and support of your current situation.




Once we become aware of our tendencies to move in these directions of either stress or growth, we can start to catch ourselves and the great thing is that we have the tools for resolution. The goal is firstly awareness and early detection and then working on our psychological flexibility to pivot and lean into the traits which will foster growth and change.

Perhaps we may view it in relation to the analogy of learning to drive stick in a motor vehicle. We can start to master the gears on our manual stick drive, 9 personalities, when driving ourselves along our journey in life. We master when to slow down to caution and protect against danger and speed up and move towards exciting new places and adventures. We begin to recognize and become aware when we are behaving in ways which causes more stress and unhealthy tendencies and start moving towards behaviours which are more self-serving and in the production of growth, change and adventure.


I would recommend taking this free quiz to discover your Enneagram type. This will help you to have a practical application to this article.


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2025 Monica G. Garnett

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