What is the Enneagram and Why do We Use it for Building Complexity Fitness

What is the Enneagram

So what is the Enneagram? The Enneagram is a symbol and a system that encapsulates a way of thinking and working and relating to keep us on a path of transformational change.  It is a psychological and spiritual system that goes beyond personality  into the nine descriptions of human architectures of the human ego. The Enneagram roots are some thousands of years old and its foundations are rooted in some ancient traditions. 

The word Enneagram comes from the Greek words “ennea” which means nine and “gram” which mens something drawn.  This refers to the 9 basic personality structures and the paths of development on the Enneagram symbol. Don’t let the 9 types fool you into thinking it is simplistic. Human beings are anything but. Individuals of the same type can behave quite differently depending on their level of development, their sub types, their core types and level of self mastery. However, the Enneagram system is a wonderful foundational system to contribute toward transformational change and  growth.

Working with the enneagram can mean making incremental changes or it can result in making transitional changes.  But…. with the right level of attention, it can also provide the framework for doing the work it takes to discover real transformation, deep awareness, and deeply compassionate way of being in the world.

The ways of thinking about human psychology, human relating, conflict, anxiety, the Enneagram has its roots in some ancient traditions. Many of our world’s religions philosophers have always had groups of people-usually on the margins-think about, worked through, teach and explore the depth human psychology and potential

Personality and How to Think of Type for the purposes of this course we are not going to go too deep into the science or the different ways of thinking about personality. For now we are going to talk about personality as a structure of identity, and an energetic system. A core idea of the Enneagram system is that personality is a kind of blueprint or foundation for how an individual expresses him or herself. The blueprint is just one way of understanding the different components of how we think feel and act and how these different parts of our way of being connect to one another. The blueprints include a number of elements such as one’s preferences, behaviours, desires, focus of attention and fears, many of which we are not consciously aware of on a day-to-day basis. On a given day we might be aware of some or parts of these elements but most of us experience this as a kind of passing awareness where there is little that we attend to.

I also refer to personality as a kind of energetic system or a way of saying that like any system the more the elements or the dynamics within the system are reinforced or allowed to go uninterrupted the system continues to build on itself. So in the sense of personality  - in terms of how an individual sees things or how they maybe prefer to relate to others - the longer these things go uninterrupted the more rigid, inflexible or less adaptive they become.

Another key point about personality which we’ll talk about it at a number of different points in this short course are how these structured ways of being or habitual ways of being may look different when we function at a higher or lower level of conscious awareness. We all shift “up” or “down” throughout our day depending on many factors such as levels of energy, focus or just how we are feeling overall.

Tests and the Enneagram 

Typing, or determining one’s category is a bit of art and science. It is important to remember that tests are fallible and human beings don’t fit neatly in boxes or categories.  We are unique and individual. While it is true we are individuals, many people find the enneagram “types” incredibly helpful in providing insight and opportunity for reflection and growth. 

Most people I do this with report the results are super helpful but the debrief is where the value is. I/we love having these conversations so any time and in any form I am happy to connect if you want to understand or talk it through more. Plus it helps us out as we are both trying to get great at doing this with people :)

This is one of the better ones and the one we use with our coaching and in communities/organizations. I always recommend reading the descriptions for your top few highest scores. Most feel they get pegged with one description. Just remember that type is nuanced by wings and instincts so its like choosing best fit and then discovering how it shows up for you in particular.