Understand People!

1/29/2020 - by: Herb Pearce - Leadership

Seriously! Many of us don’t understand why someone does what they do. What’s their motivation? How can someone be so different than me? How can I understand, let alone communicate to their world? Am I that different than other people? I have an answer to these questions! It’s the Enneagram, a knowledge system of personality differences that clearly explain nine filters or types that strongly flavor one’s unique and automatic tendency toward thinking and behavior.

Your Enneagram core type is like a reset button that’s always filtering how you see things. Your main type is more obvious to others than yourself. We have all 9 types in us but one is most dominant, often with a secondary type behind the first and many other subcategories that make you the unique person you are.

Knowing your core type and those of others helps you see the world more clearly, as well as learning how to communicate to each type in a way that’s quite effective. In the meantime, you can develop the best traits of each of the 9 types. Herb acts out the types with hats and gives a very deep understanding of each type. People will be more understandable and you’ll know how to relate more effectively o each person in your world.

Attend Herb’s Enneagram 2020 series or any one or two, on March 10 for Enneagram Basics, April 14 for Enneagram and Spirituality and May 12 with the marriage of the Enneagram and Myers-Briggs.

Here's an overview of the 9 Enneagram types, with brief highlights and examples:

1 Reformer -
World View: The world is an imperfect place. I work toward improvement.
Basic Desire: to be right
Basic Fear: of being condemned for making mistakes
Examples: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Miss Manners, St. Paul, Ralph Nader, Jerry Brown, John Adams, Eisenhower

2 Giver -
World View: People depend on my help. I am needed. Love is the answer.
Basic Desire: to be loved
Basic Fear: of being unloved
Examples: Nancy Reagan, Monica Lewinski, Elvis Presley, Kelly Ripa, Jerry Lewis, Leo Buscaglia, William McKinley

3 Achiever -
World View: The world values a champion. Avoid failure at all costs. You must achieve. You need to compete and be number 1.
Basic Desire: to be admired
Basic Fear: of being rejected
Examples: Julian Castro, Cory Booker, Deval Patrick, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Demi Moore, Ted Cruz, Anne Coulter, Tiger Woods, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, George Washington, Bill Clinton

4 Depth Seeker -
World View: Something's missing. Others have it. I'm different from them because I don't. I’m creative, special, emotional, can be moody and love depth and intensity.
Basic Desire: to understand self
Basic Fear: of being defective
Example: Shakespeare, Marlon Brando, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, John Malkovich, Thomas Merton, Prince, Abraham Lincoln, Jesus

5 Knowledge Seeker -
World View: The world is invasive and confusing. I need privacy to think. I like to learn all the time. I’m objective and hate small talk.
Basic Desire: to understand the world
Basic Fear: of being overwhelmed by the world
Examples: Andrew Yang, Bill Gates, Scrooge, Buddha, T. S. Eliot, John Paul Sartre, Rene Descartes, Albert Einstein, Lenin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison

6 Security Seeker -
World View: The world is a threatening place. I need to look for security and to authority, but I question it. I tend to doubt and can be anxious but always have back up plans.
Basic Desire: to be secure
Basic Fear: of being abandoned
Examples: Klobuchar, Woody Allen, George Bush Jr. and Sr., Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Bob Newhart, Richard Nixon, Sally Field, Ellen DeGeneres

7 Optimist -
World View: The world is full of opportunity and options. I look forward to the future.
Basic Desire: to be happy
Basic Fear: of being deprived
Examples: Robin Williams, Mozart, John F. Kennedy, Magic Johnson, Jim Carrey, Goldie Hawn, Joe Biden, Saturday Night Live

8 Powerhouse -
World View: The world is an unjust place. I am strong and I defend the innocent.
Basic Desire: to be self-reliant
Basic Fear: of submitting to others
Examples: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, John Wayne, Saddam Hussein, Roseanne Barr, Rosie O’Donnell, Johnny Cash, Chris Christie, Martin Luther King, Maya Angelou

9 Peacemaker -
World View: My efforts won't matter to the world. It's best to keep the peace.
I avoid conflict, am nice and have a hard time being assertive. I appear easy going.
Basic Desire: to find union and peace
Basic Fear: of separation
Examples: Pete Buttigieg, Yogi Berra, Kevin Costner, Dalai Lama, Walter Cronkite, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson

Herb has been teaching the Enneagram for over 30 years, uses it as his primary tool in his counseling practice and is the author of 6 books, four of which are on the Enneagram.

Email Herb Pearce at herb@herbpearce.com, www.herbpearce.com

Register for Herb's Enneagram Basics on March 10
Register for Herb's Enneagram and Spirituality on April 14th
Register for Herb's Enneagram and Myers Briggs on May 12th

Author

Herb Pearce

Herb Pearce, M.Ed. in Counseling, from Arlington, MA is an individual, couples and family therapist and life coach, and an Enneagram and Myers-Briggs workshop leader. With 40 years of experience working with clients and organizations, he has helped ...