The Enneagram and Organizational Culture

Culture (n.) the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture.

Anyone that has worked in, (or led) an organization knows the importance of establishing a positive workplace "culture." However, the ambiguity of that term often leaves leaders and workers a bit disenchanted. A bright eyed trainer may pop in to your job and do a quick training to help create more "cohesive workplace culture."

Suddenly you find you've spent half of the day learning about your color type or what animal you and your coworkers are and you leave  wondering the real value of calling your sales team "the wolverines" or the "perky purples" really is. 

 If you're the person who hired the trainer you may be worndering why you just spent a thousand bucks to get told you were a snail because you don't like to make rash decisions. A snail...really?

Sure it's good for entertainment and Purple Wednesdays were cool for a couple of months but they get old (that and you run out of purple stuff to wear). 

What does that kind of culture building really tell you about the goals of your organization or its working parts? Furthermore, does it speak to the motivations, desires and multiple dimensions of the organizations people? Not really, but it's an interesting distraction but doesn't produce lasting results.

Organizational culture can be much sexier (in a workplace friendly kind of way), deeper and much longer lasting than simply throwing the term around as Organizational Development lip service.

 Bringing a trainer in to teach your sales team to be tigers rather than bunnies is fun but is likely not long-lasting, and doesn't help your team to grow in a significant way because the people are not represented multi-dimesionally.

Innovative culture building in an organization can make it a living, breathing part of your organization. However, it has to encompass the vision of the company and the goals of its valuable contributors. 

Slapping a tiger sticker on your sales teams cubicles will likely feel condescending and kitchy at best.

The Enneagram, as many know, is an excellent tool for self discovery and personal growth, but has huge implications in organizational settings if visionaries can see its benefits as a cultural tool. 

In organizational development the term cultural discourse is receiving some traction because of its potential to unite disjunctive parts into something holistic and cohesive.

But isn't cultural discourse just more jargon? It is, if you don't apply it, but if you understand how it's already working within your organization and how to leverage it in a way that creates greater productivity and happiness it becomes more than just jargon.

Gettin' Some Culture

The concept of Cultural Discourse was first conceptualized by the famous French critical scholar Michel Foucault. Gail Fairhurst (author of The Power of Framing) explains discourse well, writing: “a really excellent way to think about Discourse is a system of thought with its own linguistic tool bag, or collection of terms and metaphors for key concepts and ideas, and its own categories for understanding themes for stories, and familiar arguments to draw upon to describe, explain, or justify our place in the world at any given moment” (Fairhurst, 2011).

Cultural Discourse explains why football teams talks about “rushing yards”, “touchdowns”, “defensive and offensive games”, “penalties” and “flags”, while the same language or Discourse in a beauty salon would not only be a little strange but completely obsolete.

We often think of culture in a grand way (American culture or African culture), but the value of understanding culture in an organizational setting is extremely beneficial.

If we think about our Enneagram types as a microcosm of Cultural Discourse that we share with other people with our same style we can see how the term can be used in tandem with the Enneagram system.

According to Enneagram researchers like Katherine Fauvre, each Enneagram type speaks in the particular lexicon (language) of that particular type. For instance, any Type Two (The Helper) shares a linguistic similarity with other Twos in how they describe themselves and the world around them.

There are even common archetypal words, phrases, adjectives and expressions that are shared by each of the Nine types, as was revealed in Fauvre’s 1996 Enneastyle research. In other words, we could say each of the Nine types share a common Culture Discourse that would make communication amongst those types easier and more fluid. 

Thus the types have an easier time understanding each other because they are coming from the same basic psychological motivation.

If we broaden this lens we can see how the Enneagram typology model in general can be used as an organizational Cultural Discourse, and on a smaller level, within the organization, type can further refine the Discourse amongst organizational members. 

Many organizations already utilize the Enneagram model to bridge gaps between employees and foster rapport. And in our experience it's a lot more effective than animals or colors (nothing against tigers and purple).

The Enneagram, if adopted by leaders in an organization and transmuted to organization members, can quickly create both a meta-culture (i.e., the Enneagram as organizational culture) and a shared participant culture (i.e., the Enneagram as mini-culture amongst members) that in turn would promote harmony within the organization.

Wait...what about organisms?

Organizations and their members often have multiple discourses/cultures working simultaneously. There is, of course, the larger discourse of the company’s aims, for example a computer manufacturer’s main aim is to sell computers. So the long reaching non-personal Discourse will be centered on computers.

Thus you will get frequent use of computer jargon, and this will be adopted as the company’s overall lexicon. However, within the impersonal Discourse of computer sales, you will then find other Discourses depending on the department and its specific aims within the organization itself.

The unifying elements amongst these working parts are the people in the organization. It is within the interpersonal, human resource realm of the organization where difficulty arises that can lead to a breakdown of the whole organizational organism.

The people in any organization are like the oxygen cells. If all parts of the organism are synchronous (as in a healthy body), then you have optimal functioning and presumable happiness, and they pump much needed oxygen into the organizational system.

Adopting a model like the Enneagram as organizational culture requires a dedication by organizational leaders to the healthy functioning of the total organism. If you do not feed the body it will not grow and continue to repair itself.

Ok, Ok so what's the practical value?

We can now move into how to put this theory into practice. The good part is: It’s pretty simple. The challenging part is dedicating oneself to investing in the self-awareness of its members.

An easy way to begin identifying your organization’s Cultural Discourses is to identify a grand theme that relates to one of the 9 Enneagram styles. In other words, determine what the focus of your organization is.

After you’ve determined a focus that you can adopt (with any modifications you and your team deem necessary) then you can begin to fine-tune your bottom line and begin to integrate the aims of your bottom line with the culture of your organization.

Another important aspect to consider is that your overall organizational discourse should match the product, service or goal your organization seeks to meet. We've made a handy little chart that may help get you thinking about how to translate the Enneagram types into organizational culture.

Type	Type Culture
1 The Ethical Perfectionist	Meticulous, with a focus on what is right, ethical and practical with a commitment to standards.
2 The Helpful Supporter	Helpful, with a focus on what is helpful, relatable and interpersonal with a commitment to service.
3 The Successful Achiever	Image Conscious, with a focus on what is efficient, successful and expedient with a commitment to winning.
4 The Intuitive Romantic	Distinctive, with a focus on what is special, unique and insightful with a commitment to refinement.
5 The Investigative Thinker	Knowledgeable, with a focus on what is reasonable, economical and intelligent with a commitment to learning.
6 The Loyal Skeptic	Dependable, with a focus on what is safe, steadfast and preservable with a commitment to loyalty.
7 The Excited Adventurer	Visionary, with a focus on what is new, interesting and innovative with a commitment to fun.
8 The Powerful Protector	Confident, with a focus on what is strong, cutting-edge and bold with a commitment to leadership.
9 The Peaceful Mediator	Pleasing, with a focus on what is comfortable, enduring and agreeable with a commitment to peace.

After identifying your grand theme(s) you can have each department begin to identify their meta-theme(s). Once you’ve established the organizational themes (on both a larger and departmental level), you’ll be on your way to integrating the Enneagram into your organization’s cultural discourse.

Once you’ve identified one of the above overall cultural discourses you can then begin to fine-tune.

We can see the how the Enneagram influenced organizational culture if we look at successful businesses throughout history but for the sake of time we’ll look at a couple:

Apple creator Steve Jobs was likely a Type Seven (The Excited Adventurer). We can see his type’s characteristics running throughout the company’s overall discourse. Apple products are known for their innovation, interesting and fun sleek design. Jobs leveraged his own desire for innovation and visionary technology into one of the most successful corporations in history.

Nieman Marcus, the high-end fashion conscious department, store was founded by the discriminating and highly aesthetic Herbert Marcus. Marcus was a likely Type Four (The Intuitive Romantic). The brand grew to popularity due to his strong commitment to being special and a desire to integrate his own personal values into the organization itself. Thus Nieman Marcus grew to be a distinctive marker of class, sophistication and highly coveted fashion for the Dallas elite, and grew to national popularity through the years.

Here are some other successful organizations that have a clear organizational culture that matches one of the nine Enneagram styles. These organizations are but a few examples of how the culture of the organization match its product aims. They have developed a clear vision and thus developed a cohesive image based on that vision.

Type One (The Ethical Perfectionist)

Martha Stewart Inc, The Container Store

Type Two (The Helpful Supporter)

Nordstrom, CVS, The United Way

Type Three (The Successful Achiever)

Nike, McDonalds

Type Four (The Intuitive Romantic)

Vogue, Hewlett Packard

Type Five (The Investigative Thinker)

Google, IBM, Intel, Yahoo

Type Six (The Loyal Skeptic)

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Securities

Type Seven (The Excited Adventurer) Organizations

Apple, Zappos, E! Entertainment Television, Bravo Television

Type Eight (The Powerful Protector)

Caterpillar, Trump Enterprises, Exxon Mobil

Type Nine (The Peaceful Mediator)

UPS, Walt Disney

Of course your organization doesn’t have to morph into the CEOs personal Enneagram style (although this is very common), but it should reflect the vision of its leaders. It should also reflect the practical goals of the organization, a security company may not want to adopt the culture of Type Nine because it might be a bit too relaxed, whereas a Sixish culture (based on safety and dependability) would be more beneficial.

Our next blog in our Business series will cover how the concept of cultural discourse can be applied at the human level so you don't have to keep calling the sales team the wolverines...

Stay tuned!

Deeper Into Type Two (Part II)

This is part of our continuing series that delves deeper into the Enneagram Types.

 Core Fears of the Two:

 

Fear of being worthless, being needy, unhelpful, unacknowledged, immutable, and inconsequential.

The preceding core fears have been identified by many Enneagram researchers through the years and were explored more deeply by Katherine Fauvre during her groundbreaking research on the Enneagram in 1995 and 1996.

Twos fear being worthless because it would undermine the core ego belief that they deserve love and are loving people. Thus being worthless typically crops up when the Two is not able to be helpful.  

Moreover the Twos fear of being worthless and unhelpful are often symbiotically tied to one another.

To not be acknowledged is the ultimate slap in the face to the Two, who hopes that people recognize the depth of their assistance to those around them. 

However, Twos with a One wing will be less vocal about the need for acknowledgement than the Two with a Three wing who may make more of a show of their helpful nature.

The fear of immutability ties back in with the Two's position as an image type and so to be unchanging, or seen as unchanging or immutable would suggest that the Two is not flexible to the needs of others and thus only concerned with the self.

The irony of Twos fear of being needy is that many people may perceive the Two as needy as they may pick up on the tendency of the Two to expect people to cater to their emotional or physical whims. The extent to which the Two expects this however is the extent to which they feel they have provided for others selflessly.

The core trigger for the Two is to feel underappreciated which will likely bring about a bevy of internal messages about their personal worth.

Healthy Expression:

When Twos are healthy they exhibit the essence of benevolence and altruism. The Two recognizes the inherent joy in giving and can find themselves as confident servants to those in need. 

Healthy Twos understand when to interject their help and when it is best to let someone figure things out on their own. Very healthy Twos are both intuitive about others needs and plugged into their own emotional and physical desires. 

This allows them to respond to situations out of a desire to be of assistance rather than a superego message that drives them to help in order to maintain a particular self-image.

Twos are able to fill up their own proverbial love cups and thus are no longer dependent upon outside praise to feel worthy or appreciated. Supported by their own sense of innate worth Twos understand their archetypal role as helpers without becoming a slave to the needs of their ego. 

If the Two wants something in the healthy ranges they have learned how to express their needs directly rather than allowing physical somatizing or emotional outbursts to speak for their perceived unmet needs.

In short the healthy Two understands that unless they care for themselves body, mind and spirit first and foremost they are infusing all of the deeds they do for others with expectations, cords and fine print and thus undermining their own psychological health.

Twos often posses a variety of gifts related to their ability to empathize with others, and because of their ability to read others emotionally they can be excellent counselors or supporters when others are in need of a nurturing spirit to weather a particular storm. 

A desire to help others realize the abundance of their own lives makes healthy Twos strive to help others to find the place in themselves where they can help someone else in need in order to find a sense of balance and authentic joy.

If the ego needs of Twos go unmet for too long and the Two begins to identify with the ego needs as self, then they eventually spiral into compulsive helping or rescuing behaviors that serve to satiate their growing desire to be needed. 

As Twos begin to feel more and more worthless they may become internally self-aggrandizing; exaggerating their importance in the lives of others while simultaneously feeling entitled to special treatment due to their helpful nature. 

When the Two can no longer shoulder the weight of their ego concerns they may devolve into hysterical outbursts or histrionic dramas in order to garner attention.

Very unhealthy Twos may have neglected their spiritual, physical and emotional needs for so long that they develop mental or physical illnesses that force others to care for them.

 Hypochondrias (believing oneself to be ill when one is healthy), malingering (falsifying illness or symptoms in order to garner attention) or periods of compulsive or manic doing and periods of depression may become methods the Two utilizes in order to get the attention they crave.

Identifying Twos:

*Much of what is said in this section is intended to illustrate stereotypes but also to break current stereotypes about 2s in order to show more common expressions and to illustrate those individuals who break the mold of predominant Enneagram literature exemplars.

Identifying Twos can be quite easy once you recognize the language usage and emotional expression of most Twos.

Because Twos belong to the positive outlook triad (279) they often display an optimistic vernacular. Twos will thus shy away from things that are too “negative” in their estimation, even when they seem to be complaining. 

However, some Twos can have a Spartan like streak to their personalities (particularly if they have 8 in the Tritype or are the self preservation instinct). At this point the Two may seem quite strident or even militant in their expression.

Because Twos are positive outlook types one might assume that they only express positive emotion. However, this is not entirely true. Twos express just as many negative emotions and thoughts as the other types, however Twos do not identify their own emotional content and often don’t recognize negative expression in themselves but may be hypersensitive to it in others.

Stressed Twos may spend a good deal of conversational time complaining about physical ailments or obligations to others, or may become critical, moralizing or pushy about others’ affairs. 

When Twos begin to display this kind of behavior it is best to establish boundaries that allow them to authentically express their feelings without intruding upon your personal limits. 

Demonstrating healthy boundaries to a stressed Two may at first insight them to anger or increased efforts to control and impose but will eventually establish a healthy dynamic that will be beneficial to the relationship.

Almost all Twos delight in the energy of giving a compliment. Of course, depending upon the ego development of the Two there may be ulterior motives for the compliment but most Twos understand the value of a well placed observation and word of encouragement in lifting the spirits of others. 

Twos are often gregarious and enjoy learning about other people and may sometimes be a bit uncomfortable when the conversation turns to them. Twos excel at exploring other people’s lives and have a knack for helping someone to feel welcome or valuable.

Twos can become quite militant in their approach to daily activities and may often run their household like a well-oiled machine (depending upon other factors in their personality profile). 

Twos with a One wing can exhibit this most strongly as they are adept at managing the lives and environment of their families due to their ability to intuit what is needed in a given situation. 

The ability to manage others can denigrate into a brusque bossiness or a pushy entitlement that forgets about personal boundaries and privacy due to their desire to be involved in every aspect of a loved ones life. 

Whatever the case, Twos enjoy discussing the nature of your relationship with them and appreciate praise, acknowledgement and recognition of their contribution.

Twos with a One Wing will be more perfectionistic, reserved, moral and uptight. They may be less effusive and more stoic in presentation and take greater pride in not expressing their needs to others.

Twos with a Three Wing will be more goal oriented, image conscious, dramatic or narcissistic. 

They may be more focused on success and image management so may seem more outgoing and visible than the Two with a One Wing.

Deeper Into Twos

Deeper into Two

Core motivation:

Twos are motivated by a desire to be seen as invaluable in the eyes of the other. The Twos early interactions communicated that they needed to be indispensable, helpful, kind and generous in order to receive the love that they needed. Thus, early on, Twos learned to monitor the needs of others in order to be safe. Through the monitoring of others they could be sure to be seen as the helpful, kind or nice child and thus would often receive praise for their ability to anticipate the needs of those around them and meet those needs without asking. Twos love the praise from this kind of service and thus develop a pattern early on of tracking the desires, needs and wants of their loved ones. By the time the Two is an adult they become adept at reading people according to what is needed and responding to those needs. The Two however needs to be acknowledged for their unique ability to track the needs and wants of others and becomes despondent of others do not recognize their helpful nature. Thus the image of the Two becomes just as important as the giving itself as they become less consciously aware. Nonetheless, even healthy Twos report the need to be seen and recognized as a kind and helpful person.

Behavior Strategies:

Twos utilize a variety of behavioral strategies in order to have their needs of being seen as helpful and benevolent met. As with all personality styles Twos can range in awareness and health while enacting the behaviors of their core motivational strategy.

Ingratiating/Compliments-

Twos utilize compliments in order to express positive emotion toward others, much like other people. However, because Twos tend to focus on positive outcomes they tend to look for opportunities to make other people feel good. Healthy Twos do this in an effort to spread some of the joy they feel and understand that a well placed compliment can do much for someone’s self esteem (having understood their need for praise and compliments). However, as Twos become less self aware complimenting can move into an ingratiating way to manipulate others into their circles. Twos recognize early on that bolstering the ego of someone else not only places you as “the one with the compliments” which is a form of relational power, but also as a way to take note of how observant and kind you are to others. The Two hopes that by complimenting you, you will like and approve of them and thus see them as kind, which is this image types ultimate goal. However, they also understand the power of compliments and the ability to control others’ behaviors in order to bend the world to their will.

Martyring-

Martyring is more of a mental state for a Two rather than an action but nonetheless serves the aims of the personality motivation of being seen as a helpful/kind person. Twos begin to martyr themselves because they are aware of their ability to track the needs of others and meet those needs. Twos begin to feel that they are working over-time for others but rather than risk blowing their image of being selfless and kind they internalize their efforts and begin to help others in order to maintain an image of the selfless helper. Much of this happens unconsciously for the unaware Two but even the healthy Two may put aside personal needs in order to tend to the needs of others. In the healthy range we refer to this as altruism but it can degenerate into a compulsive need to help to the detriment of their own needs. However, because Twos are not Nines (who also tend to do for others selflessly) they cannot totally erase themselves from the equation and need recognition, praise or payback for that which they have done. For the Two, recognizing when altruism drops into martyrdom is an important step in self-awareness.

Effusiveness/Dramatics/Histrionics-

Most Twos have a bit of a dramatic streak to their personalities. Twos are, by nature, effusive and demonstrative (even Twos with a One wing who are a bit more understated). Nonetheless, there is a flair for the dramatic which some may mistake as Four, however the Four often finds demonstrative emotional displays to be distasteful or overwrought. Whatever the case Twos like to tell others how they feel about them, and for healthy Twos this includes voicing discontent. However, most Twos like to maintain a positive attitude and like to share their love with those around them. At times the Two may fall into patterns of boisterous complaining, histrionic dramas or surface flattery and showmanship. This happens because Twos are reluctant to look deeply at their own feelings and so tend to externalize surface emotions as a way of expressing their own heart energy. Happiness may be flighty, bubbly or overstated and then could turn into a display of huffy irritation or anger over something minor or trivial. We must remember Twos have a connection to Four, and this connection is often expressed in their flair for the dramatic. It’s important for Twos, and those close to Twos to remember that underneath dramatic displays there are probably deeper more subtle or painful emotions that may need to be expressed.

Chutzpah/Will-

Twos are one of the more willful types on the Enneagram. Twos, because of their ability to read and monitor the needs of others so well, take pride (this types primary vice) in their keen emotional intelligence. Thus the Two may develop a kind of narcissism about being able to manipulate situations based on their ability to know what people want and need. This ability can be a huge asset when something needs to get done and the person or situation needs a bit of finesse (something Sevens are very good at as well) however the Two can move to their connection to Eight and become quite demanding and blunt in their belief that they know what is best. Twos can become so emotionally identified with others that they begin to truly believe that they know what people need and will do whatever it takes to make sure those people get whatever that is (even if the person themselves protests). The chutzpah of the healthy Two can be a wonderful tool in “making things happen” and can look just as driven as a Three or as authoritative as an Eight. However, Twos pride about their own helpfulness and emotional intelligence can degenerate into a forceful, narcissism about what others need and may undermine or belittle others in the quest to make sure that their will is done. Two’s archetypal role as the Mother can turn into the Destroyer of Life and believes that since they are responsible for people’s security and happiness they have the power to take it away (a representation of their connection to the low side of Type Eight).

For more information on how to identify Twos check out our Deeper Into Typing videos

Stay Tuned for Deeper Into Type Two part II

Deeper Into Type Four: Part I

Fours are motivated by a desire to be seen as authentic and unique. Being the last of the image types the Four takes the energy of the image triad (focused on validation, mirroring and image) and focuses this inward. The Four thus becomes strongly identified with their own self-awareness, and often identifies themselves as “deep”, “intuitive” and “insightful”.

These adjectives all seek to reiterate the Fours belief that they must be special and authentic in order to be valuable and adequate. Self-searching thus becomes a tool the Four uses to bolster their self image, so rather than going out into the world (as the Three does) or toward others (as the Two does) the Four retreats into the self in order to see whether they match their own ideal of what they should be like.

However, the must have their self image mirrored by others in order to be truly happy, and since their image is tied to being unique and different the Four seeks to stand apart from the crowd. Unlike the Three who wants to be the perfect representation of their cultural standards, the Four wants to appear different or above from the standard, exceptionally unique.

Because of their identification with changing internal states the Four is often in a state of emotional upheaval. The more they seek to identify themselves through their changing emotional patterns the more they retreat into themselves in order to find some stable ground on which to base their identities. The behavioral strategies of the Four seek to meet this core motivation.

Behavior Strategies:

Fours utilize a variety of behavioral strategies in order to have their needs of being seen as helpful and benevolent met. As with all personality styles Four can range in awareness and health while enacting the behaviors of their core motivational strategy.

Reflecting/Rumination-

Fours are typically very reflective and tend to reflect on a variety of states from their internal feelings to the past or future. The propensity toward reflection serves the Fours need to know themselves deeply and understand things from an emotional/intuitive place. Reflection allows Fours to be sources of insight for others on the high side, but can devolve into rumination at the lower levels.

As the Four becomes less self-aware rumination serves as a way to relive painful emotions and keep emotional states at a fever pitch, because through emotionality the Four believes they are able to find the sense of identity they crave. However the Four becomes stuck in the story rather than the actual experience of the pain.

They become trapped in stories that serve to bolster their feelings of being outcasts and painfully flawed. However, the Four's stories may center on a more promising future, but whatever the case, the present moment is bypassed in favor of the Four's beliefs about what could be or could have been. It is not that Fours are so much deeper than other types, in fact, they aren’t, but it is the identification with the adjective of “deep” which characterizes the Four and bolsters their self conception.

Aestheticizing/Dramatizing-

Fours possess an internal sense of drama that reinforces their view of the world. They are inherently able to see the aesthetic sensibility in most things, so the Four wants to create beauty externally because it reinforces a desire to be beautiful internally. On the high side aestheticizing can provide others with the Fours keen and discerning eye for style and help others to see the beauty in life situations.

Dramatizing is the tendency to overestimate the importance of a situation and turn regular life events into a soap opera. Minor relationships turn into star-crossed love affairs and minor setbacks become indications of their eternal punishment. Without a sense of drama there is less emotional juice, and without that juice life seems boring, simple and empty. Drama prevents feelings of normalcy and reinforces their special identities. Dramatizing can also be used to differentiate their problems or issues from others.

Specializing/Exemption-

Fours like to specialize in a particular arena as this helps them to carve out a niche in the world. Whether they specialize in a particular type of photography, teaching a certain strand of information or delving deeply into a particular spiritual topic there is typically something the Four specializes in as a way to distinguish themselves from the masses.

This specialization is often a gift to others who can use their specialized expertise and gives the Four a sense of self-esteem. On the low side specialization can devolve into feelings of exemption or entitlement, where because of their special talents or knowledge the four feels as though they do not need to follow the same rules and regulations the rest of society follows. This can lead to a haughtiness that allows them to devalue the ordinary world beneath them while bolstering their sense of specialness (which is really effeteness and affected sensitivity at this point).

Proclamations such as “I would never work in a corporate office, how awful to degrade myself like that!” seek to set them apart from the pack but also alienate them from connecting with others beyond their own judgments. However, behind their judgment often lies the envy associated with this type and the anger that others have the normalcy or happiness that they want.

Selectivism/Snobbery-

In accordance with the tendency to be specialized there is also a propensity toward being highly selective. Having just the right scarf, stereo, piece of jewelry, or mate that is both unique and beautiful are a way to help bolster the Fours need for specialness. The exterior must match the interior in terms of specialty and thus being selective helps them to show that they are aesthetically, spiritually or intellectually discerning and makes them skilled at locating the special qualities in others.

Being selective can however devolve into snobbery where the Four begins to disdain that which they believe is beneath them, finding anything not meeting their aesthetic or intellectual standards to be “low brow”. Even low-brow things can become a source of snobbery because they must be a true and authentic version of low-brow.

If the Four loves 1950s dive restaurants they must find the purest and most authentic representation of those restaurants and all other things are imitations. The Fours snobbery is often off-putting to others who feel judged and devalued by the Fours attitude and will often create further alienation and rejection for the Four (results the Four wants to avoid).

Coming Next Week: Deeper into Type Four part II: Archetypes and the Four

Yep, you're talking to yourself: The Enneagram and Self Talk

Working with the Enneagram is not merely the simple act of learning your type and all of its behaviors. Conversely, communication is not just talking to another person, or how you present yourself to the world. Communication encompasses a wide range of activities (both internal and external) that allow you to understand other people and yourself. We are in communication constantly with the world around us. The way we dress, the words we choose, how we move our faces during an emotional reaction, the things we tell ourselves about other people, the things we tell ourselves about ourselves, are some of the ways in which we are constantly in communication with the world around us and the world within us. 

It's so intrapersonal

Understanding the role of communication in our daily lives is a topic that many have written about, however we must also begin to understand the role of communication in our internal lives. It is through one’s self talk that we begin to really understand how communication affects how we move about in the world. Self-talk is arguably one of the first methods we use to orient ourselves in the world around us and is certainly influenced by our core Enneagram style. We decide through our internal, intrapersonal dialogue, what we want to convey to others and what we choose to leave out of our communication with others. Intrapersonal communication is defined as talk that remains internal. This can be talk about situations, our selves, or other people.

Most people do not practice 100 percent transparency, and so we are quite selective about what percentage of our self-messages we allow others to see. Once we understand how we transmute our internal self-messages into our external messages we can begin to make modifications when something is no longer serving our greater happiness.

For example, many One’s may have the self-message “I must be perfect” which in turn gets projected to the outside world to, “you must be perfect”. It is the self-message and its projection that can create problems and often causes Ones unnecessary conflict in the world. 

Leave a Message

Once we understand our core Enneagram style and its messages we can begin to unravel the messages that we are sending to our innermost self via the ego. We also gain an understanding of how those messages can serve to sabotage or boost our main objective, which for most people, is to experience balance or happiness.  Intrapersonal talk is the psychological fuel to our external actions in the world. Some people are very aware of their intrapersonal dialogue, in fact, some personality types may be more aware of the dialogue to the extent that it can inhibit self-expression or bolster self-consciousness. 

For Example, Fours may be hyper aware of their more conscious intrapersonal talk such as “nothing ever goes right” or “I’m sad” or “Why don’t they notice me?” but these surface reflections do not illuminate the "real" talk happening on the deeper ego levels (despite the Fours belief that attention to this self talk creates self-awareness). On a deeper level, behind the internal message “nothing ever goes right” is a subtle whisper that saying, “something is wrong with me, I am not right, therefore nothing goes right.” However, the more palatable message of “nothing ever goes right” replaces the potentially difficult message that there is something fundamentally wrong with the Four. 

For some these surface messages may begin shouting and thus become difficult to silence, particularly in times of stress. However, if we can begin to listen to the whisper of our self-talk (both on a positive and negative level) we can utilize our intrapersonal communication skills to benefit our self-growth. Self-awareness grows as we integrate deeper levels of information about others and ourselves. Many psychologists have called these internal dialogues “tapes”, and this is an appropriate metaphor for how many people experience the voice of the ego.

Tapes

 Many of us have more than one tape at a time playing in our minds but we can begin to slow down these tapes in order to isolate the underlying ego messages that may be inhibiting our growth. The Enneagram makes identifying the patterns of these types incredibly easy. There are nine basic ego tapes, with numerous variations on the same core theme. Within those nine basic tapes, there is always one overarching message of the ego: “stay alive!”

It is the ego that believes it is keeping the organism alive, and while the ego can be useful to help navigate daily life when it begins to play tapes without our permission, it’s a bit like an annoying house guest who plays that one song on the radio you can’t get out of your head but wish would disappear. Becoming aware that the song is playing is half the battle, the other half is to recognize when the song creeps back in and starts to permeate the beautiful music that might be going on right in front of you.

As we begin to realize how our intrapersonal communication shapes our communication in daily life we become increasingly more aware of how our self-messages can produce surprising shifts in our everyday presentation. Our underlying message is often the core fear of the dominant personality type. 

For example, a Six might have the underlying tape of “I don’t want to be abandoned”, however, because this is a core fear of the Six it is often replaced with something easier to integrate such as “I must be loyal and trustworthy” or “I am a good friend”. So, every conscious and unconscious decision will seek to reinforce these intrapersonal tapes creating a variety of behaviors that serve the various levels of tapes that may be playing simultaneously within the Six. 

Recognizing the tape, naming the song ( locating the primary Enneagram type messages) and deconstructing the tape (questioning the inherent truth and validity of the message) can help to free us from the tyrannical control of those annoying tapes. This does not mean the tape goes away permanently. The ego is useful when controlled and honestly recognized. Destroying the tape may seem attractive (particularly in some spiritual circles) but ultimately; it is a survival mechanism and a product of being in the human condition.  

Each of the 9 types has a primary tape and a corresponding more “acceptable” message that they communicate to themselves and then consequently to others. We can go on to identify the whole CD or concerto of musical selections the ego uses but if we think of the primary Enneagram type as the composer, then all of the subsequent tracks on the tape seek to support the identity of the composer. We may have a track that we play in relationships, at work, with our parents, at a party, at the supermarket, or trying on new clothes. 

Some people’s messages may only vary slightly while others may have drastically different flavorings which still seek to serve the overall flavor or image of the managing artist (the ego). Think of the artist as seeking to communicate a fundamental belief or core fear that keeps the person alive, and laying layer upon layer of instrumentation or vocals on top of this fundamental fear in order to communicate that message on different levels.

The core message 

 contains the core unconscious fear that is fed to the conscious brain to keep the organism alive. This is the message the ego uses to promote self survival.

The acceptable message 

 contains a re-framed less fearful core message. The acceptable message takes the "crazy idea" behind the core message and makes it less threatening and easier for the ego to process. This tape is often semi-conscious.

 The everyday message  

contains "marching orders", that tells the organism how to behave in everyday life. This message steers most behaviors, and is usually fully conscious.

The interpersonal message 

 contains the messages we send to other people to navigate the world and is often co-conscious with the everyday message.

Type One

Core Message: “I am wrong and bad.”

Acceptable Message: “I am right and good.”

Everyday Message: “I know how to get things done correctly.”

Interpersonal Message: “I know exactly how to fix that.” “This is what can be improved”, “You should…”

Type Two:

Core Message: “I am inconsequential and worthless.”

Acceptable Message: “I am helpful and needed.”

Everyday Message: “I know what people want/need, and I’m good at filling those needs.”

Interpersonal Message: “I’d love to help you.” “You look great today.” “Here's what you need.”

Type Three:

Core Message: “I am a failure and incapable.”

Acceptable message: “I am a winner and a go-getter.”

Everyday message: “I am good at what I do and look good doing it.”

Interpersonal message: “I can do it.” “No sweat.” “Look at me.”

Type Four:

Core Message: “I am inadequate and ordinary”

Acceptable message: “I am special and unique”

Everyday message: “I am a tasteful, authentic and real.”

Interpersonal Message: “Let’s look deeper.” “Here’s what is missing.” “I want what you have.”

Type Five:

Core Message: “I am empty and ignorant.”

Acceptable message: “I am smart and perceptive.”

Everyday message: “I know interesting information.”

Interpersonal message: “I can answer that.” “I've researched this and...” “What I’ve found is…”

Type Six:

Core Message: “I am in danger and untrustworthy.”

Acceptable Message: “I am prepared and loyal.”

Everyday Message: “I do what I’m supposed to do.”

Interpersonal Message: “Did you think about all angles?” “Yes, but…” “It depends.” “I’ve got your back.”

Type Seven:

Core Message: “I am limited and boring”

Acceptable Message: “I am exciting and interesting”

Everyday Message: “I must not get bored”

Interpersonal Message: “Let’s try it!” “That sounds fascinating!” “I’ve got an idea!” “Here’s a fresh perspective.”

Type Eight:

Core Message: “I am weak and vulnerable.”

Acceptable Message: “I am strong and powerful.”

Everyday Message: “I’m in charge and protective.”

Interpersonal Message: “Do it like this.” “I’ll take care of it.” “Let me handle it." “Don’t mess with me.”

Type Nine:

Core Message: “I am disconnected and complicated.”

Acceptable Message: “I am harmonious and uncomplicated.”

Everyday Message: “I am easygoing and nice”

Interpersonal Message: “No drama.” “Don't worry about it.” “Let’s work together.” “Whatever you want.”