Today’s material is meant to acquaint those readers who may not know bout the enneagram. The following is a reprint from my favorite enneagram site, “The Narrative Enneagram“:
1.Overview of the Enneagram personality system
The Enneagram is a powerful and dynamic personality system that describes nine distinct and fundamentally different patterns of thinking, feeling and acting.
The word “ennea” is Greek for nine and “gram” means model or figure. Hence, the Enneagram is a diagram or star with nine points representing the nine personality patterns. Each of these nine patterns is based on an explicit set of perceptual filters that determine our worldview. Underneath each of the nine patterns is a basic proposition or belief about what you need in life for survival and satisfaction.
As you discover your personality type and the underlying basic proposition, you also will discover what motivates you, your coping strategy and keys to personal development. Read the brief descriptions of the nine types that follow, then click on any of the numbers on the Enneagram diagram below to start the tour of the nine Enneagram types.
Brief descriptions of the nine types
Type One: The Perfectionist believes you must be good and right to be worthy. Consequently, Perfectionists are conscientious, responsible, improvement-oriented and self-controlled, but also can be critical, resentful and self-judging.
Type Two: The Giver believes you must give fully to others to be loved. Consequently, Givers are caring, helpful, supportive and relationship-oriented, but also can be prideful, overly intrusive and demanding.
Type Three: The Performer believes you must accomplish and succeed to be loved. Consequently, Performers are industrious, fast-paced, goal-focused and efficiency-oriented, but also can be inattentive to feelings, impatient and image-driven.
Type Four: The Romantic believes you must obtain the longed for ideal relationship or situation to be loved. Consequently, Romantics are idealistic, deeply feeling, empathetic and authentic to self, but also dramatic, moody and sometimes self-absorbed.
Type Five: The Observer believes you must protect yourself from a world that demands too much and gives too little to assure life. Consequently, Observers seek self-sufficiency and are non-demanding, analytic/thoughtful and unobtrusive, but also can be withholding, detached and overly private.
Type Six: The Loyal Skeptic believes you must gain protection and security in a hazardous world you just can’t trust. Consequently, Loyal Skeptics are themselves trustworthy, inquisitive, good friends and questioning, but also can be overly doubtful, accusatory and fearful.
Type Seven: The Epicure believes you must keep life up and open to assure a good life. Consequently, Epicures seek pleasure and possibilities, and are optimistic, upbeat and adventurous, but also can avoid pain and be uncommitted and self-serving.
Type Eight: The Protector believes you must be strong and powerful to assure protection and regard in a tough world. Consequently, Protectors seek justice and are direct, strong and action-oriented, but also overly impactful, excessive and sometimes impulsive.
Type Nine: The Mediator believes that to be loved and valued you must blend in and go along to get along. Consequently, Mediators seek harmony and are self-forgetting, comfortable and steady, but also avoid conflicts and can be stubborn.
2.The enneagram test can be taken at this same site: Essential Enneagram Online Test. It costs $10.00.
3.From Sarah Downey: “The enneagram in startups:finding your type“:
“My friend and coworker introduced me to the Enneagram a few years ago when we worked at the same startup (thanks, Isabella). It spread quickly around the company and gave us a set of shortcuts for how people might react and why they’re behaving in certain ways. Andy would be talking about politics again because he’s a 1, Ingrid would disappear into her designs for hours because she’s a 9, and Gina would want to organize spur-of-the moment excursions because she’s a 7.”
“Since I’ve moved onto venture capital I still use the Enneagram almost every day, although now it’s more to assess cofounder teams. Many of our decisions in early-stage investing center on the people: are they founding this company because they truly care about solving a problem, or because of the money? (Note that the former is the only correct answer). Are they rigid and perfectionistic, and thus may not react well to the ups and downs of startup life? Do they motivate through fear, inspiration, or friendship? All of these tendencies are reflected in the Enneagram.”
4. I, Kathy Berman, am a type 5. Of all the personality labels that I recognize about myself, I find this one to be the most accurate.
Emotional Sobriety Means Healing Mind, Body, and Soul 
