the subtypes at work, part ii

8/8/2019 The Subtypes at Work, Part II

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The Subtypes at Work, Part II

By Mario Sikora

In order for any information to be valued in

the business world, it has to be actionable.

That is, you have to be able to do something

useful with it. Part I of this article, which

appeared in last months issue of the Enneagram

Monthly,1 gave some background on the

subtypes. This article addresses the way that

understanding of the subtypes can be used to

improve performance and relationships in the

workplace. Specifically, this article will focus on

job selection, leadership, team building, and

building rapport with others.

First, a brief recap:There are three fundamental instinctive

drives that influence our values and inspire our

actions: the self-preservation drive, the social

drive, and the sexual drive. One of these drives is

dominant and we tend to focus more of our

energy around it than the other two. These

drives, in a sense, are the basis of an independent

typology because they lead to observable,

consistent, and predictable behaviors. Combined

with the Enneagram of personality, these drives

are referred to as subtypes or variants because

people of the same Ennea-type will be noticeably

different in ways related to their dominantinstinctive drive. Thus, there is a Self-

Preservation Subtype, a Social Subtype, and a

Sexual Subtype of each personality type.

The Self-Preservation Subtype is habitually

focused on issues of nesting and nurturing

food, shelter, physical well-being, etc.

The Social Subtype is habitually focused on

issues of orientation to the groupfitting in,

social order, group hierarchies and dynamics,

etc.

The Sexual Subtype is habitually focused on

issues of attracting and matingappearance,

desirability, accumulation of resources desiredby others, sex, etc.

Clarifying the TermsMuch has been written about the Ennea-

types and work in the past few years, but little

has been presented about how the subtypes affect

our work lives. This is a large gap in the

literature and I propose that understanding the

impact of the instinctive drives at work is at least

as important as understanding the types. To

understand why, we must clearly understand the

connection between the two. It helps to take a

moment to clarify a few terms:

Personality TypeA personality type is

an arbitrary classification of a complex of

characteristics that distinguishes one group of

individuals from another. Person A and Person B

have similar traits and demonstrate certain

consistent patterns; therefore we classify them as

the same type. Persons C and D, however,

share a different set of similar traits and patterns

and are thus a different type.

The Enneagram of Personality is often usedin ways that are limited to typology or the

cataloging of common traits (for example, Type

One is the moral, principled, perfectionist and

critical type). The ability to see the trait

patterns in oneself and in others is useful in

many ways; the understanding of what inspires

these trait patterns is even more useful, which

leads us to the second term: strategy.

StrategyAs was written in Part I of this

article, in our book, From Awareness to Action:

The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence and

Change, Bob Tallon and I identified the

Enneagram of Strategies; that is, anunderstanding of the Enneagram as a system of

strategies rather than a mere catalogue of traits.

Merriam-Webster Online defines strategy as

an adaptation or complex of adaptations (as of

behavior, metabolism, or structure) that serves or

appears to serve an important function in

achieving evolutionary success. The nine

strategies we wrote about are thematic

approaches to interacting with our world. For

whatever reason, we prefer one strategy and tend

to rely on it significantly more than on the

others, sometimes to our detriment (Tallon and I

refer to this as a preferred strategy). Thus,Ennea-Type Eight is one who habitually prefers

the strategy of striving to be powerful over the

other eight strategies and then exhibits traits

consistent with the logic of the preferred

strategy. Eights get into trouble when they

overdo their striving to be powerful, doing all

those less-than-endearing things that we Eights

can do.

Copyright 2005. Mario Sikora. All rights reserved.

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The focus on the strategies rather than the

traits liberates the Enneagram from the

inconsistencies and contradictions often found in

the literature and workshops. Prominent

Enneagram authors have written things such as

Nines like gardening and camping andIm

not making this upFives tend to bathe less

frequently than others. Such comments are a)

not empirically supportable and b) undermine the

credibility of the system when people come

across nature-abhorring Nines or Fives who

bathe daily. While the traits vary and overlap

(Ive met Sevens, for example, who like to

garden and who avoid conflictanother trait

associated with Nines), the value in the

Enneagram is in understanding how the traits

relate back to the strategy.

This concept is important to understand in

order to explain the trait inconsistencies within a

given Ennea-type and trait overlap between

different types: The trait patterns seen in eachEnnea-type are behaviors, attitudes, and ideas

that are logical and consistent with our preferred

strategythe thematic approach to satisfying our

values. Thus, Eights can be aggressive, bossy,

energetic, loud, etc., because these are traits that

are logically consistent with the strategy of

striving to be Powerful. People of other Ennea-

types (a Sexual Six or Seven, for example) may

exhibit some of these same traits, but they

manifest these traits for different reasonsto

fulfill the strategies of striving to be Secure and

Excited, respectively).

Each of the nine strategies is a method forsatisfying our survival needs, i.e., achieving

evolutionary success. In other words, it is the

way we go about satisfying our instinctive

drives.

One way to understand the way the traits,

strategies and instincts fit together is to see the

traits as the leaves and branches of a tree, the

preferred strategy as the trunk, and the

instinctual drive as the roots. By extension, our

personality type is the categorization of the

traits related to our preferred strategy, our

subtype is the categorization related to our

preferred instinctive drive, and the type/subtypecombination (such as Social Two) is a

categorization of the interplay of the two.2

So how can knowledge of the subtypes be

actionable in the world of work? The remainder

of this article will look at four ways: job

selection, leadership, team building, and building

rapport.

Job Selection

I have often been asked questions such as I

am a Five; what career direction should I

pursue? or We have an opening for a

marketing director; what personality type should

we hire? These questions set my teeth on edge

because they miss the point. They are not only

irrelevant; the second is discriminatory and

unethical if not illegal.

The correct answer to What career choice

should I make? is the one that most closely

matches your skills and aptitudes and will be the

most emotionally, intellectually, and/or

financially rewarding.

Regarding candidate selection, Ennea-type

should never be used as a qualifier or disqualifier

for a job. The Enneagram of Personality simply

does not address aptitude for particular roles. I

have met Fours who are great sales people and

Sevens who are lousy sales people; Eights who

are great leaders and Eights who are tyrannicaljerks.

Understanding your Ennea-type can,

however, prepare you for the potential

roadblocks you will encounter in whatever role

you choose. For example, if you are a Two,

whether you are a CEO, a salesman, or an

administrative assistant, you will run into trouble

when you overdo your preferred strategy of

striving to be connected. You will violate

boundaries, you will become emotionally

involved in decisions that need clarity and

detachment, you fill lash out at those close to

you because you feel unappreciated. OtherEnnea-types will have different, but equally

predictable, patterns when they go off track. Our

Ennea-type does not predict what job will make

us happy; it predicts some of the ways we will

struggle in whatever job we are in and points a

way to resolving our struggles. (In the December

2003 issue of EM, I described typical derailers

for each of the Ennea-types in an article titled,

Off the Plateau: The Enneagram and Executive

Coaching.1)

Our subtype can predict additional ways we

will go off track because each subtype also has a

set of predictable strengths and weaknesses whenit comes to the workplace. It is important to be

aware of a number of factors when it comes to

job selection and career choices: interests and

natural talents, education and training, past

experiences, etc. These factors are independent

of Ennea-type and subtype. However,

understanding ones subtype can help you

understand the underlying value system that

influences these factors. Table One shows what




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each subtype is naturally interested in and what

areas they may struggle to pay enough attention

to. When making career decisions it is important

to remember that your chances of success and

fulfillment are higher if you make choices

consistent with the needs of your dominant

instinctive drive and avoid those related to your

least prominent drive.

Table One: Subtype Strengths and Weaknesses

Dominant Instinct

(Subtype)

Is Naturally Drawn to: May Neglect:

Self-Preservation The Nuts and Bolts

administrative issues; structures,

processes and procedures;

playing the Devils Advocate;

finances and budgeting;

organization of tools and

materials; etc.

The Sizzle

Presentation/promotion of self

and product; networking with and

charming others; competition;

etc.

Sexual The Sizzle

Presentation/promotion of self

and product; networking with and

charming others; competition;etc.

The CultureGroup dynamics,

interpersonal communication,

social cohesion and mores; etc.

Social The CultureGroup dynamics,

interpersonal communication,

social cohesion and mores; etc.

The Nuts and Bolts

administrative issues; structures,

processes and procedures;

playing the Devils Advocate;

finances and budgeting;

organization of tools and

materials; etc.

LeadershipAnother common question is what type

makes the best leaders? If only it were that easy

to identify potential leaders! In Leadership and

the Enneagram1, I pointed out that successful

leadership could be defined as the act of

influencing others to effectively achieve a

desired result consistently and over time.

Personality plays a role in determining ones

leadership style, but effective leadership is about

the resultrather than the leaders style. There are

effective and ineffective leaders of every

personality style and the value of understanding

Ennea-type is, again, in predicting roadblocks.

Understanding subtype also helps predict

roadblocks and potential shortcomings. Table

Two indicates the predictable strengths andweaknesses of each subtype when it comes to

leadership.

As a leader, it is important to be aware of

how your dominant instinct affects your focus

and attention. You must learn to leverage your

strengths and apply them consciously rather than

unconsciously. (One of the secrets to effective

leadership is to know what you are good at and,

as often as possible, apply those talents to areas

where they will be of some use.) At the same

time, you must be sensitive to the leadership

demands of your environment and ensure that

you are not neglecting critical areas because they

are not natural strengths of your subtype. (As a

leader you must develop skills in these areas if

the tasks cannot be delegated to someone else.)

For example, the Sexual subtype naturally

thrives in entrepreneurial or volatile conditions.

Their natural charisma can became a rallying

point for the organization and they can be very

inspirational. In more sedate or sober

circumstances, however, the Sexual subtypesself-promotion can be distasteful to others.

The Self-preservation subtype tends to

thrive in circumstances where order, process, and

caution are called for, but they can struggle when

charismatic and bold leadership is required.

Table Two: Subtype and Leadership Strengths and Weaknesses




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Dominant Instinct

(Subtype)

Typical Leadership Strengths: Potential Leadership

Weaknesses:

Self-Preservation Administration and processing

data; predicting problems;

creating processes; sober and

dependable; effective in budget

and finance issues.

May be too introverted; focus on

task rather than interpersonal

issues; lack of charisma; cautious

rather than risk-taking; detached

rather than inspirational.Sexual Generally more charismatic and

dynamic than the other subtypes;

good at building relationships

with customers, channel partners,

and strategic allies; good at

selling both inside and outside the

organization; inspiring the

workforce toward daunting goals.

May be too focused on charisma

and neglect shaping the

organizations culture; can

neglect career development of

subordinates; self focus may lead

them to put own interests ahead

of the good of the company and

employees.

Social Understanding interpersonal

dynamics and organizational

culture; building teams; building

consensus and shaping group

identity; big-picture, strategic

thinking.

May fail to pay attention to

administrative details and neglect

processes and procedures; may

struggle with making difficult

personnel decisions such as firing

or reprimanding underperformers.

The Social subtype tends to thrive when the

organization is struggling to standardize

interpersonal relationships, identify its space in

the market and form its strategic identity. They

may struggle, however, with standardization of

business processes or become bored when a

business and its internal and external identity

have become fixed.

Understanding that the instinctive drives can

be associated with predictable weaknesses does

not excuse the lack of development in these areasor ignoring their importance. I often deal with

struggling leaders who resist change by

complaining that their subordinates or the

business environment are demanding something

that is not naturally a part of their character. My

response is that they had better reach down

inside and find that quality or develop those

skills, or they wont be leaders for very long.

Teambuilding

Ropes courses, scavenger hunts, and other

role playing activities that are very popular in the

corporate world and they can be useful forbuilding camaraderie, but camaraderie is not the

same as effectiveness. If you want an effective

team, hire mature, competent people with the

skills necessary for the job and a fundamental

ability to interact with others; provide them with

a clear, concise objective that is emotionally and

intellectually resonant with them; and exercise

strong leadership to manage disputes, remove

obstacles, and enforce accountability.

Understanding the Ennea-types is invaluable

to making teams more effective because it

enhances the ability to effectively interact with

others and resolve conflict. At a basic level, if I

understand the habitual behaviors of my style

and how they affect others, I can modify them so

they are less abrasive; if I understand the root of

your habitual behaviors, I can exercise

compassion and empathy and not fall into the

trap of thinking that you are malicious, irrational,

or just plain nuts. Of course, put more positively,understanding Ennea-type also helps us to

leverage the strengths represented on the team

we can turn to Ones and Sixes to root out

problems, Fives and Nines to add balance and

calm, etc.

(As a short aside, Ive heard Enneagram

people talk about trying to get somebody of each

type on a team. This is absurdly impractical.

Members of both intact and ad hoc teams should

be chosen based on competence and ability to

cooperate, not to create a full spectrum of type. It

does help, however, to know what perspectives

are missing on a team so that the group canensure that they get considered. For example, if

there are no Sixes or Ones on a team, it is

imperative that someone consciously play the

Devils Advocate role that those types do so

well.)

Understanding the subtypes is also valuable,

both for the team members and the teams leader.

The people on any team have two agendas

achieving the teams stated goals (develop and




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sell the worlds greatest widget) and satisfying

their own, usually unstated, values. Our subtype

has a significant influence on those values and

therefore shapes our unstated agendas. At the

most basic level, a self-preservation subtype will

be focused on their own security and well-being,

a social subtype will be focused on their status

within the group, and a sexual subtype will be

focused on the drawing attention of valued others

to themselves.

When we understand the subtypes, these

hidden agendas become less hidden and thus

less damaging to the group. We understand how

important it is for the Self-Press to feel secure

and comfortable, for the Socials to understand

their place in the group, and for the Sexuals to

get attention. We can be more sensitive and

understanding of the acting out that can happen

on a team and make sure that everyones needs

are being addressed. Addressing these needs

mitigates anxiety and reduces defensiveness,allowing people to get back to achieving the

teams stated goals. Team leaders should be

particularly sensitive to the impact of the

instinctive drives and proactively ensure that

everyones needs for security, status, and

attention are met. They should also be alert to

when these hidden agendas cause interpersonal

friction and straying from the teams goals so

they can effectively manage conflict and group

focus.

Building Rapport

An organization is a collection of peoplewho have come together in a defined way to

achieve a common goal. In order for an

organization to be effective, these people must

interact in effective ways. They need not

necessarily like each other, but they must at least

tolerate each other, communicate clearly, and

find each other pleasant enough to justify

returning to the office every day. The people

who are most effective in organizations are often

those who have the ability to build rapport with a

broad range of othersto find ways to connect

in meaningful ways, to find shared values, and

come to some degree of shared purpose.The corporate training industry is brimming

with programs on skillful dialogue, influencing

others, active listening, etc., and many of these

courses are useful and help in the development

of necessary skills and techniques. These skills

and techniques, however, often require some

degree of conscious application and we tend to

forget them when we are either acting on

autopilot or under stress (which is most of the

time). Also, these behaviors tend to be

affectedwe can generally tell when someone is

active listening to us and it feels slightly

disingenuous.

By being consciously aware of the subtypes,

however, it is easy to find genuine common

ground with others. Part I of this article

described the apparent predictable stacking of

the instinctive drivesthe self-preservation

subtype has a secondary social instinct, the social

subtype has a secondary sexual subtype, and the

sexual subtype has a secondary self-preservation

instinct. The beauty of this predictable stacking

is that everyone will share an instinctive concern

with everyone else. We tend to build rapport

with people around that shared concern. We

build rapport most easily with people of the same

subtype (socials with socials, etc.). However,

with people of a different subtype we tend to

settle in on common ground in these patterns:

Self Press and Socials will connect in the Socialrealm; Self-Press and Sexuals will connect in

the Self-Pres realm; and Sexuals and Socials will

connect in the Sexual realm. A simple way to

build rapport with someone is to determine what

your shared instinct is and steer the direction into

that area. After we have established an initial

rapport with someone, our future conversations

will naturally go back to those areas as a default

comfort zone. The rapport will become habitual

and comfortable rather than forced and

manufactured.

Please note that we are talking about fairly

superficial interactions here: simple rapport withthe people you work with. This is not to say that

people will only connect in the realms of the

subtypesrelationships are far more

complicated than this and revolve around shared

experiences, values, biases, interests, outlooks,

and so on. That said, start paying attention to the

things you talk about with people and see if there

are predictable patterns in your relationships.

This article is, by necessity, a cursory

overview of the topic of the subtypes and the

workplace. It would be possible to go into great

detail about how each subtype mixes with eachEnnea-type in both complimentary and

contradictory ways in each of the four areas we

discussed. For example, we could look at how

Nines of each subtype lead differently from each

otherSelf-Pres Nines are the most introverted

and conflict averse; male Sexual Nines are the

most assertive and outgoing of the three and can

superficially look like Threes or Eights (female

Sexual Nines tend to have a style that is more




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nurturing); Social Nines are generally focused on

consensus building and managing by walking

around. We could also look at what

circumstances trigger the secondary instinctive

drive to be more visible, etc. Space does not

allow for such detail.

_________________________________

Footnotes:

1The articles mentioned here are also available in

pdf format by sending an email to

[email protected].

2I am not proposing that these three things are

the only elements of Enneagram theorythere

are manythe holy ideas, vices, virtues, etc.and many of them are useful for self

understanding. These are merely the basic

elements of the construct I present to my clients.

The Enneagram of Personality is a profound

and powerful tool for understanding the tapestry

of our work lives and many other aspects of

human nature. A rich understanding and

appreciation of the subtypes adds a great deal of

richness and detail to that tapestry. Start paying

attention and you will be amazed at what you

see.

_______________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mario Sikora is president of Enneagram

Consulting & Training Company and ATA

Consulting. He is co-author of From

Awareness to Action: The Enneagram,

Emotional Intelligence and Change (University

of Scranton Press). He has coached over 200

executives of Fortune 500 companies and

government organizations and deliveredenneagram-based leadership development

programs to organizations including Motorola,

Johnson & Johnson, and Rohm & Haas. He can

be reached at [email protected].


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