The Christian world is gaga for Enneagram. I’m a bit of a skeptic, but of course as a Five, I would be. (The Enneagram labels nine personality types by number. I’m a Five, the investigator.) Christian coaches might want to have some familiarity since many of your clients may refer to numbers as information. Recently my client offhandedly said his wife was a Nine without any context at all.
Nine personalities are a lot to memorize. Let me give you a simpler distinction that has helped me access the Enneagram. The nine personality types are divided up into three parts of the body – the head, the heart, and the gut. My friend David Cooke, our CCLC Director and designer of our coaching class around brain science, might point out that there are in fact nerve cells in all three locations. In some ways, we have three brains, one in our head, another in our heart, and yet another in our gut.
As I reviewed the nine personalities, I could see some of myself in all of them. Ian Cron, co-author of The Road Back to You, which is a good introduction to the Enneagram, says we in fact do have all the personality types to some level. So how do I know which type is mine? I first ask, do I primarily live in my head, heart, or gut? That’s easy for me. I live in my head. I process all decisions in my head. Many have told me, “Trust your gut.” My gut is a liar. It is almost always wrong. Others say, “Follow your heart.” My heart has no idea where to go.
This isn’t to say that your gut isn’t accurate, or that your heart doesn’t lead well. That’s the point really. According to the Enneagram, it is helpful to know where I and where my client process.
The best leaders I know process in their gut. They make decisions out of instinct, and the best ones seem to be right time and time again. The strongest emotion for people who live in their gut is anger. Tony Robbins seems to be the champion of the gut. As a head person, the quote I most remember Robbins saying is “In your head, you’re dead.” He can’t imagine we should live any other way.
The most compassionate people I know live in their heart. They make decisions by how it feels and how it will affect others. They are the most likely to feel guilty. The champion of the heart is the movie industry. Every movie has a point where the hero thinks this is a bad idea, but I must go for it because my heart is telling me to. The movies tell us quit worrying about what makes sense, follow what feels right.
The best strategists I know live in their head. They make decisions by thinking it through. They always want more information. They aren’t as concerned about how the decision affects people as long as the decision provides good results. They are results driven. Science is the champion of the head. We need to prove everything with data.
People can certainly access all three, but most of us prefer a certain area. I prefer living in my head. I can access my heart. I’m not even sure where to find my gut.
Where do you live? Where does your client live? How can you get your client to access other areas? Make sure your client’s action is firmly embedded where they live. This will provide the appropriate motivation for them.
Enneagram is a helpful tool to create awareness. The deeper it goes into nine numbers and wings and stress numbers, the less helpful I find it to be. But this idea of where in our body do we live is a tool I will use with every client I encounter.
