The Enneagram:
YOUR MOTIVATIONAL BLUEPRINT
(The enneagram symbol ONLY represents how one Enneagram type connects to another. Don’t let it scare you. I’d love to explain it to you.)
When who you’ve been meets
your authentic potential
& you can finally run toward
who you are meant to become.
"As someone who has been learning about the enneagram for a couple of years, I took away lots of new key insights about myself!"
What is the Enneagram?
The Enneagram is a powerful framework for understanding yourself and others through nine distinct archetypes: 9 main ways people see and interact with the world. Think of it as a personality compass that not only shows you where you are, but also illuminates paths for growth and transformation because it helps you understand the root causes for patterns in behavior, thinking, feeling — life, love, and work.
Think of it like this: inside out personality typing. Not what you do, how you handle things, or what your outside characteristics are typically like… but why.
But here's what makes it special: it shows how these patterns are connected to your deeper emotional drivers and core beliefs. When you understand your Enneagram type, you gain insight into:
- What truly motivates your decisions and actions
- Your natural strengths and blind spots
- How you handle stress and success
- Your unique path to personal growth
- Ways you can improve your relationship
Unlike personality systems that put you in a fixed box, the Enneagram reveals your core type and motivations as a starting point with catapulting room to grow.
TLDR; THE ENNEAGRAM PROVIDES AN OUT-OF-THE-BOX SUPPORT
FOR THE BOX YOU’RE ALREADY IN.
let’s go a level deeper…
The Enneagram is a comprehensive framework that maps out nine ‘archetypes’ - distinct ways people view and interact with the world. Think of it as a lens that brings clarity to why we do what we do. Each of the nine ‘types’ represents a different core motivation that shapes our behavior patterns, decision-making processes, and relationships.
What makes the Enneagram unique is its focus on the why behind our actions rather than just the what or how. It's not about putting people in boxes—it's about understanding the underlying motivations that drive our choices, reactions, and patterns. This system helps reveal both our automatic behaviors and our potential for growth. It calls the box OUT.
The Enneagram goes beyond surface-level traits to uncover our core motivations, defensive patterns, and growth opportunities. It provides practical insights into how we can work with our natural tendencies rather than against them.
There are 9 personality archetypes. That’s your why.
Within those 9 archetypes, there are 3 biological, psychological instincts available to us and our operation as a front line driver. We tend to prioritize one of those 3 and live them out. That’s your how.
An Overview of the 9 Enneagram Archetypes
Type 1: The Perfectionist
Sometimes called the Reformer, they are motivated by the desire to be good and perfect.
Type 4: The Individualist
Sometimes called the Tortured Artist, they are motivated by the desire to be unique / special.
Type 7: The Enthusiast
Sometimes called the Adventurer, they are motivated by the desire to be satisfied.
Type 2: The Helper
Sometimes called the Giver, they are motivated by the desire to be needed.
Type 5: The Investigator
Sometimes called the Observer, they are motivated by the desire to perceive.
Type 8: The Challenger
Sometimes called the Protector, they are motivated by the desire to have control, and challenge and dominate their environment.
Type 3: The Achiever
Sometimes called the Performer, they are motivated by the desire to be valuable / successful.
Type 6: The Loyalist
Sometimes called the Guardian, they are motivated by the desire for support.
Type 9: The Peacemaker
Sometimes called the Mediator, they are motivated by the desire for inner and outer peace.
Free Mini-Crash Course: Enneagram 101
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I use the Enneagram in coaching because…
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Unlike other personality frameworks that focus on behavior alone, the Enneagram helps us understand the 'why' behind our actions, feelings, and thoughts by focusing at the core. It’s sustainable.
By identifying your core motivations, we can address the root causes of patterns rather than just their symptoms. Our motivations do not change, unlike the habits that they cause us to develop. They simply get managed or remain mismanaged.
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The Enneagram is balance between accessibility and depth.
While its concepts are personal and easy to grasp, the system offers layers of insight that we can explore over time and throughout experience and growth.
It provides clear, practical language to describe complex patterns of feeling, thought, and behavior, making personal growth work very specific.
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The Enneagram isn't just theoretical—it's a practical tool for real-world change. Each insight translates directly into actionable steps for personal and professional growth. Whether you're working on relationships, career decisions, or personal development, the Enneagram provides concrete strategies tailored to your type's specific patterns and challenges.
People love the Enneagram in key areas because…
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Understanding your type helps you recognize patterns in your behavior, thoughts, and emotions. This awareness is often the first step toward meaningful change.
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The Enneagram helps you:
- Understand how you relate to others
- Recognize and appreciate different perspectives
- Communicate more effectively
- Build stronger personal and professional connections
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Knowing your type can help you:
- Choose career paths that align with your core motivations
- Understand your workplace behavior
- Improve professional relationships
- Develop leadership skills suited to your type
The Enneagram showed me that ‘willpower’ as the motivation for change alone was never going to work;
that I couldn’t just will myself into being someone else;
that the true difference between my assets & liabilities was how much I understood them & how well I managed them.
just a little more…
Using the Enneagram with a trained expert, (literally me, hi) you can:
Learn and embody your motivational blueprint - for everything.
Know the deep-seated fears that were unconsciously shaping your decisions, behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and view of how the world works.
Learn lens you use to interpret life experiences and information.
Learn to identify your default responses to stress and security.
See how your personality influences your relationships, in both a help and hurt kind of way.
Learn how to decode your automatic defense mechanisms and get ahead of them.
Have the info you need to explore how you uniquely process, express, or repress feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
Learn to recognize blind spots in life, love, and work.
Understand why you jive with some people and cannot understand why others function the way they do.
Use both your assets and liabilities to your advantage through mastery.
Discover your communication styles, strengths, and challenges.
Learn the ways you give and receive love.
Identify the patterns in conflicts and understand your natural relationship compatibility zones.
Understand your natural approach to problem solving.
Discover what authentically motivates you.
Learn the paths that are easiest for you to plow through in creativity.
Identify specific growth areas and tangible next steps for them.
Uncover the inner messaging behind unconscious behaviors
Connect with your true, deep, engrained potential and your WHY.
Learn how to answer the question, “What do you want?”
Discover a deep, innate sense of meaning.
Learn the rumble strips that may trip us up down the line.
Explore intrinsic and extrinsic systems that motivate you and give you value.
Identify typical self-sabotage strategies.
Show your inner critic who’s actually in charge.
Learn energy management.
Discover unique and personal boundaries that matter to you and protect your peace and mental health.
Learn your unique approach to personal balance.
Recognize you’re one of a kind.
Enneagram FAQ
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While not traditionally scientific, the Enneagram is a well-documented framework that aligns with many psychological concepts and has been validated through practical application and research.
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The process varies by individual. Some recognize their type immediately, while others may need several coaching sessions to gain clarity accurately.
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Understanding your type reveals your natural strengths, potential blind spots, and growth areas, helping you make better career decisions and improve workplace relationships.
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Yes, your type influences how you relate to others, handle conflict, and express needs. Understanding this can significantly improve your relationships.
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Yes, it's an excellent tool for improving communication and understanding in relationships by revealing each partner's core motivations and patterns.
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They indicate how your personality borrows inspiration from other types under different conditions, showing both growth potential and stress reactions.
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The head (thinking), heart (feeling), and body (instinctive) centers represent different ways we process information and respond to the world.
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Each type has three subtypes (self-preservation, social, and sexual/one-to-one) that influence how the type manifests. These are biological instincts we choose to prioritize or repress.
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Yes! It improves team communication, conflict resolution, and collaboration by revealing different working styles and motivations. It’s used in professional settings across the world.
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While tests can provide a starting point, working with a certified coach helps ensure accurate typing.
Even the best paid online tests are wrong about 70-80% of the time. Coach Jackie - when taking online tests to find her type - mistyped THRICE this way! There are too many complications that the online quiz cannot measure.
We always recommend by hearing - a workshop or seminar - or working with a coach. I do not recommend self typing.
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No, you can only be one type and that does not change — it is based on your core fears & motivations.
However, at different times, we can borrow inspiration from other types, act like them under stress or when healthy, or sometimes have type-lookalikes (or mistypes because of subtypes — that’s why we don’t test online!)
As we use the Enneagram to grow, our motivations do not change — rather they get managed, or go unmanaged. But our type never changes. Humans are just dynamic, complex, and multi-dimensional. That’s all!
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NO! There are no good or bad or better or preferable numbers. Every number has its strengths and weaknesses to it. If you find yourself doing an internal eye-roll when you hear someone’s number and it’s one you don’t like, there may be a deeper reason for that. We can help with that ;).
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We believe that you are born with your type, you are who you are - it is unique and just right. However, life, trauma, predispositions — things get in the way and your natural instincts kick in to protect you so you can “survive” and we stray away from who we were meant to be. Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger. Things like that.
TLDR; you are you, always have been, always will be, always meant to be. but how you grew up bends you to handle life one way or another.
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The Enneagram is a blank slate and is found throughout history in both spiritual and non-spiritual practices.
It is “spiritual” in the sense that it is life-changing, but it is not rooted in a specific spiritual or religious practice.
Table for 9 Coaching uses a person-first, non spiritual, psychology-based approach to understanding the 9 personality types so that the ground is neutral.
Once we’ve established your personality type and values, we can go from there and make it yours, however you want.
QUICK-REFERENCE GUIDE FOR ENNEAGRAM TERMS
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Literal meaning: nine-pointed figure (nine points)
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- One of the nine fundamental personality patterns in the Enneagram
- Represents your core motivations and how you typically see and interact with the world
- Also called your "number" or "point" -
-The personality type on either side of your main type
- Influences how your main type expresses itself
- Example: A Type 2 might have either a Type 1 or Type 3 wing, written as "2w1" or "2w3"goes here -
- The fundamental desire that drives your type's behavior
- The basic thing your type wants or needs most deeply
- Example: Type 3's core motivation is to feel valuable and successful -
- The basic fear or concern that your type tries to avoid
- Shapes many of your unconscious reactions and behaviors
- Example: Type 7's core fear is being deprived or trapped in pain -
- What your type most wants to feel or achieve
- The positive motivation behind your actions
- Example: Type 9's basic desire is to maintain peace and harmony -
- The direction your type moves in during growth
- Shows positive traits you can develop
- Example: Type 6 integrates toward Type 9, becoming more peaceful and trustingItem description -
- The direction your type moves in under stress
- Shows challenging behaviors that may emerge when struggling
- Example: Type 1 disintegrates toward Type 4, becoming more moody and self-focused -
- The typical way your type protects itself from discomfort
- Automatic reactions to stress or threat
- Example: Type 5's defense mechanism is isolation -
- Focus on thinking and mental processing
- Primary center for Types 5, 6, and 7
- Emphasizes mental analysis and planning -
- Focus on feelings and emotional intelligence
- Primary center for Types 2, 3, and 4
- Emphasizes relationships and identity -
- Focus on instincts and physical intuition
- Primary center for Types 8, 9, and 1
- Emphasizes action and physical presence