The Enneagram for Educators Types 8, 9, and 1   S. 3  E. 35

Listen to this episode to learn more about the Enneagram and understand the patterns of types 8, 9 and 1.

Show notes:

Episode summary: 

Are you curious about the Enneagram types and how behavior, thinking, and motivation patterns affect you and those around you? In part two of this Enneagram series you will learn more about the Enneagram and the patterns of types 8, 9, and 1. What does it mean to be an instinctive type and how does that show up in you or in your family, friends, and students? This episode will help you determine if you are an 8, 9 or 1 and will help you to better understand, support, and work with the 8s, 9s, and 1s in your life.

In this episode:

Welcome back to the Inspired Together Teachers podcast and our special series on the Enneagram. Today’s episode is part two, and if you haven’t already listened to part one, Episode 34 The Enneagram for Educators you might want to go and check out that episode.

In our introduction episode we talked about three types of the Enneagram, the head type or IQ type, the heart type, or the EQ type, and the instinctive or gut type, the GQ type.

Today we are going to start digging into the types. You may already know your type, or you have heard others talking about their type. What are all those numbers and what do they mean?

Before we jump in, a reminder that the number is less important than the patterns. If you know your number, but don’t know what that means in terms of behaviors and thought patterns, then it isn’t very useful for you.

The types we are going to talk about today are the instinctive types, or “gut types.” These are types 8, 9 and 1.

You might already be wondering why we aren’t starting with type 1. If that is seriously bothering you, you might be a type 1!

When we talk about the Enneagram, we talk about them in order of the types. The first of the three gut types is 8 so we start with 8.

Characteristics of Enneagram Type 8

Type 8s are sometimes known by the labels The Powerful One, or The Challenger. We are not into labels so we often don’t use the labels but refer to the number and the patterns.

What are some of the patterns of the type 8? When we talk about patterns, every type has both positive patterns and patterns that are potentially troublesome.

Positive patterns of the 8:

• Strong personality
• Big energy
• Confident
• Concerned about justice
• Defenders of the people
• Strong leadership
• Blunt and direct
• Makes quick decisions
• Assertive

Challenging patterns of type 8:

• Confrontational
• Demanding
• Intimidating
• Aggressive
• Act without thinking
• Can power through without considering the feelings of others

Type 8 basic fears and way of seeing the world:

• must be in control at all times, wants power
• biggest fear is being seen as weak

Type 8 summary: 

8’s are powerful and can have strong influence, whether in a positive way or a negative way. The challenge for eights is to use their gifts for good and not get lost in self-serving or unrestrained power moves just for the sake of having power.

Characteristics of Enneagram Type 9

Nines are known as The Peacemaker or The Peaceful Person or the Mediator. The label is a good description of the nine because they want peace. 9s do not want to rock the boat!

Positive patterns of the Type 9:

• calm
• steady
• easy to get along with, easy-going
• accommodating and accepting
• relaxed
• inclusive- good at collaborating
• good mediator
• creatures of habit

Challenging patterns of the Type 9:

• uncommitted
• non-assertive
• lack of energy or agency
• “the sloth”
• undisciplined
• stubborn

Type 9 basic fears and way of seeing the world:

Nines fear separation, they don’t want any kind of disharmony. They will strive to avoid conflict at all cost.

Type 9 summary:

Nines are relaxed and calm. They are easy to get along with and often have many friends. They can be great workers and make great contributions to teams. 9s make great mediators. The challenge for 9s is to not become uncommitted or undisciplined. They may struggle with change, but once they are on board, they will work diligently to bring things about.

Characteristics of Enneagram Type 1

The type one is known as the The Good Person or The Reformer or The Perfectionist.

Positive patterns of the Type 1:

• moral, right
• principled
• upstanding
• idealistic
• extremely high standards
• responsible
• dependable
• committed
• thorough and meticulous

Challenging patterns of the Type 1:

• perfectionist to a fault
• rigid
• inflexible
• controlling
• impatient
• self-righteous
• overly serious
• judgmental

Type 1 basic fears and way of seeing the world:

Type 1s fear being imperfect or somehow defective, they must show the world how good they are. They struggle with the need to fix everything and make the world better. This can backfire when they try to constantly change others and loose perspective and become demanding and controlling.

Type 1 summary:

Type 1 people are hardworking, moral and principled people with very high standards. You will never need to micromanage them. Their challenge is to resist extreme perfectionism and to not become overly rigid or controlling towards others.

Summary:

Each of the three types have what we call instinctual patterns or “gut instinct.” They lead with their gut- they know and feel it in their gut and will often talk about listening to their gut instinct.

Each of these types brings needed strengths to the world. There are no “good types” or “bad types”. Each type brings both strengths and challenges. As an individual person, we have the opportunity to develop the good patterns and try to eliminate or lessen the more negative patterns. That is the work of our personal transformation. When it comes to others, we have the opportunity to understand a person’s patterns and to support them in developing their own positive traits.

Recap:

The Enneagram patterns include head types who lead with their thinking, heart types who lead with their heart, and gut types that lead with their instincts. The instinctual types of the Enneagram are types 8, 9, and 1. When we recognize the patterns of each type, we can support people in using their gifts in positive ways.

Join us next time as we discuss types 2, 3 and 4, the heart types.

 

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