I was talking with someone about my book recently who asked, “What are the Enneagram Triads, actually?” Which inspired this 4-part series about them. Each article will describe what that group of Enneagram Triads are and how I use them as a map for clarity, compassion, and collaboration.

So, without further ado, here is part 3: The Harmonic Triads.

I was talking with someone about my book recently who asked, “What are the Enneagram Triads, actually?” Which inspired this 4-part series about them. Each article will describe what that group of Enneagram Triads are and how I use them as a map for clarity, compassion, and collaboration.

So, without further ado, here is part 3: The Harmonic Triads.

I was talking with someone about my book recently who asked, “What are the Enneagram Triads, actually?” Which inspired this 4-part series about them. Each article will describe what that group of Enneagram Triads are and how I use them as a map for clarity, compassion, and collaboration.

So, without further ado, here is part 2: The Energy Triads.

I was talking with someone about my book recently who asked, “What are the Enneagram Triads, actually?” Which inspired this 4-part series about them. Each article will describe what that group of Enneagram Triads are and how I use them as a map for clarity, compassion, and collaboration.

So, without further ado, here is part 1: The Intelligence Center Triads.

When you feel stuck in a decision, question, or struggle, it is likely you have only engaged in it from your dominant intelligence center. To get unstuck, you can try to “work the wheel” of the Enneagram circle, by moving through each intelligence center thoughtfully. It is helpful to use a journal or notebook to work through the steps.

Step One is to describe the issue.

What is a decision, question, or struggle in your life that feels stuck? Or in which next steps are uncertain? If possible, narrow it down to a question you are trying to answer or a problem you are trying to solve.

Step Two is to take that issue “to the wheel.”

First, answer 3-5 of the questions listed below your dominant center. (Which is the heart center for Types 2, 3, and 4, head center for Types 5, 6, and 7, and gut center for Types 8, 9, and 1.) After completing those questions, choose a direction– usually counter-clockwise feels most comfortable– and answer 3-5 questions from that second center, followed by the third center. After going through all three intelligence centers, take a step back and look at the issue again. Is there any more clarity? What is the next step you can take?

Repeat the exercise as needed.

To be clear from the beginning, this isn’t a story of arrival— I haven’t found a way to live in the virtue of my Enneagram Type all the time. I don’t really think that is possible. But I did have a recent experience of prolonged equanimity, and I want to write about it. This story could be of particular benefit to Type 4s, but I hope will provide insight and reflection for anyone wanting to move towards greater wholeness.

“According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a syndrome resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It’s characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.” - Ashley Abramson, in the article Burnout and Stress Are Everywhere on apa.org

Are you feeling that way these days? Many of us are.

When struggle is present, our Enneagram Type patterns jump into action. Our Type patterns exist because they have “worked.” Our experience knows how they have helped us survive our lives to this point. In certain kinds of stress, we move with the arrows of the symbol, and away from the behaviors of our Type. Burnout and overwhelm are different.

We move towards burnout when we are doubling down on our Type patterns, even when they aren’t serving us well.

We get stuck inside that definition of insanity that names it as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. What if instead of doubling down, we used the wisdom of the Enneagram to choose something different? What if we opened to the energy of the arrow pointing towards our Types?

Recently I was working with a group of business leaders when one leader named struggles with productivity within her company. She asked the question, “What can I do to improve their motivation?”

My response was, “What if it’s not a motivation problem?”

Our Enneagram Type is one of many lenses through which we see challenges. It colors our perspective about what is going on.

I caught myself doing the same thing recently as I looked at my to-do list. I wondered why I can’t seem to get better at time management. I naturally thought that was the problem because that is usually a struggle for me- as a Type 4, prioritizing tasks is difficult.

After this interaction, I turned the tables on myself and asked, “What if it’s not a time management problem?”

In both her case and mine, the problem is with productivity or effectiveness. What if we don’t assume we know what “the why” behind that problem is just yet? How might we see the problem differently if we look through the lens of each Type? Could a novel set of questions lead to a new insight?

As an Enneagram Coach, people often come to me asking for advice on what to do once they know their Types. What does it mean to be a Type 6? How do I grow? What is work should I do to change old habits and move forward with more wholeness?

My first answer is always the same:

Practice the pause.

Pause… before you press share on that social media post.
Pause… before you text that friend (or ex or boss).
Pause… before you consume more information from the steam of news cycles.
Pause… before you do that thing you have to do for your kids.
Pause… before you get up in all your feelings about the tragedies of the world.
Pause… before you rant about what this or that person did wrong.

Spend that pause doing two things:

Orient and Ask.

First, take a moment to notice what is happening in you. Orient:

How do I feel in my body right now?
What am I thinking about? Am I thinking?
Where is my heart on the feelings wheel?

Second, take a more moment to notice your motivations. Ask:

Is there something I am afraid of?
Is there something I am looking for?

We can practice this pause in less than a minute. It’s a quick check in meant to bring our attention to the drivers that function underneath our actions. We may or may not change the action. Sometimes we don’t have to- we notice our motivations line up with our best selves. Sometimes we don’t have the strength to- we become aware of some old fears and desires laying underneath, but don’t have it in us to do something different. That’s okay. The awareness that comes through practicing the pause is enough for now. Eventually, this practice will help us respond with greater consciousness and presence.

One of the reasons Enneagram is such a useful tool is because of the ways it holds space for complexity and nuance. It looks not at our external behaviors, but our internal drivers.

What motivates us to do what we do? What are we afraid of? What are the gifts in how we see the world? What are the blind spots that exist because of that way of seeing?

This makes Enneagram Typing a work of deep self-reflection. In other words, one’s Enneagram Type cannot be determined by one test alone.

In fact, it is not uncommon for people to identify with an Enneagram Type other than their top test result. That is because a test only knows how we answer. It cannot know if we are lying to ourselves about something we wish we were or not. It does not know if we misunderstood a question. It does not know if we had a bad day and are answering from a place of stress.

Use the test to narrow down, not determine, what your Type might be. Consider your top three Enneagram test results as solid possibilities. Then, try the steps laid out below.

People who know me know that I’m not my best self when the seasons change. I’m not talking about weather changes- I love those. (Fall is my favorite). No, I’m talking about the life transitions that happen when spring moves to summer and summer moves to fall. Extra concerts, games, and awards ceremonies get piled onto an already full schedule. The special work that is connected to ending and beginning things has to be seen and done. Routines and expectations have to shift into a new normal.

In short, I struggle when I’m disrupted.

When I choose it, I actually can thrive in change. But when I feel hemmed in and without a choice? I get overwhelmed and drop balls. It’s hard for me to sort through what is most important. It takes a lot for me not just withdraw and give up. Or go to the other end of the spectrum, to not just muscle through with an intensity that shuts down my heart. But, with learning and practice, I am learning.

Our Enneagram Type interacts with change in a four key ways.

Our awakening doesn’t mean we have to ascribe to a particular name of God or join a specific religion. In fact, if Holy Ideas feels like difficult language for you, you may choose the words of Dr David Daniels, who called this layer of Enneagram our Essential Spiritual Qualities. Whatever we call this layer of the work, it is inviting us to open up to something bigger than ourselves, and release into trust.

At some point in our history, our basic trust in the benevolence of the universe was broken. We felt like we had to take control of our lives, and disconnected from the sense that something bigger was holding us. This became a source of deep pain and grief that our egos worked to help us survive. Our mental fixations formed to protect us by creating a blind spot around our Holy Idea, the very aspect of divine Being that is ours to see and bring forward.