Have you ever heard of the Enneagram?  If so, what number are you?  If not, let me explain….

The Enneagram has levels of depth and complexity, but for the purposes of this, I’m going to keep it simple.  Basically, according to EnneagramInstitute.com, “The Enneagram can be seen as a set of nine distinct personality types, with each number on the Enneagram denoting one type. It is common to find a little of yourself in all nine of the types, although one of them should stand out as being closest to yourself. This is your basic personality type. Everyone emerges from childhood with one of the nine types dominating their personality, with inborn temperament and other pre-natal factors being the main determinants of our type.”  Here are the nine types:

Type 1 – The Reformer, The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic

Type 2 – The Helper, The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive

Type 3 – The Achiever, The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious

Type 4 – The Individualist, The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental

Type 5 – The Investigator, The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated

Type 6 – The Loyalist, The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious

Type 7 – The Enthusiast, The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered

Type 8 – The Challenger, The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational

Type 9 – The Peacemaker, The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent

By understanding your dominant personality type as well as your “center,” the dominant emotion of your “center” and your “wing,” for example, you can use this self-knowledge to further promote your own personal growth, foster better relationships with others and enhance your workplace and business functionings.  It’s all good, as they say, and fascinating too.

If you’d like to take the Riso-Hudson Enneagram test, click here.  I highly recommend it.  And if you do, let’s talk and share our numbers.  Can’t wait….