Pages

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Enneagram: Seven’s Leadership Style-Subtypes


As Maitri (2001) demonstrates, “each of us has one instinct that is a more central preoccupation than the others are, which is referred to as our subtype” (p. 263).  This paper illustrates the characteristics of three subtypes in type seven: self-preservation, social, and sexual.  The first, as for the self-preservation subtypes of seven, Self-preservation Seven CEOs “try to assure their survival through banding together and taking care of others who they feel an affinity or connection with” (Maitri, 2001, p. 268).  In other words, they meet their survival needs building a friendly relationship with others.  For them, others are like their family.  In that sense, their leadership style may be called family style management which used to be a mainstream of Japanese business management.  The second, as to the social subtypes of seven, Maitri (2001) points out that these CEOs “are characterized by relinquishing their personal freedom and aspirations for social ideals.  They have a profound sense of obligation toward others and feel that they must sacrifice themselves to fulfill what they see as their responsibilities” (p. 272).  In a word, they have a strong sense of responsibility to others, companies, and their societies.  They may be able to form a cohesive team owing to their spirit of self-sacrifice.  The last, as for the sexual subtypes of seven, Maitri (2001) demonstrates that these CEOs “tend to merge with whatever ideas, plans, or people they come into contact with.  So they are easily influenced, especially by their partner or someone they are attracted to” (p. 276).  In other words, they are good at combining various ideas or opinions, and they can think and act very flexibly as the situation demands.  Moreover, they can see others’ positive aspects, and then they can integrate the aspects within them.  This characteristic enables CEOs to learn a lot from others, and this is beneficial for CEOs, because the modern business world demands business people lifelong learning.

No comments:

Post a Comment