Enneagram: Seven’s Leadership Style-Wings

I'd like to show a part of my paper about leadership style in the Enneagram below.

Next, Seven CEOs with a Six Wing are often called entertainers.  They have mainly two strengths and weaknesses.  The first strength of Seven CEOs with a Six Wing is that they are creative and joyful, and they can draw a positive outlook for their company.  Riso and Hudson (1999) point out the characteristic like this “They are often curious and creative, with an excellent sense of humor and a more positive outlook than the other subtype” (p. 266).  This type of CEOs may fit with entertainment companies or companies which drift into a period of stagnation, because the former companies need creative and humorous CEOs and the latter companies need optimistic CEOs who have positive outlooks and can take a positive action.  The second strength is that they “have quick minds, a cooperative spirit, and organizational abilities” (Riso & Hudson, 1999, p. 266).  They may be able to come up with various useful ideas or corporate strategies because of their intelligence and to work with subordinates smoothly and supportively in virtue of their cooperative spirit.  

However, there are mainly two weaknesses in Seven CEOs with a Six Wing.  The first weakness is that they sometimes can’t concentrate on one idea or one goal because of their busy mind when they are fall into average conditions of the type seven.  In other words, they always look for something new, and then they can’t attain their initial goal.  Therefore, this type of CEOs may need to think about what they should do now not to lose sight of the objective.  The second weakness is that they tend to seek strong experiences.  As a result, they sometimes are manic (Riso & Hudson, 1999), and they may not be able to control themselves because of their intense emotions.  However, as the top of companies, CEOs should have cool heads and objectify themselves in a calm manner.

Lastly, regarding Seven CEOs with an Eight Wing, they are often called realists.  There are two strengths and weaknesses in Seven CEOs with an Eight Wing.  The first strength is that they can “think strategically and can rapidly organize their internal and external resources in pursuit of their desires” (Riso & Hudson, 1999, p. 266).  Considering that the modern business world is very competitive, CEOs come under pressure to put forward better corporate strategies.  In that sense, CEOs who have strategic minds may be skillful leaders in the modern business world.  In addition, as for the second strength, they are tough-minded and practical.  The modern business environment is not only competitive but also rapidly changeable.  In the situation, CEOs are required to think practically and behave consistently in order to accomplish the goal.  Thus, Seven CEOs with an Eight Wing may be regarded as invaluable leaders in those situations.

Although they can be great leaders, there are the following two weaknesses.  With respect to the first weakness, as Riso and Hudson (1999) point out, they “tend to be more workaholic than the other subtype, coming from the strong desire to accumulate possessions and experiences” (p. 266).  In the modern business world, the volume of CEOs’ work is increasing more and more.  Seven CEOs with an Eight Wing need to take care of themselves in order to avoid workaholism.  Moreover, the second weakness is that they are likely to focus on generating ideas rather than connect with others.  It is certainly important for CEOs to create new ideas to grow their companies more.  However, it is more important to collaborate closely with others in order to attain corporate goals.  For this reason, Seven CEOs with an Eight Wing may require attention not to focus on generating new ideas too much, but to build a good relationship with subordinates.

Reference

1 The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types

2 Discovering Your Personality Type: The Essential Introduction to the Enneagram, Revised and Expanded

3 The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding Your Intimate and Business 

Relationships

4 The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram: Nine Faces of the Soul

Enneagram Self-Reflection: Type Two (Helper, Giver)

Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Type 4	Type 5	Type 6	Type 7	Type 8	Type 9
13	19	21	12	12	4	30	21	12

The above is my Enneagram test result.  As the result indicates, type two has a comparatively strong influence on me.  To tell you the truth, I was surprised by this result, because I didn’t think of me as a helper at all.  In that sense, the Enneagram test helped me to find hidden aspects in me. 

In retrospect, I was not merciful man for others when I was a kid.  Perhaps, type two didn’t affect me so much when I was young.  However, as I grew older, I became generous, helpful, and considerate little by little.  In other words, my egocentrism gradually decreased in accordance with my psychological growth, and I became able to put myself in others’ shoes.  In fact, I couldn’t only think about others, but also I couldn’t think about myself when I was a young boy, but I became able to objectify myself and to be kind to others.  As for this point, I think that type two in me has gradually appeared since I was around 15 years old.  I remember that I could have thought about others’ thoughts, emotions, and feelings since after junior high school. 

In addition, I tended to fear that I wasn’t loved by others.  This is a superego of type two.  About this point, Riso and Hudson (1999) point out that “In the average-to-unhealthy Levels, Twos present a false image of being completely generous and unselfish and of not wanting any kind of payoff for themselves, when in fact they can have enormous expectations and unacknowledged emotional needs” (p. 128).  Considering I sometimes did something extraordinary in order to receive love from others, I may have fallen into unhealthy type two. 

Although I may have had negative aspects of type two, I have manifested the healthy aspects of type two.  Regarding the strength of type two, Riso and Hudson (1999) indicate that “Twos are gifted with the extraordinary ability not simply to care about others but to actually do something meaningful for them” (p. 146).  I can come to be kind and helpful for both others and I.  In other words, I become able to maintain good balance between compassion for others and consideration for me.

Reference

1 The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types

2 The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding Your Intimate and Business Relationships

I’m a pitiful creature…

I’m a pitiful creature.  I always try to make meanings for phenomena of my reality.  I’m happy to find a certain pattern in this real world as if children find a rare beetle in a forest.  However, I know the pattern which I found is a mere fiction… 

I’m so relieved to see the cosmos in the chaos world.  I don’t know whether the real world is cosmos or chaos.  Anyway, I’m a pathetic creature which tries to make meanings with heart and soul, but I enjoy this life as a meaning making creature.  

Integral Theory Zone 2 Approach, Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Psychometrics, etc…

Current my interests are comprised of the following three elements: developmental assessment (psychometrics), leadership development, and executive coaching (especially, integral coaching).  Although there are a lot of coaching methods in the world, I don’t know whether they are truly effective for clients or not, because there are no accurate and valid assessment tools for coaching methods themselves.

 If anyone asks me like this “Is executive coaching really useful for me?  Does executive coaching develop my abilities?  What skills does executive coaching cultivate?”   My response may be “Yes, it is.  Executive coaching is useful for you.  Yes, it does.  Executive coaching develops your abilities.  What skills?  Umm…various skills!”

What an unsubstantiated and unpersuasive response…  Of course, I’d like to believe that coaching provides “invisible” and “unmeasurable” values for clients, but at the same time, I’d like to represent the value of coaching quantitatively.  Quantitative results are objective and fair for everyone.  That’s why I need to learn developmental assessment (psychometrics).

My research result will reveal what skills are developed by coaching and how much clients develop their abilities.  Lastly, I have to admit the following fact.  “My research method always includes some limitations.  So, my research method is not perfect but partial…”  

Narcissism and Human Development

Wilber (2000) explains “narcissism is not simply the overvaluing of the self and its abilities, but a concomitant undervaluing of others and their contributions” (p. 17).

I see, narcissists mean that they have not simply too much self-esteem, but also they tend to undervalue others too much…  Moreover, Wilber (2000) refers “Each developmental wave is a decrease in narcissism and an increase in consciousness (or increase in the capacity to take deeper and wider perspectives into account)” (p. 20).  In that sense, narcissists stop their development as human beings, and perhaps they proceed against human evolution…

 Reference

A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality

Integral theory in action: applied, theoretical, and constructive perspectives on the AQAL model

I bought this book in Japan, but I didn’t even look over the articles at all.  So, I picked up and read some articles from my interest.  If you are interested in the contents, I recommend reading them.  Please check the contents of table.

 Table of contents

Memo

1 Why does human consciousness develop?  Why do some people develop highly?  Why do some people stop the development of consciousness?

2 What’s the purpose of education?