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YIKES!  What if THAT happens?!? Enneagram Type 6s are always on the alert for possible danger.  They like to think about the future and prepare appropriately. In relationships, trust is paramount.  Here’s how to build rapport with Type 6.

A Calm Moment

More than any other Enneagram type, Type 6 is beset with feelings of anxiety.  Like a thermometer in their gut, the anxiety temperature is low when things go according to plan.  When things don’t, the anxiety temperature rises. When building rapport with Type 6, it is best to approach them in their calm state. Otherwise, anxiety can make them confrontational and mask their ability to make meaningful and trusting connections.

Mirroring 9.0

As discussed in this 5/8/20 blog,  mirroring is one of the most important rapport building skills.  Reflecting back concern about the future and discussing probabilities for outcomes is an important way to build rapport and trust with your Type 6 teammates. They value these conversations and your participation is an excellent rapport building technique.

Walk Me Through This

Anxiety can be particularly high when doing something for the first time. Your Type 6 teammate will appreciate being walked through how it works. They want to know what’s going to happen and when it will take place.  For instance, if you have a big meeting coming up in which the 6 will present, rehearse with the 6—that will help calm their anxiety.  Reassuring them that everything will be fine also helps. 

If you are planning to conduct the meeting with a new online tool, practice with the 6 beforehand. Unfamiliarity with the tool during the meeting will increase anxiety for the 6 that can throw them off their game. Doing a dry run beforehand will allow the 6 to become familiar with the tool; they will appreciate your efforts to help keep anxiety levels low. 

Don’t Put Me on the Spot

Since 6s plan things out, they generally have a script in their head they’re following.  Sticking to the script will keep anxiety down.  If you need to go off script, then be aware that anxiety for the 6 increases, and they will appreciate support under those conditions. Situations in which there is confrontation are particularly anxiety-inducing. As a rapport building strategy, minimizing confrontation and unexpected outcomes keeps Type 6s calm and at their best. 

Meet Expectations

Type 6s constantly judge whether someone or something can be trusted to be reliable. With your Type 6 teammates, be consistent in setting expectations and meeting those expectations. As you do this, the 6 will increasingly trust you and open the space for rapport building.

No! Well, Maybe

When presented with a new proposal out of the blue, the gut reaction for the 6 is often, “No.”  They will say no before they have had a chance to think about it.  Once they have a moment to think, they will often want to change their mind. But, before they do, they will have questions—lots of questions.  One of the labels often attributed to the 6 is the Questioner.  Why do they ask so many questions? Firstly, they want to make sure that you have really thought through the idea, so that they can trust you.  Also, they want to know what will happen, so they will endeavor to clarify how things will play out.  Indulging your Type 6 teammates by answering their questions is another rapport building example.

Plan A and B

Type 6s are natural planners. Not only will they plan out the main path forward, they will want to prepare a plan B, just in case. Participating with your Type 6 teammates in planning helps build consensus and lowers the likelihood for future confrontations, all of which alleviate anxiety and present a platform on which to build rapport with your Type 6 teammates.

When does rapport building take place with the Enneagram Type 6s in your life? What steps to building rapport work for you? What have you learned to avoid?

How do you build rapport with your Enneagram Type 5 teammates? Intrigue them to want to build rapport with you.  As the turtles of the Enneagram, you need to make Type 5s feel both safe and interested to coax them out of their shell. Here’s how.

Inform Me

For Type 5s, acquiring information and knowledge makes them feel safe.  They are drawn to unorthodox topics that require profound knowledge.  They enjoy immersing themselves deeply in the subject matter.  Here are examples of the topics the Type 5s in my life pursue: bee keeping, brew master, sommelier, amateur radio, philosophy, study of the Native American language Lakota, study of German literature, study of Russian, study of Japanese and karaoke, amateur hockey player, baseball color commentator, Dota 2 video game specialist, Linux kernel specialist,  AI specialist, consumer electronics design specialist, and cartoon illustrator.  Engaging in conversations about the subject in which they are expert is when rapport building takes place with your Type 5 teammates. Sharing any specialized knowledge that you have on the subject will be especially compelling for them.

Mirroring 9.0

As discussed in this 5/8/20 blog,  mirroring is one of the most important rapport building skills.  Reflecting back interest in their favorite subjects is an important way to build rapport and trust with your Type 5 teammates.  Type 5s are the internal-anxiety type of the Enneagram. They fear appearing uninformed and will tend to be moot on subjects in which they are not expert. By steering topics towards their interests, you will be able to elicit meaningful conversations with your teammate.

Knowledge is Gold

For Type 5s, knowledge is safety, and they won’t feel safe until they are very knowledgeable.  Since knowledge is so valuable to them, they are also very reluctant to impart information to others.  This is especially true if they do not trust that the information won’t be used against them.  Building trust and rapport with your Type 5 teammates is imperative to overcoming this obstacle to information sharing.

Nothing Personal

There is nothing more valuable to the 5 than information about themselves.  Type 5s are reluctant to share personal information, and it makes them uncomfortable when asked. As a rapport building strategy, follow the Type 5s lead and move conversations away from personal topics and towards their areas of interest.  If relevant, feel free to share personal information about yourself. When your Type 5 teammates feel comfortable, they may divulge nuggets about themselves. When that happens, you know you’ll have taken an important step to building rapport and trust with your teammates.

Help Me Decide

While Type 5s may be very knowledgeable on a topic, they may be reluctant to make decisions based on their information. For the 5s, nothing is black and white. They perceive all shades of gray and nuance.  In that murky, cloudy world, the safest path forward is often unclear.  Having conversations with your Type 5 teammate to help them make a decision is another rapport build example you can use.  My partner is a 5, and when we go to a restaurant she wants to read the entire menu, top to bottom.  She will find 2 or 3 items that look interesting and will struggle to make a decision—she doesn’t want to make the wrong decision!  A conversation ensues in which we review the pros and cons of each option.  This conversation helps her make her decision. We’ve been married for 29 years, so this rapport building technique seems to be working well!

When does rapport building take place with the Enneagram Type 5s in your life? What rapport building strategies work for you? What have you learned to avoid?

How am I feeling? Really!?!  How can I answer that when I’m feeling everything!  If you want to understand the emotional content of, well, anything, then have a conversation with your Enneagram Type 4 teammate. Do you feel me?

Feelings? Yes, Please!

As Shrek once pointed out, “Ogres are like onions. […] Ogres have layers.”  Layers of what goes unsaid, but clearly Shrek is talking about feelings—and, clearly, Shrek is a Type 4. (By the way, Shrek and Donkey illustrate the relationship between Type 4 and Type 7.)

Enneagram Type 4 is the internal-emotions type in the Feeling Center of the Enneagram.  This type has the innate ability to “feel” the emotional content of the world, both what is present and also what is missing.  Having conversations about feelings is when rapport building takes place with your Type 4 teammates.

Mirroring 9.0 – Safe Space

As discussed in this 5/8/20 blog,  mirroring is one of the most important rapport building skills. Mirroring with Type 4 requires conversations about feelings. In some settings, such conversations are not welcome nor appreciated. For Type 4s, these settings are stifling.  Social conversations that focus only on positivity and superficiality will not seem genuine to the 4.  They yearn for something deeper.  Herein lies your opportunity to build rapport and trust with your Type 4 teammate—by finding opportunities to  share your own feelings.   Your Type 4 teammate will often express deep empathy and provide unique perspectives on your situation. Acknowledging and appreciating these gifts is a key step to building rapport with Type 4.

It’s Complicated

Type 4s may be reluctant to share their feelings with you. To the 4, asking how they are feeling is a ridiculous question.  Remember the onion?  They are experiencing ALL feelings in layers.  Simply saying they feel one way only exposes the next layer of feelings.  Do they express that, too?  And the next? In any case, by sharing your own feelings you are signaling to the 4 that it is safe to talk about feelings. Let them share when they are ready—no need to force it.

Pining is not Wanting

Type 4s often dwell on what is missing—they pine for things that are not there. For most people, we mistake pining for wanting. If we hear a Type 4 pine for something we may acquire that thing and give it to them.  Don’t be surprised if the reaction is, “Why did you get this?”  The 4 didn’t want the thing, they just wanted to pine for it. Pining is a way for the 4 to deeply explore the emotional content of something. That process is more important than the thing itself.

Remember when photographs were processed on film?  We gave the film to the processor and in return received a set of photographs and negatives.  To most of us, the world is represented by the photograph, the positive view of the world.  Imagine if you could see the world in the negative, inverted and highlighting what is missing rather than what is there—now you are starting to see the worldview of the 4.

Valuable Perspectives

Having a Type 4 on your team provides valuable perspectives and insights. When evaluating ideas for solutions, they provide insight into how the world will respond emotionally to each proposal.  They can identify what is missing and suggest elements that may be critical for persistent and sustainable solutions. Also, they can determine if there is sufficient positive emotional energy behind any proposal to garner the support necessary from the team to make the effort to reach the goal.  Eliciting and valuing these perspectives from Type 4 teammates is another rapport building example.

When does rapport building take place with the Enneagram Type 4s in your life? What rapport building strategies work for you? What have you learned to avoid?

Rapport? Who needs rapport? We have a job to do! Enneagram Type 3s want to work hard and accomplish the job.  The best way to get along with Type 3s is pitching in, helping them and the team succeed. Here’s to success!

Feelings? No Thanks!

Although Enneagram Type 3 is in the Feeling Triad, they suppress their emotions and tend not to consider the feelings of others.  Clearly, building rapport on an emotional basis is not the best approach with the 3.  They do want to succeed and appear successful—therein lies the key to rapport building with your Type 3 teammates.

Mirroring 9.0

As discussed in this 5/8/20 blog,  mirroring is one of the most important rapport building skills. Enneagram Type 3s are highly conscious of appearances and will respond well to mirroring. They like to surround themselves with achievement-oriented people who exhibit all the trappings of success—nice clothes, nice car, nice job, etc.   Mirroring these signs of success while demonstrating your own ability to work hard and achieve success will put you in good stead with the 3.

Outside of the Box

Most people have emotional filters on their thoughts and ideas.  Because Type 3s tend to suppress emotion, it’s as if these filters are turned off. This gift gives the 3 the ability to think outside of the emotional box.  They freely generate ideas for the team to consider.  Since they don’t themselves react emotionally to any idea, they have to monitor the group to see which ideas gain traction.  As the saying goes, they throw out ideas like spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks.  Type 3s appreciate feedback on their ideas and efforts to build consensus to move forward to accomplish the goal.

Nothing Personal

When the 3 is focused on the mission, they become emotionally distant.  Don’t take it personally.  Just work with the 3 to help them achieve the goal.  They will tune back in once the goal is achieved. Remember, your Type 3 colleague may really like you despite the emotional distance. That distance is simply an artifact of the suppressed-emotion type. With your Type 3 teammates, putting feelings aside and staying on task is one of the best rapport building techniques.

Bonding Over Work

One of my closest friends from college is Enneagram Type 3.  We attended an academically challenging school.  As a Type 6 myself, I always felt the stress and anxiety of the workload, and that anxiety shifted my behaviors towards Type 3, along my path of disintegration.  In that state, I was naturally mirroring many of the behaviors of my diligent, hard-working Type 3 friend. No wonder we got along so well!

Friendly Competition

Type 3s are highly competitive. Another rapport building example is to find activities in which the 3 excels and engage them in friendly competition. With my friend in college, our favorite competition was ping pong—we played hours and hours of ping pong. If you put up a great fight and they still win—you have given them another opportunity to demonstrate success. That’s a win-win rapport building strategy with your Type 3 teammate.

When does rapport building take place with the Enneagram Type 3s in your life? How are you building rapport and trust?  What steps to building rapport are you taking? What steps to building rapport work and what have you learned to avoid?