Motivation

When precision and accuracy are a must, look to Enneagram Type 1 to lead the way.  Type 1s are focused on getting it right(!) and are drawn to roles that reward this behavior. Unsure why Type 1s do this?  Don’t be frustrated, this video explains the underlying motivation of Type 1 behaviors.

Excerpt from Teamwork 9.0

As the internal anger type, Enneagram Type 1s have an inner critical voice that guides their strong sense of right and wrong. They are alert to problems, and their inner voice persistently reminds them of what should and shouldn’t be. This internal critic drives 1s to examine a problem in excruciating detail and provides a clear vision of what the world should look like once the problem is solved.

Type 1 is the ideal type for leading Step 1, in which the team defines the problem. The 1s persist in examining a problem until it is completely understood. Once the problem description is complete, they can then turn to envisioning the beautiful world in which the problem is eliminated. This vision serves as the destination for the team—the goal for the problem-solving effort.

Do you value precision and accuracy? Are you drawn to roles that require great attention to detail?  Is getting it “right” often your most important consideration, and do you become frustrated if others don’t agree? Do others rely on you to take care of the details?

[Video Transcript]

All right. So next is the Type 1. So now you have the Type 8 in your mind with that external anger, now imagine the anger is focused inward. Now if you ask a Type 1, “Do you relate to anger?” They’ll probably say no, but how that anger comes out for the 1 is more like frustration. And for the 1 there is a voice inside of their head that is just telling them, “That’s not right, it shouldn’t be that way, it should be this way.”

And that voice, again, it’s informed by their intuition, and it’s telling them what’s right and what’s wrong, and then it’s compelling them to work to get it right. So that’s the underlying motivation for the 1, they want to get it right. The 1 is often called the perfectionist because they are so focused on getting it right, they will work and work and work and work and work on it until, to all the rest of us it’s like oh my God, that’s like totally done but the 1 is still seeing, well, it’s not quite right yet.

So 1s are drawn to roles that require precision and accuracy, and that’s a very comfortable space for them. You often see them… Whereas a Type 8 might be in the CEO/COO role, the Type 1 seems to go into the CFO role where they can focus on lots of data and then make sure that the numbers are exactly right.

Another great example for the Type 1 is a surgeon, right? If you’re going to be having brain surgery, you want a Type 1 to be doing it because you want them to get it exactly right. You don’t want the Type 8 thing—oh, you know what, that’s good enough. You want the Type 1, like, I’m going to keep working on it until it’s exactly right.

Thanks so much for listening. If you liked this, please leave a comment and share it with others, and please subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for the next episode. Thanks again.

Do you raise your hand to volunteer even before you know what is being asked of you? If so, you may be Enneagram Type 2.  Type 2s strive to help others and are often drawn to service roles that center on providing assistance.  This video provides a peak behind the curtain of what motivates the 2’s desire to help others.

Excerpt from Teamwork 9.0

Being the external emotion type, Enneagram Type 2 energy is focused on helping others. During Step 2 in problem solving, the 2 will know instinctively who will benefit from a successful outcome of the problem-solving venture. The people involved in that venture, both actors and beneficiaries, are collectively the stakeholders in the project. Type 2s can build emotional bonds with the stakeholders, connecting them emotionally and viscerally to the project. The 2 is the ideal person to take the lead during this phase of the project and build the relationships necessary for the ultimate success of the problem-solving initiative.

Do you go out of your way to help others?  Do you expect thanks when you help others, or is appreciation not that important?  Do you find yourself focusing more on the people affected by a problem than the problem itself? How do you feel when you do not receive appreciation for assistance you provide?

[Video Transcript]

The external feelings Type 2 wants to have an emotional connection with you. So, that’s the external part, right? It’s building an emotional bond with other people and what they’re after is to receive appreciation. So, that’s the underlying motivator for the 2. As they’re building these connections, their go-to dynamic is to figure out what people need and then try to give it to them in a way that they can receive appreciation. And for 2s, appreciation is like oxygen. So, how long can you go without oxygen? Not very long. So, you need to keep breathing to get that oxygen. Well, the 2s need to keep helping to get that appreciation.

So, they’re constantly looking for ways to help. One time I asked a group of people, “so who here feels like they need alone time?” And then everybody says, “yeah, yeah, yeah”. And so, then I asked the 2, “so do you need alone time too?” And the 2 said, “oh yeah, I do”. And so, then I asked, “when was the last time you were alone?” And then, thinking it’s like, “oh I was alone a couple of days ago,” and oh, okay. So, for how long? Says, “yeah, I had just pretty much had it with the kids and then I just had to get out of the house for 30 minutes”. So for the 2, being away from other people, being away from having emotional connections with people, 30 minutes seems like a long time. As opposed to, say, the Type 5 can be a way for 2 years. And it’s like, oh yeah, I’m still good.

So, there’s just like these different levels of need to be connected and the 2s are just constantly. Another thing about the 2s is boundaries because they need to have these close connections, they kind of lose sense of the space in between people. And so, you kind of might feel like they’re crowding into your space. They don’t even understand that. They don’t even realize it. It doesn’t even register. They can’t get close enough to you. So, that is one of the things with 2s.

So, you see them migrate to jobs where they can help people all the time. They’ll go into, say, sales roles where they can find out what people need, give it to them, and get appreciation; or nursing; or teaching. Also, service roles, like being in the (military) service. Imagine you’re in the service and you’re a 2 and you’re on leave; you’re walking down an airport in the public; you’re wearing your uniform. What does everybody do? “Thank you for your service.” All that appreciation. They just can walk down and just absorb all that appreciation. Perfect job for a 2.

Thanks so much for listening. If you like this, please leave a comment and share it with others. And please subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for the next episode. Thanks again.

 

Whoever said, “You can learn from your mistakes,” was obviously not Enneagram Type 3.  The saying that best resonates with Type 3? Failure is not an option! What compels Type 3s to work so hard and what roles attract them?  This brief video gives you insights into what makes Type 3 tick.

Excerpt from Teamwork 9.0

As the suppressed emotion type, Enneagram Type 3s have the remarkable gift of being able to generate fresh ideas without feeling constrained by emotional baggage. They can think freely, unencumbered, and will enthusiastically generate ideas with the aim of successfully solving the problem.

In Step 3, the leader must solicit ideas from all team members and stakeholders and, most importantly, not react to those ideas. The aim is to collect as many ideas as possible for later analysis. Type 3s would be ideal leaders for this part of the project since they provide both enthusiasm for successful outcomes and restraint from emotional reactions to any of the ideas.

Does the idea of success motivate you to work hard? Are you sensitive to appearances, especially appearance of success?  Are you attracted to roles that have an inherent sense of success? Do you tend to downplay feelings?

[Video Transcript]

So now we’re going to get to the 3. The 3 is also in the feeling group but it’s suppressed feelings. So they come off actually, as the cool cats. They’re not as focused on your feelings and having emotional connections with you. And rather than receiving appreciation, they’re more about receiving acknowledgment for success.  They want to be recognized for their success.

You’ve heard of that saying dress for success, this is the type 3. The type 3s they look the part, they play the part. They are looking successful and they are highly motivated to be successful. They’re about efficiency, they’re about working hard, they’re about setting goals and meeting the goals. Boom, boom, boom. This is where the 3’s shine.

And for the 3s, failure is not an option, so that really compels them to work harder than any of the types in the Enneagram as far as I’ve seen. And because they’re so focused on that sense of success, they tend to be drawn to roles in which it’s easy to measure success. If they’re going to be an attorney, they’re going to be a litigator and they can rack up the wins. If they’re a surgeon they’re going to be the top surgeon with 150 brain surgeries or whatever, right, so there’s often a numerical component. They’re so sensitive to how things appear and appear to other people, they often will go into marketing roles or advertising roles.

Thanks so much for listening. If you like this, please leave a comment, and share it with others. And please subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for the next episode. Thanks again.

Ever feel something so strongly that you are at a loss for words?  You may not be able to put words to it, but Enneagram Type 4 will know how you are feeling—perhaps even better than you know yourself!  Not only do they relish immersion in their own feelings, but they also evoke feelings in others by communicating in emotionally impactful ways, often through art, music, and film.  They migrate to roles in which feelings, theirs and others, are at the center.

Excerpt from Teamwork 9.0

While every Enneagram type can have an emotional reaction to an idea, the internal emotion Type 4 is highly attuned to the emotional content in any idea. In Step 3 (Ideation), it was important to hold back negative reactions in order to generate the richest possible set of ideas. In Step 4, it is important to review and reflect on how people reacted to the ideas, both positively and negatively.

While some initiatives can combine Steps 3 and 4 as described in the previous chapter, for projects that must carefully consider the possible emotional reactions of all stakeholders, I dedicate time to this analysis. Type 4s are ideal for leading this discussion since they will have the most nuanced appreciation of others’ reactions and a sense of what stakeholders will like. While many of us would like to think we are driven by logic and data, the truth is that emotions play an even greater role in our decision making. The ability to understand emotional reactions is critical for determining both the short- and long[1]term acceptability of any idea.

How do you used feelings and emotions to communicate with others?  How do you communicate in ways that make the strongest emotional impact?  In what situations do feelings play a central role for you?

[Video Transcript]

Now we go to the 4. This is the internal emotion. Instead of all of that emotion externalized, it’s now all inside. It’s roiling around, roiling around. If you ask a 4 “Hey, how are you feeling?” the 4 would look at you and say “I’m feeling fine,” but what they’re actually thinking is, “What an idiotic question. How can I tell you how I’m feeling? I’m feeling the warmth of the light on the wall. I’m feeling all of the warmth from the faces on the screen. I’m feeling the sounds of conversation in my family in the background. I’m missing being with them right now and I’m feeling all this stuff, but if I told you that, you would think I’m crazy, so what I say is, ‘I’m feeling fine.'”

So that’s what’s going on with the 4. 4s are absorbed in feelings. They want to be engaged with their feelings, and the more intense the situations, the better, the more it invigorates them, so they tend to immerse themselves in activities with lots of emotional feelings.

The other really interesting thing about the 4s is that not only are they feelings, emotional content of everything around them, but they’re also able to communicate in emotionally impactful ways. They tend to become communicators, but emotional communicators, so artists, musicians, poets. That is the realm in which they’re dealing. They’re just living in feelings. Feelings and communicating feelings.

Thanks so much for listening. If you liked this, please leave a comment and share it with others, and please subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for the next episode. Thanks again.