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Keeping the Peace – Intrinsic Motivation of Enneagram Type 9

May 25, 2021 by Matt Schlegel Leave a Comment

Need someone to restore peace? No one has better instincts at keeping peace than Enneagram Type 9.  Their superpower is understanding others’ perspectives, and they use this superpower to make sure everyone is heard and understood, thereby reducing anger and conflict in their environment.  After transformational change or in a changing workplace, they work to restore and maintain harmony.

Excerpt from Teamwork 9.0

The project is complete, and the goal has been accomplished. Yet, there still may be a sense of discord in the air as people adjust to the new environment. The main project team is withdrawing, along with the Type 8 energy that drove the team. This is when the suppressed anger Type 9 leadership needs to emerge, with the ability to understand the issues that have left people unsettled and to facilitate harmony in the new environment. The 9s are highly attuned to sensing anger and the potential for conflict. If they sense this, the 9 will immediately engage to mitigate possible conflict. Type 9s tend to stay calm even as others are emotionally activated and agitated. Their calmness has a settling effect on those around them that brings people back into a conversation that leads to conflict resolution.

How does you leadership style calm an unsettled environment?  Do you actively engage in mitigating conflict?  Or do you rely on others? What are leadership styles that work well with Enneagram Type 9?

[Video Transcript]

Next is the suppressed anger. Now Type 9 wants to eliminate anger from the environment. Their radar for anger is probably the highest of all types. They’re highly sensitive to it, and they want to avoid it. So they’re always on the lookout to figure out, “Okay, how can I navigate this world in a way with the least amount of conflict?” So, Type 9 is the best at really understanding other people’s perspectives. They’re always thinking about other people and how they’re looking at the world. By doing that, they can anticipate any possible conflict, and then they can create environments for people. They will do their best to optimize for the group to make sure that we’ve minimized conflict.

So, if you’re going to go out to lunch with a Type 9 and say, “Where do you want to go to lunch? The Type 9 will say, “Well, where do you want to go to lunch?” You’ll go back and forth with them, and you’ll be trying to get them to give you their opinion. And then finally you’ll say, “It’s your birthday. You get to choose.” Now they’re on the spot. Right? Are they thinking, “Where do I want to go?” No, they’re not. They’re thinking, “Where do you think they want to go to lunch?” That’s what they’re thinking.

They’re never going to assert themselves and put their own opinion out there because if they put their own opinion out there, what might that cause? It might cause a conflict. So, why would you ever do that? You just won’t. So that’s the Type 9. So, where I see the Type 9s play is in customer service roles. There’s nobody better in customer service than a Type 9. You get an angry customer on a call, the Type 9 will just knows how to calm them down, understand their perspective, and then make sure their needs are met. It’s almost like magic. They’re just great at that, and they go into other service-type roles where they can work with people and help them solve problems in a way that reduces conflict.

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

Filed Under: Enneagram, Leadership, Motivation

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