"I now understand that my constant striving for perfection is a subconscious attempt to make the world a better place. And I'm beginning to learn how to embrace imperfection as a new path to growth."

Your Journey Starts Here:

How does the Enneagram work?

The Enneagram works by identifying your core personality type through tests, introspective evaluation or coaching. Tests ask questions about your behaviors, emotions, and thought patterns. Each of the nine types on the wheel has specific traits that influence how you interact with the world around you, both positively and negatively.

Beyond identifying your core type, the Enneagram system also explores "Enneagram wings", “Enneagram TriCenter Types”, “sub-types” and "levels of development." These aspects further explain how you might react under stress or in comfortable situations, giving you a complete roadmap for personal growth and self-improvement.

What are the wings in the Enneagram wheel?

In the Enneagram system, wings refer to the two types adjacent to your primary type on the Enneagram diagram. Each person’s primary type can be influenced by one or both of these adjacent types, adding nuanced layers to their personality. For example, a Type 4 can have a wing of Type 3 (4w3) or Type 5 (4w5), or sometimes elements of both.

Wings help explain variations within a type, providing a more detailed and dynamic picture of an individual. They can influence behaviors, motivations, and coping mechanisms, leading to richer and more personalized insights. Understanding your wing can offer additional clarity and depth to your Enneagram exploration, enabling more targeted personal growth and development.

What is the Enneagram triad?

The Enneagram triad, also referred to as centers of intelligence, divides the nine types into three groups based on their primary ways of interacting with the world: the Emotional (Heart) Center, the Intellectual (Head) Center, and the Instinctual (Gut) Center. Each triad has its own strengths and challenges.

The Heart Triad (Types 2, 3, 4) processes through emotions, dealing with shame and seeking validation. The Head Triad (Types 5, 6, 7) engages via thinking, grappling with anxiety and seeking security. The Gut Triad (Types 8, 9, 1) operates on instinct, focusing on control and dealing with anger. Understanding your triad helps address emotional patterns and behaviors.

How Does The

Enneagram Work FAQ

What is the Enneagram TriCenter?

The Enneagram TriCenter concept expands on the primary triad system to provide a deeper understanding of how individuals process the world. Each person uses three centers of intelligence—Emotional (Heart), Intellectual (Head), and Instinctual (Gut)—with a dominant, a supporting, and a repressed center. The dominant center guides primary responses and behaviors, while the supporting center provides additional strengths, and the repressed center can lead to challenges. Understanding TriCenter dynamics fosters balanced personal development, encouraging the use of all centers for greater emotional, cognitive, and instinctual harmony.

What are the Enneagram subtypes?

Enneagram subtypes are variations within each of the nine main types, influenced by three instinctual drives: Self-Preservation, Social, and Sexual (One-to-One). The Enneagram expert Mario Sikora calls these "instinctual biases" and names them "preserving bias," "navigating bias," and "transmitting bias" - an approach also better suited for the corporate world. Each type has three subtypes, creating 27 variations in total. These subtypes add depth by offering detailed insights into behaviors and opportunities for personal growth, making them particularly useful for understanding relationship dynamics and facilitating professional development.

What are the Enneagram levels of development?

The Enneagram levels of development describe nine internal states within each of the nine personality types, divided into healthy, average, and unhealthy categories. At healthy levels, individuals exhibit their best qualities. For instance, a Type One (The Reformer) at a healthy level displays integrity and ethical behavior. At average levels, they may become more rigid or stressed.

At unhealthy levels, behavior becomes more exaggerated and dysfunctional. A stressed Type One might become highly critical or suffer from perfectionism. Understanding these levels provides insight into personal growth and challenges, offering a roadmap for development and self-improvement. This framework helps people manage behavioral patterns and navigate personal or interpersonal conflicts.

What are the Enneagram lines of development?

The Enneagram lines of development are represented by the 9 lines forming the Enneagram's 9-pointed star. They illustrate interaction patterns under different circumstances for each type, showing stress (disintegration) and growth (integration) behaviors. For instance, a Type 1 (The Reformer) may exhibit Type 4 (The Individualist) traits when stressed, becoming withdrawn and moody, while under growth, they take on Type 7 (The Enthusiast) traits, becoming more spontaneous and joyful.

Each of the nine types has both an integration and a disintegration line, totaling 18 lines of development. Understanding these pathways helps individuals recognize growth and stress patterns, providing a roadmap for personal development and self-awareness.

Certified by Industry Experts

Enneagram Keys Assessments, Course Programs, and Coaching have been developed with certifications from:

"I now understand that my constant striving for perfection is a subconscious attempt to make the world a better place. And I'm beginning to learn how to embrace imperfection as a new path to growth."

Your Journey Starts Here: