Discovering Your Type
Self-Typing
It’s important to discover your Enneagram Type for yourself. We don’t believe others should tell people their Type. Recognizing your Type is a valuable process of self-observation and self-awareness so there is no advantage to short-circuiting this step. Some people get their Enneagram Type right away while others may not be certain for a while – there’s no hurry. Having said that, of course discovering your own Type is an important step to working with the Enneagram and we have a few suggestions.
Read and Self-Observe
You can probably narrow your Type down to a few just by skimming the nine type descriptions on this site. Reading about all the types is an enjoyable approach that will familiarize you with the whole system and give you insight into what type others like friends and family might be.
Get a feel for the whole Enneagram, narrow down your choices and observe yourself in real time. For example, there are three assertive types- do you tend to be an assertive person?
What glasses are you wearing?
In particular, we think it is helpful to observe where your attention is pulled in any situation. Each Enneagram type has a “focus of attention”- where their awareness tends to be drawn.
We usually assume others are seeing the same reality we are seeing and it can be a great revelation to learn that this isn’t true. Our personality is a lens we see and interpret the world through- and there are nine different lenses. Imagine you are wearing a pair of glasses- one of nine possible pairs. Observe your own focus of attention as you find yourself in various life situations.
Here is a list of the nine pairs of glasses or the nine different ways the focus of attention is pulled by the personality:
ONE - doing things right, what needs fixing
TWO - relationships, other people's needs or how to help
THREE - being successful, accomplishing
FOUR - being unique, feeling something is “missing”
FIVE - ideas, figuring out how things work
SIX - potential risks, what could go wrong, being safe
SEVEN - what’s next, future plans and possibilities, fun
EIGHT - being strong, being in charge, not being controlled by others
NINE - conflict, wanting harmony
Example Scenario
Nine people are sent to a workshop by their employers. They don’t know each other. It’s the first morning session and they are hearing about a ropes course activity they are going to be doing. Here’s an example of what they might each be thinking and feeling:
ONE - this isn’t well organized, they didn’t even do introductions, they shouldn’t be starting with such a hard activity, this isn’t right (feeling critical)
TWO - people seem nervous and I am too, that woman over there has a cane, she won’t be able to do this, maybe I can pair up with her (feeling empathy)
THREE - how can I win at this activity, be the best (feeling energized and competitive)
FOUR - everyone else can do this, the group is gelling already and I don’t belong here (feeling sensitive and not fitting in)
FIVE - is there a reason for a ropes course? what are we supposed to be learning from this? Doubt we will learn anything (wanting to be back in the office working on some important task)
SIX - this doesn’t look very safe, they don’t look experienced, do they have the right equipment? (feeling worried, will keep group safe)
SEVEN - this will be fun, I’ve always wanted to do a ropes course, I wonder what else we will be doing today (feeling enthusiastic)
EIGHT - I could run a much better workshop, these are just flaky woo woo types, I’m going to speak up soon (feeling like taking control)
NINE - this looks hard, people seem upset, I don’t like this tension, I hate when they try to get us pumped up (feeling reluctant, wanting to go home)
Tests
If you want to get started by taking a typing test, we suggest the RHETI on the Enneagram Institute website (cost is $20). Remember that such a test just points you towards your own self-typing.
For a free quick alternative, try the Quest Assessment — a short two-question exercise to help narrow down your type.
We also offer a typing interview that will assist you in discovering your Type in a very personal way. Click here.
