How the USA’s Enneagram Type Assists or Thwarts You!

The Enneagram is a system of understanding yourself and others. Basically it lists nine types of personalities, identified by number so as to insure neutrality. This system is further complicated by the relationships numbers have with one another and the three universal sub-types or variants—self-preservation, sexual and social.

It turns out that countries have dominant enneagram types, and sub-types. France is a Four culture, Canada is a Social Nine, and the USA is a Social Three.

Let us look at what the role of the dominant culture means to the spectrum of individuals within that culture, who naturally represent all the possible types. We will limit our discussion to the United States of America, with an easily recognizable Social Three type, but the method is equally applicable to other cultures and subcultures within the dominate culture.

What does a Social Three dominant culture mean? The Social variant means that the expected way of being in the US is for people to be social, not the intensity of the sexual type (also called one-to-one ), or the hermit-like style of the self-preservation style. This Social variant is most easily recognized in the Presidential election season where every candidate needs a full “social” calendar and is expected to spend most of the day interacting with groups of people!

What does the Three mean? Three culture is one of personal achievement, picking oneself up by one’s bootstraps, salesmanship , self-promotion. An example of an individual with this style is the actor Tom Cruise, who is always a Three, but especially his role in Jerry Maguire.

Each type has a natural connection with some other types and two types with no connection. Since type Three is our dominant culture in the USA, the way Three interacts with other types plays out in individual’s roles in the larger society. Let us go through the nine types to see which are advantaged and which are not.

As a type Three culture, type Three is in the privileged position. Type Threes are living the national myth of self promotion and achievement. If you are a type Three in this culture, you are directly and positively connected to the national story and myth.

Type Three as two possible wings—the adjoining types. Type Two, the Helper, is advantaged as part of the community spirit of volunteering and helping others, as the wife and helpmate, as the one who makes the whole work. The other wing, Type Four, is the artist. Here we have entertainment, especially music, television and film, as major national economic systems and major exports. We value our type Fours.

Three’s direction of integration is the type Six, the Skeptic or Loyalist. The positive side of Six is the patriot, who sacrifices for the common good. But there is a downside to Six in our culture, the Tea Party, Arian Nation, Gun Rights combination of extreme isolation from the mainstream and from the world community.  Timothy McVeigh would be an example of this version of Six.

The direction of disintegration is type Nine, the peacemaker or mediator. At its best, we have the Marshall Plan, international diplomacy, peaceful multi-cultural neighborhoods. But there is again a downside. The Nine can manifest as the lazy, the welfare nation, those who are expecting (rightly or wrongly) to be supported by others.

We have now explored type Three’s connection to four other types: Two, Four, Six and Nine. Together they are five of the nine types. Each type has a fascination with its two opposite types. For Three these are Seven and Eight. Type Seven is the adventurer, the explorer, the bon vivant. The US culture admires type Sevens, holding them up in literature, television and movies. Think of Lewis and Clark and their expedition to explore the Northwestern part of what is now the United States.  The downside of type Seven is the addict, and we have plenty of people who are addicted to fame, sugar, alcohol and drugs.

Type Eight is also an object of fascination for the Three. Eight is the Boss, the Director, the Master. We need our strong heroes. Consider the adoration of winning Generals in times past: MacArthur and Patton and Eisenhower, Grant and Robert E. Lee! The downside of the powerful Eight is the crime lord: Al Capone would be an example.

We now have two types that are not directly connected to type Three: One and Five. These two types are less at home in American culture. They are almost always seen as their negative stereotypes, not their positive expressions. Type One is the Perfectionist, the Purist, the Saint. Ones are seen as their negatives in the religious extremists of American history, who have lives of simplicity, purity and little commerce. Consider the Salem Witch Trials as an example. Type Five is the Theoretician, the Scholar, the Scientist. Fives are not highly regarded in our culture, as seen in much popular culture with the Mad Scientist as a stock character. They are nerds, and crazy or evil scientists.

How does understanding the USA’s Social Three type help us understand the world? The downside of the Three is the Self-Aggrandizer who has little or nothing to promote. We are seen as loudmouthed people who lack much depth, but expect to always have the leadership position. Countries of other types will each seen us differently, with some more inclined to our favor than others. The innate connection between Three and Nine, for example, explains the natural alliance of the USA with Canada. Countries with strong One or Five cultures would be less swayed by our press releases.

For individuals knowing the dominant culture tells us how we can make our way. The dominant culture is Three. How does our type connect with Three? Two types are particularly disadvantaged in a Three culture: One and Five. These types are best isolating themselves in a subculture that honors their type, with links to the main culture through appropriate types that can bridge the difference.

Other types will find themselves cast in particular roles, as their type is seen by Threes. It is helpful to understanding that assignment, if not necessarily to limit themselves by it.

Understanding a country’s enneagram type is very helpful to individuals immersed in that culture and to other countries and their understanding. 

I hope this has assisted you in understanding yourself and your culture.

Lalia

How Important is Type?

The Integral Model of Ken Wilber postulates five independent variables: state, stage, line, quadrant and type. Type is frequently overlooked by Integralists as being “obvious,” yet it is overlooked by Pluralists, Rationalists and Traditionalists for other reasons.

Pluralists tend to disown any hierarchy, any difference of ability, in the big illusion that we are all “equal.” Ken Wilber speaks a lot about that fallacy, so I’ll only mention here that being equal means having human DNA and deserving respect and dignity in treatment by society. It says nothing about a person’s ability to contribute to society, or whether he is so blocked by lack of intelligence, health, or training, that his ability to contribute is limited.



Rationalists, when they ignore type, see people as needing only good educations to bring them all to the same level. Certainly a good education is useful for all, but it will not make an individual with a proclivity for logic and spatial awareness into a superior linguist, nor his verbally gifted sister a good mathematician.



Traditionalists see individuals as needing to follow a common moral path. If only… everyone followed the One True Way, they would all turn out to be good.



Type, that way of differentiating humans (types apply in all systems , but I’m focused on humans today), explains differences left when you have individuals at the same state, stage, line development, quadrant perspective… They are still not the same. Among type systems, male-female is one that continues to be useful. The Myers-Briggs system also explains differences. Astrology would be another system, in use from ancient times. But the enneagram is a system that Ken Wilber upholds, so it is what I will use here.



I recently offered an Enneagram training to a local organization with which I’ve been associated for fifteen years. My offer was declined for two reasons. One was expressed by several people who had had Myers-Briggs trainings at work and felt that the system was used to pigeon-hole individuals and to justify holding them back in their advancement. Another reason came down to this: that classifying individuals made some into worker bees and others into queen bees, and thus got people out of their fair share of chores!



To ignore type is to fail to optimize any human system! Type is vitally important. If you have an organization (and families are organizations) that has varied enneagram types, why would you not recognize and capitalize on that? Each type brings strengths to the table. No type has everything, although any type at the highest level of consciousness and health will be highly functional in most situations.



Let us examine some types and how they can optimize or destabilize an organization.



Type One, the Perfectionist, is assertive and constantly looking to make things better. Perfectionists never seem to think things are at their best, and are always ready to offer suggestions or criticism, whether solicited or not. Perfectionists do make systems better. They can make themselves unpopular in the process.



Type Two, the Helper, is warm, friendly and wants to help you. Helpers jump right in and take some of your load. They follow directions and follow other’s leadership. Helpers can lose their own selves in the process of submerging themselves in a family or organization. They also may blind themselves to the big picture.



Type Three, the Achiever, is dynamic and focused on performing. Whatever the field, the Achiever is working to succeed. Dynamic goal-seekers, Achievers are many times the leaders of families and organizations. Yet they are not known for stopping to think or to smell the flowers along the way.



Type Four, the Artist, lives in a world of creative impulse. Highly emotional, Artists need to be faithful to their muse. This impulse is rewarded by society at large, and frequently misunderstood and deprecated by personal contacts.



Type Five, the Scientist, lives in a world of reason. Logical, constantly examining the world of objects and ideas, Observers can lose touch with the human community entirely. Yet Scientists’ abilities to focus on things and abstractions make modern life possible through technological developments we all use.



Type Six, the Skeptic, lives in a world of suspicion. They make good reporters and advocates, wanting to personally verify the facts before making commitments. Skeptics, also known as Loyalists, are good allies to those who have earned their trust. Once a Skeptic has made a judgment regarding a person, place, thing or idea, though, changing his/her mind is unlikely to happen.



Type Seven, the Adventurer, lives in a world of excitement and optimism. Adventurers are naturally drawn to the new and exciting, and tend to ignore the tried and true. Adventurers bring fresh air to any gathering, as they are out-going, optimistic, and always have new adventures to share. On the downside, Adventurers dislike the same old routine.



Type Eight, the Boss, takes charge. Driven to control all that surrounds him/her, Bosses have one way, their way, of having the organization run. Human feelings take last place in the world of tasks. In any survival situation, Bosses are the people who can act quickly and see the big picture.



Type Nine, the Peacemaker, sees all perspectives. Peacemakers are slowly absorbing the vibrations of all the individuals and the facts, too. They will take into account contributing factors that include heart, mind and body. Yet their dislike for confrontation will make them hang back and fail to contribute or follow-through.



Clearly there is an organizational niche for each type. Some types have more flexibility in their ability to contribute. Some organizations preferentially seek and need certain types.



What is your type? How are you best able to help the planet evolve?



Lalia