Choice: The Enneagram and Leadership, Part 2
Choice: The Enneagram and Leadership, Part Two
In this fifth issue of OnGrowing, Cyndi and Ellen continue a focus on how applying the Enneagram supports wise leadership.
Cyndi Gueswel and Ellen Robinson co-create a monthly newsletter primarily for our executive coaching clients, past and present. Through this joint venture, we continue conversations about your growth, relationships, and leadership.
Because you matter.
Because how you are in the world matters to those closest to you.
Because all the spheres you influence, knowingly and unknowingly, matter.
Helen Palmer, one of the most highly regarded teachers of the Enneagram, said, “We have two selves, the automatic and the present.”
One key reason leaders study the Enneagram is because we learn to see these two selves and notice when we’re operating as automatic self. This awareness opens a door to choice. The automatic self repeats habitual thought loops and behaviors. But the present self is awake to different choices and possibilities for how to be and show up with others.
Last month, we kicked off a series of three issues focused on The Enneagram and Leadership. The first focused on cultivating your inner observer, a first step for learning to see how your Enneagram type reveals itself through your motivation and focus of attention — patterned ways of thinking and being that impact your leadership.
We ended that issue with this quote: “Awareness precedes choice and choice precedes change.” In this issue, we focus on one specific dimension of the Enneagram where awareness brings choice. This dimension is known as our vice: a way of operating that is self-defeating.
Looking at vice takes us a layer deeper into the Enneagram, toward a pivot often referred to as the “vice to virtue conversion.” In this issue, we aim to clarify “vice” in the context of leadership and look at common pitfalls and concrete choices that support a wiser way of being.
Vice operates right under the surface. Yet until leaders learn about the Enneagram, we are often are blind to the vice, how it shows up, and choices available once we see it more honestly.
Consider this example. One of our clients – a member of a leadership team at a small firm that designs adult education – leads with Type 4, whose vice is envy. In the context of the Enneagram, this does not mean he is overtly jealous; rather, it indicates the Type Four tendency to focus on what is missing.
This leader collaborates with colleagues frequently. One way the vice of envy shows up is that he falls into a habit of comparing himself to others during meetings. Rather than staying connected to the purpose of the conversation, he finds himself listing his deficiencies compared to one or more people in the meeting. (“I’ll never have her chops at technology,” or “Why didn’t I see that gap she just brought up?”) He notices a tightness in breathing and a tendency to look up and away with his gaze. He feels mentally disengaged. His ability to listen and participate drop. The costs of this pitfall include a drain on his focus, emotions, and confidence.
Now aware of this habit, he is practicing catching himself sooner in these moments of “comparing mind.” He refocuses: first, on taking two slow breaths; then, on the conversation at hand.
Here’s a table that gives an overview of vice for each type: how it can show up, a common pitfall, and a choice leaders can make to shift out of automatic.
At this point in learning about the Enneagram, many people balk. It can feel challenging to look inward and make sense of these big, loaded words.
For example, almost every leader I’ve met who leads with type Two has said some version of, “Pride? That doesn’t make sense; I’m not prideful. In fact, I'm overly focused on the needs of others, and pride makes it seem like it’s about me.” Yet over time, most Twos come to see that some of the help they offer is unasked for, and others may experience their help as an imposition, or a subtle message of, “I know what’s best for you.” That’s where the pride comes in. Once able to see it, those who lead with type Two often realize they are “over-doing,” and have an opportunity to distribute leadership and become more intentional about how they spend their time.
Noticing and inquiring into one’s vice is painful… and, it’s worth it. Why? Because what you see gives you choice.
Yes, the vices are ugly. Yet if you can stick with the discomfort of seeing vice in action, you can grow beyond it. You’ll never “shed it.” It’s part of your personality. However, you can grow beyond vice. True leaders take seriously the goal to continuously develop into wise, compassionate humans as well as to meet business outcomes.
We invite you to practice moving away from automatic self and toward the intentional choice available in present self by engaging in this self-observation practice. Enjoy this simple yet deep exploration, and let us know what choices open up for you!
We’ll conclude our Enneagram arc next month with a focus on why and how leaders reconnect with qualities of essence. Stay tuned…
Seeing the Vice in Action
The practice here is to see the vice at work, to “catch yourself in the act,” and recognize you have the opportunity to choose:
Do you want to stay on automatic and let the vice drive you?
Or will you see it, name it, and make a choice that goes beyond the familiar, automatic habit of your type?
Schedule a 30-minute conversation with a colleague you trust who shares your interest in the Enneagram. We suggest you both do the practice so it’s a two-way conversation.
Discuss:
What is your core Enneagram type, and what’s the vice for that type?
What are two or three ways the vice shows up for you in the realm of leadership?
How do you experience it in your body?
In terms of your leadership, what’s the “cost” of your vice?
What’s a choice you would like to focus on? What would you like to do differently as a leader, and why?
How would your ability to shift benefit the people and work you lead?
Quotes
“Choice, and the lucidity to make choices, is where the real magic lives. “
- Toko-pa Turner
“I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.”
- Emily Dickinson
Deeper Dive
We hit some key points about vice, but this is a robust topic. If you’d like to go further, explore Nine Lenses on the World, by Jerome Wagner (the key reference we used for this newsletter).
Some questions we offer in this practice come from Sandra C. Smith of AlchemyWorks, who consistently serves as a wise Enneagram mentor. We recommend all of Sandra’s offerings.
Erlina Edwards, Board President of The Narrative Enneagram has served as a key thought partner about the Enneagram vices and virtues. Both are trusted sources for deeper exploration.
Click here to download a PDF of this newsletter.