The Enneagram

Before we begin the article, here are some opportunities to experience the power of the Enneagram with the Upbuild team:

What is the Enneagram?

The Enneagram is a framework that illuminates our inner world. It helps us understand our gifts, insecurities, motivations, and blind spots. It helps us to empathize with others so that we can best connect with them, best serve them, and best work with them. It is therefore a powerful tool for personal and professional development.

At its core, the Enneagram framework distinguishes the true self from the ego. We define the self as who we actually are deep down. We define the ego as the identity of who we think we should be. The ego is what prevents us from experiencing our true self. The Enneagram helps us become more aware of our ego so that we may live as our true self. 

There are nine basic personality Types in the Enneagram framework (the name “Enneagram” means nine-pointed figure). Every individual is one of the nine Types. Our primary Type is the most essential element of our personality. It is our lens on the world through which all of our thoughts and experiences are filtered. When we see and understand the subconscious and unconscious parts of ourselves, we gain a powerful lever to make positive change. What we can see, we have freedom over. What we cannot see has power over us. 

How is it different from other personality frameworks?

Frameworks such as Myers-Briggs (MBTI), DISC, and the Big Five aim to identify patterns based on observable behaviors. The Enneagram goes much deeper by illuminating the fears and motivations behind the behaviors. It reveals the 'why.' This is the most powerful piece because if we want to change our behaviors, we must understand what causes them. The Enneagram is also uniquely powerful in its focus on development and transformation. Unlike other frameworks in which identifying one’s type is the end point, the Enneagram is intended to be a tool for ongoing growth. The Levels of Consciousness is the dimension of the Enneagram that serves as a roadmap to show us where we are, where we want to get to, and how we can get there. 

The Levels of Consciousness

When people come across the Enneagram, the first expression of excitement is almost always directed towards a desire to know one’s own Type. Typing correctly is critical if we want to derive the fullest benefit of the framework, but it is only one step in a much larger journey. 

The most important dimension of the Enneagram is called The Levels of Consciousness.* Consciousness, in this context, means awareness of our inner workings as well as the reality outside us. The more aware we are, the healthier we are. The less aware we are, the unhealthier we are, as our insecurities are likely in the driver’s seat. The way we especially think about the Levels of Consciousness at Upbuild is as a measure of how identified we are with the ego versus the self. At lower Levels of Consciousness, we are more identified with the ego. At higher Levels of Consciousness, we are more aware of our ego and more identified with the self.

The Levels of Consciousness is an infinite spectrum but can be divided into the following three broad categories:

  • Creative. We are more aware of our insecurities and are striving not to let them be the driving force of our actions. We have more freedom to choose what we do and how we show up in order to benefit our real self and others. This level is characterized by serving and growing.

  • Controlling. When we are not seen the way we want to be seen, it doesn’t feel good. It brings up fear, shame, and anger. At this level, we start controlling others and our environment to get validation. Our insecurities dictate our actions. This level is characterized by proving and defending our ego identities. It is the level of consciousness where most of us spend the vast majority of our time. Our teachers Don Riso and Russ Hudson at the Enneagram Institute call this the Average Level of Consciousness.  

  • Destructive. We become completely self-absorbed and closed off to the world by the pain of not being seen as we think we should be. We are stuck in an escalating cycle of not feeling in control and trying to gain more control through actions that give us less control. This level is characterized by attacking and isolating. 

The Levels of Consciousness

The Levels of Consciousness is so important because it gives the Enneagram framework purpose and explains the dynamic nature of the human condition. It explains how and why a person can behave so differently at different times, and it explains how two people of the same Enneagram Type can behave so differently (e.g., Putin and MLK, Jr. are both Type 8s; Nelson Mandela and Osama bin Laden are both Type 1s). It also reveals the framework's purpose because it shows us a path to growth. 

For most of us, we spend almost all of our time in the Controlling Level, where we are reacting to situations based on the desire of our egos. In order to rise up into the Creative Level, we need to take responsibility for our ego’s craving of validation and our controlling tendencies. In fact, the paradoxical nature of the Creative Level is that the more we see our controlling tendencies, the more we rise to the Creative Level. It is a long journey to be able to consistently stay in the Creative Level, and yet, in just an instant, we can actually reach there.

Critically, the Levels of Consciousness is not secondary to the nine Types. The nine Types are really nine different paths to achieve a higher Level of Consciousness. 

Can you be more than one Enneagram Type? Can your Type change? What is the Wing?

We have only one primary Type and that Type does not change. That which uniquely makes us who we are throughout our lives is always preserved at the core. However, the way it’s expressed through our behaviors can change massively, depending on our level of awareness, our environment, the people we surround ourselves with, and many other external factors. We do have the energies, fears, and desires of all nine Types in us, and so we naturally relate to all of them. But the most revelatory thing is to understand which one is dominant. The fears and desires of our dominant Type underlie all the other fears and desires we possess.

In addition to the primary Type, each of us has a secondary Type, called a Wing. The Wing is always adjacent to the primary Type. Therefore, if you are a (primary) Type 7, you could have either a 6 Wing or 8 Wing. The Wing is a powerful influence on our personality as there are major differences between people of the same Type with a different Wing, including the degree of introversion or extroversion.

Ways to identify Type

Although there are many ways that we use to identify one’s Type, in our experience of bringing the Enneagram to countless individuals and organizations, these three stand out as the most consistent and helpful:

  1. The Basic Fear. Each Type is driven by a core fear which shapes their worldview and influences their behavior. This fear dictates the decisions they make and how they interact with the world. There are nine Basic Fears, and each of us has all nine in us, so they're universal, but one of them governs the others. We have to become detectives to figure out which one runs deeper than the others. 

  2. Trajectory in Consciousness. What happens when one feels insecure? Depending on the Type, there are different patterns and defense mechanisms that show up at different Levels of Consciousness. We behave differently when we are feeling secure and when we are being challenged. When we recognize these patterns, we see that this is really the story of our life. We can find our Type especially by looking at the behaviors and defense mechanisms at the Controlling Level because that’s where we spend most of our time and it’s where we are more locked into the strategies of our particular personality.

  3. Body Language: Our team likes to make a game of trying to identify Types in the New York City subway system, where we can see the Types come alive just by observing people. The Types are energies. These energies are expressed through the body, and hence each Type has its own distinct body language. Observing the physical manifestations of the Type’s energy often provides the most reliable clues to one's Type. 

The Nine Types

Let’s now meet the nine Types of the Enneagram in a nutshell:

Type 1 – The Moralist

In one sentence: I want to be aligned with what’s right and to have people align with my sense of right.
Essence Qualities: goodness, sacredness, purity

Basic Fear: being bad 

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: prudent, principled

  • Controlling: self-righteous, fault finding

  • Destructive: guilt-instilling, punitive

Body Language: upright, uptight

Famous 1s: George Harrison, Greta Thunberg, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Osama Bin Laden

Type 2 – The Helper

In one sentence: I want to be the most loving person and have people depend on my love for them.
Essence Qualities: tenderness, sweetness, warmth

Basic Fear: being unable to love and be loved enough

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: unconditional, nurturing

  • Controlling: flattering, hovering

  • Destructive: smothering, stalking

Body Language: open, inviting, leaning in, gushing

Famous 2s: Fred Rogers, Sally Field, Stevie Wonder

Type 3 – The Achiever

In one sentence: I want to surpass all limits on what can be realized and live for the applause.
Essence Qualities: glory, value, hope

Basic Fear: worthlessness

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: authentic, adaptable

  • Controlling: chameleonic, attention-hungry

  • Destructive: sabotaging, plagiarizing

Body Language: polished, poised, confident, driven

Famous 3s: Barack Obama, Beyonce, Elizabeth Holmes, Joe Biden, Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Tiger Woods

Type 4 – The Individualist

In one sentence: I want to be my deepest, authentic self, distinguished for my unmatched profundity.
Essence Qualities: originality, depth, beauty

Basic Fear: losing my true identity

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: unique, profound

  • Controlling: snobbish, melancholic

  • Destructive: petulant, hopeless

Body Language: reflective, shy

Famous 4s: Bob Dylan, Frida Kahlo, Johnny Depp, Kesha, Michael Jackson, Prince

Type 5 – The Investigator

In one sentence: I want to immerse myself in knowledge and be depended on as an expert without any emotional expectations of me
Essence Qualities: clarity, illumination, objectivity

Basic Fear: ignorance

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: curious, scrutinizing

  • Controlling: eccentric, reclusive

  • Destructive: caustic, doomsaying

Body Language: reserved, in my own world, highly cerebral, silent intensity

Famous 5s: Albert Einstein, Andy Warhol, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Burton

Type 6 – The Loyalist

In one sentence: I want to be the most responsible person but struggle to trust myself and others.
Essence Qualities: courage, alertness, devotion

Basic Fear: everything falling apart 

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: courageous, down-to-earth

  • Controlling: suspicious, micro-managing

  • Destructive: paranoid, polarizing

Body Language: just a regular guy/gal, nervous, cautious, eyes darting around

Famous 6s: Ellen DeGeneres, George W. Bush, Larry David, Sandra Bullock, Woody Allen

Type 7 – The Enthusiast

In one sentence: I want to experience the thrill of life at every moment and run away from emotional pain.
Essence Qualities: joy, gratitude, freedom

Basic Fear: being forced to deal with the pain of life

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: free-spirited, avid

  • Controlling: restless, non-committal

  • Destructive: manic, rash

Body Language: carefree, jovial

Famous 7s: Britney Spears, Jim Carrey, Joe Rogan, Miley Cyrus, Robin Williams, Sacha Baron Cohen 

Type 8 – The Challenger

In one sentence: I want to feel myself extremely strong and suppress my weakness.
Essence Qualities: fortitude, aliveness, majesty

Basic Fear: being shut down and violated 

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: magnanimous, strong

  • Controlling: armored, bossy

  • Destructive: raging, predatory

Body Language: commanding, powerful

Famous 8s: Chelsea Handler, Donald Trump, Harriet Tubman, MLK, Jr., Vladimir Putin

Type 9 – The Peace-Seeker

In one sentence: I want to find peace and be in harmony with everyone, overlooking negativity.
Essence Qualities: wholeness, unity, flow

Basic Fear: losing my world of internal peace

Trajectory in Consciousness:

  • Creative: easygoing, synthesizing

  • Controlling: disengaged, procrastinating

  • Destructive: passive-aggressive, listless

Body Language: gentle, pulled back, agreeable 

Famous 9s: Rosa Parks, James Taylor

As stated earlier, we all have the energies of all nine Types within us. They’re like the primary colors of personality and we will naturally relate to all of them. But there is one that is most authentically us. One that is most influential on our way of viewing the world and engaging with it. The three ways of identifying Type in the previous section offer a highly effective approach to understanding and identifying one’s Type. They require observation, introspection, and a willingness to explore deeply and honestly. As Richard Rohr – the spiritual teacher who wrote one of the earliest books on the Enneagram –  says, though no Type is better or worse than any other Type, when you find your own, you'll think it's the worst Type. Because you’re intimately familiar with the suffering of the Type and you feel exposed.

Obstacles to typing correctly 

In our experience, there are three main forces that cause mistyping:

  • Our ego’s resistance to reality. No matter how “objective” we try to be about ourselves, due to social desirability, we tend to see ourselves the way we want to be seen in the eyes of others, and even more so, in our own eyes. We’ve repeatedly observed people choose the Type that sounds better to them and makes them feel less exposed. We all have a lot more controlling and destructive behavior than we care to admit, and it takes honest and sincere introspection to be able to see that. 

  • Our preconceived notions. People often discount the Type that’s really theirs because they associate it with people who embody it more loudly than they do. Also, people tend to assume diversity of Enneagram Types within their groups, when in fact, they may be drawn to a particular group or organization or level of influence because of their Type. In other words, unbeknownst to us, we might be self-selecting, left surrounded by our Type.

  • A casual approach to the Enneagram. Enneagram tests are an easy answer for people who just want someone to tell me – what’s my Type?! And to do so in the shortest amount of time. Most people, and especially most organizations, love this. And it’s fun, right? But given the complexity of the Enneagram, the complexity of us, and the element of social desirability, the tests give results that are directional at best, and often misleading. At Upbuild, with the thousands of people we have come across who have used a test to type themselves, we haven’t found them particularly helpful.

Typing ourselves responsibly

Having the following mindset positions us best to type correctly:

  • Desire the full truth. 

  • Recognize that if you don’t feel exposed at all, it’s likely not your Type. 

  • Muster the courage to accept yourself and walk through the shame of being your Type.

  • Care not to jump on a Type prematurely, nor to “keep an open mind” when your Type is staring you in the face.

  • Be ready to get it wrong and always be learning.

Working with a professional coach who has years of expertise working with the Enneagram is also something that we highly recommend. See the additional resources section at the end of this article for more details.

Wrapping up: what do I do with this knowledge?

Once you have discovered your Type, it marks the beginning of the journey with the Enneagram, not the end. Insight without application brings little change.

One of the most immediate and impactful steps you can take after identifying your Type is to begin catching yourself when operating at lower Levels of Consciousness. In our Enneagram Foundations Podcast, we offer one specific takeaway for each Type, called “The Practice,” designed to foster growth. This practice helps us become experts in our own consciousness and gives us greater freedom from the whims of our ego. 

While some may expect the Enneagram to provide quick and definitive answers about personality and behavior, its true benefits emerge through long-term engagement. The Enneagram is not a shortcut or a solution but a framework. It is a guide for self-discovery that requires patience, reflection, and active participation to uncover its full potential.

The Enneagram is also a powerful tool for tracking personal growth. By observing how we shift from less healthy patterns (Destructive and Controlling Consciousness) to more integrated and adaptive ways of being (Creative Consciousness), we gain tangible evidence of our progress. This journey is deeply motivating, as it reinforces self-awareness and cultivates intentional growth.

In professional settings, knowledge of the Enneagram can enhance teamwork and communication. By understanding the perspectives and motivations of different Types (and people of the same Type), team members can tailor their communication to better align with the needs and preferences of their colleagues, leading to more effective collaboration and reduced workplace conflicts.

Ultimately, when we understand what’s really going on inside, we begin to recognize viable alternatives to our controlling behaviors. We also begin to see what's going on inside others, which builds empathy and freedom to act in more thoughtful, beneficial ways. It makes us honest, humble, and sincere in our personal progress, as well as more available to genuinely connect with others, rather than hiding our vulnerabilities. The Enneagram calls us to take responsibility for our inner workings and the fears that drive us, while also empathizing with those same struggles in others. This is the journey it invites us to take, a journey toward greater self-awareness, compassion, and connection.

And yet, the Enneagram is not the end of the road. While it helps us understand and take responsibility for who we are not (our ego), ultimately, we will need spiritual practice and spiritual inquiry to help us understand who we truly are.

Additional resources to support you on your Enneagram journey?

* The Levels of Consciousness was first defined by Enneagram Institute founder Don Riso in the 1970s and further developed by Riso and his partner Russ Hudson in the 1990s.

Appendix

The following appendix provides additional context on the roots of the Enneagram

The Enneagram has its origins in different wisdom traditions and has been integrated with modern psychology over the last 75 years. The word Enneagram comes from Greek with ‘ennea’ meaning ‘nine’ and ‘gram’ meaning ‘figure.’ In the early 1900s, the Armenian-Greek spiritual teacher G.I. Gurdjieff introduced to the modern world the iconic Enneagram symbol and the wisdom that crystallized around it. In the mid 1900s, Bolivian-born scholar Oscar Ichazo connected nine personality Types to the Enneagram symbol based on his extensive studies of ancient philosophy and modern psychology. Ichazo’s student, the Berkeley psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo, built on this work with his own realizations and our teachers Don Riso and Russ Hudson, among many other profound contributions, established the most pivotal Levels of Consciousness dimension.