Susan DrummCEO Advisor & Executive Coach | Leadership Change Agent

What Cognitive Diversity Actually Looks Like in a Meeting #shorts

19 May 2026 · 1 min

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1:02

In this short presentation, Susan Drumm illustrates how real cognitive diversity manifests in a product‑launch meeting by assigning classic Enneagram personality types to participants. She walks through each type—8 (visionary leader), 7 (creative spark), 6 (risk‑aware skeptic), 1 (detail‑oriented perfectionist), 3 (image‑focused achiever), and 9 (peace‑keeping mediator)—showing the specific contributions they make: the 8 drives vision, the 7 injects bold ideas, the 6 flags potential failures, the 1 catches costly errors, the 3 ensures market leadership perception, and the 9 smooths tension. Drumm argues that while the interaction may appear chaotic, the mix of contrasting thinking styles prevents blind spots, avoids costly mistakes, and leads to better decision‑making. Without such diversity, decisions are made from a single perspective, increasing the risk of missed opportunities and trouble.

Chapters

Let me paint you a picture. Imagine your company is launching a new service. Here's how that meeting goes when you've got real cognitive diversity. The Type 8 is laying out the vision and barking orders. The Type 7 interrupts with a flash mob marketing idea. And the Type 6, uh, well, here are 7 ways that that could fail. The Type 1 is waving a printout saying, uh, there's a typo on page 3. The Type 3 wants to make sure the launch makes us look like the industry leader. And the Type 9 is quietly diffusing tension before chairs start flying. Now, does this sound chaotic? Yes, but here's the magic. The 6 saves you from a costly mistake. The 1 saves you thousands in reprinting, and the 3 ensures you shine in the market, and the 9 keeps the meeting from turning into a cage match. Without that mix of thinking styles, you could end up with blind spots, and you make your decisions from one angle, and that's when trouble and missed opportunity slips through.