EP228: The THREE Subtypes of the Enneagram SEVEN (SERIES): Giving You All the Goods on the Enthusiastic Visionary

Welcome to the Leadership Formula podcast, where you will learn the secret sauce behind achieving massive success. I'm your host, Tracy o', Malley, multimillion dollar entrepreneur, your Enneagram expert, master performance coach, and mom to millennials. Do you want deep, meaningful relationships, to wake up every day with purpose and make money doing something you love? Well, you've landed in the right place. Every week, I will teach you how to get exactly what you want in life by strengthening your emotional intelligence. Using a combination of the Enneagram framework, live life coaching sessions, and real talk from yours truly. It's time to transform yourself into the ultimate leader of your life.

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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Leadership Formula podcast. And we are continuing the series. We are to the Enneagram 7, the enthusiastic visionary on the subtypes of the Enneagram. And the subtypes are like the secret underground part of the Enneagram that not a lot of people talk about because it adds complexity, complexity to it. Even some of the best information teachers out there don't know a lot about it. So I wanted to bring to you the power of the Enneagram subtypes. And today we will focus on the seven. And I've said this before, like, if. If you are even somebody that is familiar with the Enneagram, you may not be very aware of these. I like to tell you that, you know, you've heard me say that 65 to 70% of the time, the Enneagram online assessments are inaccurate and the instinctual variance otherwise, as the subtypes are next to trauma. The number one reason why artificial intelligence is amazing, y'. All. And like, thank God for the interwebs and all these beautiful tools to help us kind of break things down. The Enneagram is a definite blend of nature and nurture with some learned coping mechanisms that sometimes, unfortunately, artificial intelligence can't really pinpoint certain parts of this. And so why I think it's really important to bring the subtype information and integration to you is because if you are loving the Enneagram, but something's not landing right, you're not quite sure how to integrate. Maybe like the online assessment gave you a type and you've been rolling with it, but it's not quite making sense and all the pieces aren't fitting together, the subtypes are probably why and it's the subtypes. This is our instinctual response to life that is kind of when life happens. Our learned experiences where these take over and we use all three of These instinctual variants in Enneagram Land, there's three of them. But how they stack in our personality can change. And that's also why you can have two, let's say, Enneagram sevens right next to each other, and they can appear totally different. A lot of times people will chalk that up to different wing usage. There is a little element of truth to that that is more of, like, sparkle and expression. The subtypes, the instinctual variants, is like, when life happens, what do we think about? Okay. And depending on what Enneagram type you are, that will change. Okay. What I usually like to say to people is because this is like the master's program part of the Enneagram Land, like, understanding thoroughly the subtypes, it can feel like, oh, my gosh, like, this is a lot of information. Forget about it. I'm not gonna do it. Trust me. It was probably about five years into my Enneagram journey that I had first heard of it. So I really want you to understand. I get it. What I'll usually tell people is if you are hearing about the Enneagram, you're falling in love with it, you're seeing other people use it, you're, like, totally, like, raising your hand, saying you want to know more about it. Start with the centers of intelligence. Those are the three centers of intelligence. We use all three, and then there's three Enneagram typ within the centers of intelligence. But if you just understand the centers of intelligence, the way that you effectively communicate will drastically change. Like, just knowing that that's where I started, and then understanding the nine basic Enneagram types, that will help you even more distinguish. Once you have a center of intelligence that you've nailed down, breaking it down even further. And then once you know Enneagram types, then you can kind of take it to the next level with these three. So things operate in threes in Enneagram Land. And so I wanted to kind of give you a blanket overview of what the subtype instinctual variance looks like. Depending on the teacher, the information you're reading. Sometimes they'll be called instinctual variants. Sometimes they'll be called subtypes. For this knowledge, I'll just call them subtypes. Just so you know, because you have your Enneagram core type, then there's the subtypes, not to be mistaken, with wings or your growth or stress number. There's a next level here. So the three subtypes within each Enneagram type. So if you've got an Enneagram one, there'll be three different kinds of ones, There'll be three different kinds of twos, There'll be three different kinds of threes. And today we're talking about the seven. So we're going to be talking about the self preservation seven, the one on one seven and the social seven, all rooted by the same motive. But sometimes how they express and where their natural instincts go when things go really good or when things go sideways based on their subtype. This is why a lot of times you can have a different expression of two of the same Enneagram types right next to each other. And within each of these core Enneagram types and their subtypes, there'll be one of the subtypes that doesn't quite look like the other. And that one, like if you fall into the counter type within an Enneagram type. That usually is often when mistyping happens. And that's why it's great to have a guide like me. You know, you can absolutely take this journey on your own and run with it. Just know that it's going to take time. It's going to be way more than just plugging some answers into an online assessment. And boom, there you go. Even the online paid assessments really 65 to 70% of the time. And I've done thousands and thousands and thousands of these and those numbers ring true. So if you're going to go at the solo, by all means, take your time with it, revisit it. Look at the motives always, not the behaviors. The behaviors are usually coping mechanisms that mask the true motive and the true fear behind each of us in our core Enneagram type. The fastest way, if you know that this is a tool for you, and I gotta tell you, in my 22 years of personal development and the 10 last years of using the Enneagram, it is absolutely hands down number one, next to my faith, the greatest tool I have in my toolbox. I use it in all areas of my life, personally and professionally. And you know, now teaching thousands and thousands and thousands how to integrate it in their businesses and and personal lives. It's beautiful to see how this gets integrated into their life. So definitely, if this is something you want to explore further, go to tracee omalley.com, the work with Me section. You can do an Enneagram typing session where we will get it right for sure. We will also nail down your subtypes so you will know that as well. You will know how to utilize the beautiful wings that are accessible to you and understanding how to powerfully use your growth number and the stressor number, because you can use that not just in a negative, stressful way, but you can also learn how to use that number in a positive way. And that all gets covered in the 90 minute session where you will never feel more seen, more heard and more understood and valued ever in your life. It is a very powerful time. Not sure how much longer I'm going to be doing it, but I am working on something so that I can serve more of you. But if you know you love the Enneagram and you want to use this in all areas of your life, take the time, make the investment and spend 90 minutes with me. I've got your back. All right, so the self preservation subtype, and this is like a blanket overview within all nine of the types. Real quick. The self preservation, when life happens, kind of their natural instinct is what's going to happen to me. Okay, we each have a self preservation instinct, so we do use this. But how it stacks within your Enneagram type may vary depending on who you are. Okay, if you have a self preservation instinct, you naturally go to preserve your body, your life and effective function. The self preservation instinct therefore focuses on physical safety, well being, material security and comfort. Anxiety or stress may combine with that instinct to drive you to conserve or hoard energy and resources in response to demands from the environment or other people. Now again, we all use that, but if it's your main one, like that's where you go when, when things happen. Usually within these three subtypes, one will be a dominator, one is a secondary, and one's kind of our blind SP spot. The goal is the more healthy you get, the more that you can flow between the three of these instincts. And I gotta say for myself today, I do flow pretty evenly through the three. But in my earlier years I would say I was probably hardcore self preservation. Now I reside in the one on one subtype mainly and the one on one subtype. When life kind of happens. Their first instinct is what's going to happen to us, like me and my people, my very, very close, small inner circle. So this is where yours truly goes. So if you are a one on one type subtype within your Enneagram type, you have a drive to project yourself into the environment, to form alliances and extend yourself through generations. Either literally by passing on your DNA or even more symbolically, by passing on ideas, leaving a legacy. The one on one instinct focuses on the intensity of experiences and one on one relationships, driving you to actively seek out opportunities that promise strong Energetic connections with others. And then we have the social subtype. So when things happen, they think, okay, what's going to happen to we as the collective, the big group, the larger picture, like that's where they first go to. So if you are a social subtype within your core enneagram type, you have that social instinct to get along with others and form secure social bonds that brings a focus on interactions and relationships with communities and groups and a high social awareness, awareness of norms and status levels in groups. The social instinct focuses energy on working towards shared purpose of the greatest good. Okay, so like I said, you stack all three within your core enneagram type. One will dominate, one is a secondary, and one is usually a blind spot. How I reside today, mainly I'm one on one with a close second to self preservation. And social is more of my blind spot. It's my last instinct out of the three. And that might change depending on your situation, but the way that you instinctually respond to life can change, but your core enneagram type does not. Okay, so today we're breaking down the seven, which is the enthusiastic visionary. They fall in the thinking center of intelligence. So they are motivated by a need for certainty for the enneagram 7. They want to be certain that all the options are available to them. They want to be certain that they will never be put in a box. That you know, at any time they can change their mind, pivot. They love adventure, okay, and sometimes they get a bad rap of not being focused and all over the place a little too much, a little too this, a little too that. But they seriously are what makes, you know, innovation possible. They are the big thinkers that anything's possible kind of people. And, you know, understanding how they instinctually respond to life can really allow you to bring out the best in yourself if you are an enneagram 7, or how to bring out the best in the 7 that you love or lead. So the self preservation 7, they are kind of like the key NETWORKERS. This energized 7 is a great networker gathering a family of close supporters and motivated by wanting the best for everyone. They love the good things in life and may risk becoming self interested and pleasure seeking. The self preservation 7 is generally good at getting what they need to have fun and feel safe, but may also be good at rationalizing and defending whatever they want to do. So the self preservation seven, they're kind of like the keepers of the castle, right? They're people who express their gluttony because that's the vice and the passion of the seven is gluttony. So the three sevens each represent a different way of expressing that passion. The self preservation finds security through a gluttonous search for pleasure, satisfying opportunities and a network of allies. So they typically collect around them a kind of family network in the sense of banding together, creating a good group. They rely on those that they trust. There's an element of self interest in the alliances the self preservation seven makes that can be denied by someone with the subtype. Sometimes they're not even aware of it. The self preservation seven are very practical and good at getting what they want and finding a good deal. They tend to be opportunistic, self interested, pragmatic, calculating and very good at networking. They have many close relationships and that's something that they view as an investment, kind of like putting money in the bank. The Self Preservation 7 is a person who readily recognizes opportunities for creating an advantage. So in this way, the gluttony, the passion of the seven expresses itself in an excessive concern to make a good deal at every opportunity. And they always have their nose to the wind to sniff out a good deal. There are a few conversations that don't lead to business of some kind. So the self preservation isn't necessarily all about like the fun party. The self preservation is a little bit more reserved, maybe more savvy as far and probably want to be taken more seriously than the other two types. The other two types really enjoy being like the center of intention. The Self Preservation 7 is cheerful, talkative, with traits that can kind of have this mysterious side to them. They're pleasure loving, they're fun to be with, but they tend to be disconnected from their emotions and may look out for their own self interest, sometimes at others expense. The self preservation, there is this polarity between them. The idealism of some of the other sevens and the lack of idealism in the self preservation 7 where like the 1 to 17 is like they're fascinated and very idealistic. The self preservation one is a little bit more into the actual reality of things. Self preservation 7. They stand out as a combination of a love of pleasure and self interest. In contrast to the evasion and the more concreteness of the 1 to 17 and the helpfulness of the social 7. The self preservation 7 can appear maybe a little more self absorbed. Okay, so if you are a self preservation 7 or you are working or leading one or raising one, self preservation can move toward sobriety, which is the opposite of gluttony. And I don't mean like sobriety from a substance but like knowing that everything they have is within them and they don't need to seek anything outside of themselves. So a self preservation 7 can move towards that through observing and owning self interested motivations and opportunistic tendencies and noticing how self interested behavior and the habit of downplaying feelings may impact relationship and larger goals. Okay, the one on one seven, like I said, they're more into fascination. They're the dreamer. They're the big dreamer of the Sevens. The romantic, the idealist. The one on one seven sees reality through a rose colored filter. They're connected to the possibility in everything. Their enthusiasm and optimism may seem unrealistic, realistic or naive as they tend to believe in the good in everything and everyone and they want the world to be more than dreary and dull and may embellish reality. And they dislike relationships that have become boring and predictable. Right? So the 117 channels that gluttony into an idealistic search for the ultimate relationship and the best imaginable experiences. So like big time dreamers. Okay, the one on one subtype are gluttons for things of the higher world. For idealization. The one on one is very idealistic and can be somewhat naive in contrast to that self preservation seven who is a little bit more pragmatic. The one to one subtype is heavenly and not earthly. Right? This seven. The one to one seven is a dreamer with a need to imagine something better than ordinary reality. This character is more of a light hearted enjoyer. The 1 to 17 is interested in a more highly advanced dimension. They look at the sky as an escape from the earth. The one to one sevens have a passion for embellishing reality, for idealizing things and seeing the world better. Their need for idealization manifests as a passion for viewing life as it could be or as they imagine it to be. So sometimes they can bounce from thing to thing and they can kind of not be focused in reality. This is where that fear of painful things, the 1 to 17 can fall into that by avoiding situations. People with the one to one subtype tend to look at things with the optimism of somebody who is in love, right? Like can't see red flags. Everything looks better when somebody's in love. And the 1 to 17 takes refuge in this kind of positive experience as a way of unconsciously avoiding the deeper emotions that they perceive as negative or unpleasant or scary. The I've been watching the Netflix show Love is Blind, right? It's great and ridiculous all at the same time. And you know, they say that love is blind, but the 1 to 1 sevens may be said to be blind to the same sense that they display a bit too much enthusiasm and optimism and pay disproportionate attention to the positive data in a situation. They have a need to fantasize, a need to dream, the need for the rose colored glasses and a tendency to be almost too happy or too enthusiastic. And this can be seen as an overcompensation. Sometimes it reflects an unconscious desire to deny or avoid the painful or boring or frightening parts of life. They can experience an underlying fear of getting stuck in the darker feelings or stuck in situations that are boring. A typical trap for the 1 to 17 occurs when the frustration of not having or experiencing something gets consciously or unconsciously replaced by a rose colored fantasy which serves as a satisfying substitute. Right? The one to one sevens experience anxiety about the difficulty of engaging in many scenarios at once and having to give up something. My daughter falls into this category for sure. They can tend to be restless and take part in many activities at the same time. And then when they get overwhelmed, that's kind of when they turn into like that black and white, rigid like OCD part of them. Their excitement and anxiety can cloud their perception of reality. And so if you are a 1 to 17 or you love or lead one, how you can work on yourself or help those that are in this category work on themselves, you can move toward the virtue of that sobriety through noticing when you are living in your imaginations as opposed to reality. Now that being said, like they're visionary, enthusiastic, anything's possible gift is their gift. And we don't want to ever put them in a box. But you know, hearing them out and also helping them stay in reality without squashing that beautiful free spirited imagination. But really recognizing when you are in the imagination versus to what's actually real for right now and why you're doing that, observing that tendency to embellish and idealize and exploring the feelings and fears behind these tendencies. Because I know as a seven you don't want to be in the uncomfortable feelings, but kind of really letting yourself go there for a short period of time or a small season will allow your visionary beauty to come to life. Now the social seven and I've told you before, there's one of the subtypes that doesn't typically look like the other. Within each enneagram type and the social one, this is the counter type. So this one sometimes looks a little bit different and they are sometimes mistyped as a Two. Right. So how a Social seven expresses its kind of anti gluttony through being of service to others. Where the other two.

Enneagram Sevens, the Self Preservation 101, can be more self serving. The social one acts against that gluttony that characterizes the seven, tending to mistype with the enneagram too. They are generous and have a strong desire to be of service to create a better world. They will sacrifice their own needs to serve the needs of a group or person they support. And they can be judgmental regarding selfishness in themselves or others. And they hope to be appreciated for their sacrifice. So social sevens represent a kind of pure character who, as the seven counter type expresses like that counter gluttony. They are conscious of not exploiting others. It's as if they can sense the tendency within themselves towards that gluttony and decide instead to define themselves as anti gluttony. If gluttony is a wish for more, a wish for taking advantage of all you can get from a situation, there is a hint of exploitation and gluttony. But the social subtype being the counter type, wants to be pure, wants to avoid being excessive or excessively opportunistic, wants to be good, and so actively works against any tendency they may have to exploit others. The social seven expresses a kind of 5ish ideal. They make a virtue of getting by on less for themselves. They typically give others more and take less for themselves as a way of going against the gluttonous desire. Gluttony is thus difficult to see in the Social 7 because they strive to hide it with their altruistic behavior. This purifies them from their guilt of feeling an attraction to pleasure toward their own advantage. Social sevens take on responsibility in the group or the family, and in doing so express the sacrifice of gluttony for the benefit of others. It's like a postponement of one's desires for an ideal. They are enthusiastic, idealistic visionaries who imagine a better, freer, healthier, more peaceful world. You know, their key name is sacrifice. And sacrifice means a willingness to be of service. It's a sacrifice of gluttony, a relative sacrifice, not the same kind of sacrifice of other kinds of personalities like the 4 or the 2. Social sevens want to be seen as good for their sacrifice, right? They want to be seen as that where the other ones it's more of a selfishness and they kind of go into shame for that. The twos and the fours. Social sevens crave being seen as a good Person as defined by social consensus. While this social 7 is good and pure, this position also has ego rewards, right? Appreciation, recognition, having a good image, reducing conflicts and creating debts and others. The social seven, there's a generalized tendency to adopt the role of helper. This is why they're mistyped a lot of times as a two and to be concerned with the alleviation of pain. A lot of times they help alleviate pain for other people to avoid their own right because of the desire to be of service. Social sevens can look like twos. But while twos focus on other sevens are more are self referencing rather than other referencing and so have more direct experience of their own needs despite the inclination of help. So if you are a social seven or you love or lead one, how you can help them? The people with this social subtype can move toward that sobriety through making their motives conscious when being helpful to others and being more aware of that glutton anti glutton polarity to see how it operates to mask a fear of specific feelings. It also helps them to decriminalize selfishness and notice how conflict and darker motives are avoided and leaning into them and the hard feelings and not sacrificing so much. So you can see where you can have three different kinds of sevens right next to each other and they can all be so drastically different. I see sevens mistyped all the time. All the time happens. A lot happens. Happens because that need to avoid pain, how that manifests in them is very different though motivationally than the other types I see them. Sevens are sometimes mistyped as a seven, sometimes they're a four, sometimes they're a two. Those are usually the three that a two, four or seven are mistyped amongst each other. It happens a lot. So if this is something you want to explore further or you know a seven and they need to hear this information, or maybe you love or lead a seven, you're like, ah, things are making a lot more sense than right now. It would mean the world to me if you shared this episode with someone. If you want to dive deeper into this, like I said, I do enneagram typing sessions. Powerful. 90 minutes. We will nail it. You will have tools to integrate into your life and if you want to be next level with this, you can spend every day for three months having me in your back pocket. Where in real time, in your real life, we dive into all parts of your enneagram type and how this operates professionally, personally, relationally, all the things that is by application only. Again, you can go to tracyomally.com the work with me section to fill out an application. It is an investment of time and your soul and obviously resources, but it is life freaking changing. Seriously. I've had many people that have gone through that experience interviewed on this show and is amazing the things that people have done with the integration of the Enneagram framework in their life moving forward all across the board. As always, I am determined and here to serve you, to help you become the ultimate leader in your life. It is an honor and privilege that you tune in and listen week after week and share this beautiful show so that more people can feel the impact of this beautiful, beautiful tool in their life. You guys grateful and until next time.

I'm so happy you enjoyed the Leadership Formula podcast. Please help us spread the word about this show by sharing it with a friend and leaving a written Apple Podcast review. If you have any follow up questions to this episode, you can DM me directly on Instagram tracymalley. You can also find find additional resources on my website@tracy omalley.com I'm excited to lead you into the next level of your life.