EP371: Enneagram 101 - Cracking the Enneagram Code - A trip thru the 3 Centers of Intelligence

Okay, I know you may have heard.

About the Enneagram or someone told you.

You need to know all about it.

So here you are.

But what the hell do you do with it? Great news.

You are in the right place. Lead with the Enneagram is the show where you will actually learn how to use this incredible growth tool and apply it in all areas of your life, personally and professional. Hi, I'm Tracy and to be honest with you, I was a skeptic of the Enneagram before I started to actually integrate it into my life. In fact, in true enneagram 8 style, I told my therapist to F off when she wanted me to dive into.

It well over a decade ago.

Now that I have more than a decade of experience using the Enneagram and working on myself in my family with those closest to me, building my own bulletproof leadership, sales teams with one on one clients, couples, leading workshops for top Fortune 100 executives, and speaking to large audiences all across the globe about this powerful tool. I've got the proof and deep understanding.

Of how to help you implement this.

Into your life instead of it just being some fun thing you heard about. The Enneagram can be a complex model, but with me as your guide, I will show you how to first lead yourself in a powerful, effective and compassionate way and then help you lead others that way in your life as well. This podcast will have powerful conversations with guests, live typing sessions, and as well as solo episodes of breaking down dynamics of the Enneagram and how they impact your life, career and relationships. So now let's dive in.

Hello and welcome back to Lead with the Enneagram, the podcast and I am your host, Tracy o' Malley and it is time for one of your favorite kinds of episodes. You guys love the enneagram101 episodes where I give you information about the Enneagram and then on Thursdays we drop the integration episode. Whether it's through somebody for the Enneagram hotline or an industry expert that I know, loves and utilizes and integrates the Enneagram in their life. And today is kind of the most important part of the Enneagram. It's how honestly, I got really, really skilled at understanding who was in front of me and becoming a more effective leader and communicator. And this is if you know nothing else and care about learning nothing else about the Enneagram, this is the most important part of understanding. Because I was on a call today with I did a partner session if you didn't know. I can do partner sessions, whether it's like a couple business partners and one of the partners was saying, like, yeah, I like the Enneagram, but, you know, I am more than just my type. And I'm like, yes, absolutely you are. And when I went into explaining about the tri type and how we do use all three centers of intelligence, this is usually where the magic of the Enneagram happens. And this is where emotional intelligence comes into play and really, really strong critical thinking. And this is also where we explore the fascinating world of, you know, the Enneagram and its impact on our personalities and our behaviors and how we show up in the world. You know, the Enneagram, if you are new to this, is a personality system that identifies, you know, nine different ways in which we view the world. And I will say this again, we are more than just our Enneagram type, however. Where our core motives are and where our core fear is, resides in this. And that doesn't change, right? But it's within the other centers of intelligence that we kind of move through life. But understanding your core Enneagram type and the default center of intelligence that you go into first will help you make sense of why you do what you do, why you make the decisions you do, why you communicate the way that you do, and then learning how to move through the other two centers that aren't your default in a way that allows you to be better critical thinker and like I said, a little more emotionally intelligent. And this is also how you start to really get to be a more curious individual, where people will start to feel your heart, especially when you use this tool in integrity. And this is what I did for five years before I ever uttered the word Enneagram to anyone, including my children, the people that I was leading, right? I never said, hey, take this Enneagram test, or hey, what Enneagram type are you? I got very masterful at at least narrowing down what center of intelligence this person defaulted to. Now, what are the centers of intelligence? Right? You might be asking. Well, when I said we have these nine different perspectives in which we view the world, and for each of us, there is one that we go to by default. It's our natural God given wiring. And also, the way that gets expressed in the world is kind of the nature and nurture thing, right? And those nine different perspectives are grouped into threes, and three types fall into each center of intelligence. The 8, 9 and 1 are in the instinctual center. The 2, 3, and 4 are in the feeling center, and the 5, 6, and 7 are in the thinking center. Now, we're human beings, and obviously logical understanding of human beings is, yeah, we use our head, our heart and our instincts. Right. And where we default to, depending on where your core enneagram type falls. And if you don't know what that is, I highly encourage you not to take one of those free online assessments and not to take even one of the paid ones. If you know and you've been following along or if you're intrigued by the Enneagram, Having the right information is really, really important. So you can go get your blueprint. Today I have an assessment that is over 95% accurate. And this will allow you to move through your framework and integrate this beautiful tool in life a lot more efficiently, effectively. And it's like the fast pass to personal growth when you know the right information and how to integrate it. So you can go to Tracey O' Malley.com for more information on that. Now back to the centers of intelligence.

So when you have the three centers of intelligence, and wherever your core enneagram type falls, like I said, is where you default to. Now, within that center of intelligence, there is a general core motive. Now, how each of those three types within the center of intelligence goes about it is very, very different. For example, in the gut or instinctual center, like I said, is the Enneagram 8, the Enneagram 9 and the Enneagram 1. Now, like I said, this is the instinctual center. And these three types are driven by their instinct and the what is happening now? Right? It's why the eights and the nines and the ones are really good in kind of like a crisis or very tactical. Right? But they all three of these types are more motivated by a desire for control, justice, independence, autonomy, and some form of peace. Now, what that means to an 8, 9 and one can absolutely look very different. But if you can, like understand that all three of these types of are motivated by that and you are more crafty and curious with your questioning, you're going to understand if this person is driven by that. For instance, an 8 goes about independence, autonomy and control by being strong. Now, again, you can't just go off behaviors. And this is the thing in the Enneagram, when people fall in love with the Enneagram, you start like trying to type people. Please don't get more curious, honestly, because it usually takes about 6, 6 questions to get to the root of somebody. And just saying what motivates you, that's not going to do it. Okay, now how a 9 goes about independence, autonomy and control and justice is by creating harmony within and in their environment. And how A1 goes about independence, autonomy, control, justice, and peace is through righteousness. But at. At its general level, it's still that motive. You can't dangle a carrot, a carrot in front of any one of these three in the instinctual types by saying, if you do this, you'll win something. They really don't care. Now, if the prize is independence, autonomy, control, injustice, you might be speaking their language. Now, in the heart center of intelligence, the feeling center of intelligence is the enneagrams, types 2, 3, and 4. And if you fall in this center, or if you know somebody that is in this center, they are primarily, again, primarily driven by their emotions, their feelings and significance and connection. Right? Now, how twos, threes and fours go about that is very, very different. It's some form of significance. These are the types you dangle a carrot in front of and you might get their attention. Now, what that carrot means to each of them is very, very different. But you can tell when somebody, if you're curious enough and you ask questions to listen, not to respond or react, you're going to understand when you've landed here. Now, twos find their significance by what they do for other people. They're motivated. Their significance comes by being loved and appreciated. Threes find their significance and what they do, what they achieve or how they appear in the world. Also significance, right? How fours go about having significance and validation is by this internal thing, like, what am I here to do? Who am I? Am I unique? Right.

Now, you might think that just because they're driven by emotions, they're all over a place. And if you know anything about the enneagram and if you go by just behaviors, you might see twos and fours more external with their emotions. But like, if you know the threes, they don't look like they feel a lot of emotions because they're so busy doing. The thing is, is all three, these types make decisions and process things through their feelings. Now, how they show that to the world, like I said, can be very, very different.

Now, the thinking center or the head center, this is where we have home for the Enneagram. Types 5, the Enneagram type 6, and the Enneagram, Enneagram type 7. And this center revolves around thinking and overthinking. They automatically go into, what do I think about this? Where the feeling centers, what do I feel about this? And the instinctual center is what do I need to do about this? The five, six, and sevens go to what do I think? About this. And this is where they make their decisions and process information. This is how they communicate and all types of those things. Now, all three of these types are motivated by a need for certainty. And certainty is their main driver. They're forward thinkers, right? What could happen? What could happen. So their need for certainty is very, very important. It's the main motivator for all three. Now, how all three go about it is very, very different. And what they believe certainty is, is very, very different. Fives need certainty that they have knowledge and information and resources. Fives or I'm sorry, sixes need information and certainty that they're not going to be blindsided, that they have worst case scenario all figured out. Sevens need certainty that all options are available to them and that their freedom and choices are intact and that nothing is compromising that.

And again, going off just behaviors can have you mistyping people in your head. Now why is this the most important part of understanding the Enneagram? And if you know nothing else, if you understand what is the core motivator here? And you know, like, hey, I've got somebody that's driven by significance. When I was building my sales organization that has over a hundred thousand people in it today, and I have built very strong leadership in that organization. And you know, my top leaders, there's like seven that, that maketh the most of those sales organizations, right? They're the different pockets in that sales organization. What I love about that statistic of those seven people is that there are six different Enneagram types represented and not one is an Enneagram eight like me and not one of them did. I put an Enneagram test in front of and say, okay, I need to know what you are. I got really good at figuring out what their main fear was, their main motive was and spoke to that. And I didn't need to know their Enneagram type. Obviously, the more I got to know them, the more I could narrow it down. Because once you know the center of intelligence, you kind of know you're working with one of three different Enneagram types. But focus on the center of intelligence and you'll get better and you'll be a more effective communicator. And this goes for your children too. I get asked a lot about parenting and the Enneagram and I know I've got a book in me for children and also for parents somewhere in here. But even when I was first exposed to the Enneagram and I realized, oh my gosh, I have two kids and they're not Eights. I immediately knew I had one kid in the feeling center, and I knew I had one kid in the thinking center. And ironically, I'm in the instinctual center. So the cool part is, is my household represents all three centers of intelligence. I knew very quickly, you know, the more I got curious about my own children, I can narrow down where they fell. And you know, now true, 12 years later, I was 100% accurate. And so I want you to get more curious and play this game with yourself. Like, make it your mission not necessarily to go around saying, oh, my God, what's your enneagram type? Cause you'll drive people away from it, and it's kind of the lazy way, honestly. Now I'm just saying I want you to hire me and bring me into your teams and organizations because this streamlines the process. It's like I said, the fast pass. Once you have the accurate information. But in general conversation and general leadership, when you can narrow down the center of intelligence, this makes all the difference in the world. Now, next level, enneagram integration, which I'll do another enneagram101 episode on the tri types, because this is where all three centers of intelligence come into play for you as an individual, for people that you love, people that you lead. Because when we know where we land and what we dominate in the other centers of intelligence, this is also why you could have two of the same type and even the same instinct instinctual type next to you. But if they have different ways that they dominate in the other centers of intelligence, this makes a lot of sense. Also, you might be like, if you just go off behaviors, you might see where somebody dominates in one of the center of centers of intelligence, but it isn't necessarily.

Their main motivator. And you're going to be missing the mark if you don't understand what is at the root of everything that they do and why they do what they do, and if you don't understand their core fear, which is usually when you start to see, like, if they have this looming feeling that their core fear is about to expose or compromise, you're going to start to see behaviors that might resemble a different enneagram type. But when you have a deeper understanding of who they are, what motivates them, and what their core fear is, you'll be able to help them troubleshoot and empower them in ways that build credibility and trust as their leader, whether it's in your home or out in the world and professionally. And you will streamline conflict resolution. You will accelerate transformation Whether it's in your home or in your business, you will have more energetic resources because you're not throwing a bunch of crap up at the wall hoping something sticks. But if you do nothing else, make it your goal to understand these three centers of intelligence. Get better at asking deeper questions that will allow you to do this. Now, it's so funny because anytime I'm reading a book or watching tv, you know, I'm automatically, I do this. And for the first five years, like I said, this was all I was using. I didn't. Like I said, I didn't even talk about the Enneagram. I never mentioned it. I'd never put a test in front of anyone, even though I was using this the entire time. I got so good at figuring out their center of intelligence. And when you know what motivates somebody, they're more likely to trust you, they're more likely to pay you, they're more likely to find you credible and refer you when it comes to business. So this is a beautiful way to get to be a better leader, a better parent, a better partner. And also you'll learn a lot more about yourself in the areas that you need maybe to open up your mind to different perspectives in the way that you operate. Whether you're a type 8 in the instinctual center like me, or a 3 in the feeling center, or a 5 in the thinking center, recognizing not only your core motives, but understanding the other eight types of motives or the other two centers of intelligence will allow you to grow and develop as a individual, as a leader. And I encourage you to explore your own Enneagram type. Obviously, like I said, the fastest way to get the most accurate information is not through those online assessments that are free or even paid. I encourage you if you are somebody that is like growth minded and you're intrigued and love this tool, or somebody brought you here because they're like, oh my gosh, you're going to love the Enneagram. You're like Tracy and the way she talks about it. Go get your blueprint. You'll have the right information, and then the rest of the framework will allow you to really tap into it. But in the meantime, your homework is to start trying to figure out what center of intelligence the people in your life fall into, and then get more curious and dig a little deeper. I'm super grateful for your time that you spent here with me. I know that you can choose millions of different podcasts and even multiple different Enneagram podcasts. And I appreciate the fact that you spend your time here. If you are loving this, please, it means the world to me that you leave a review if you feel inclined to. And if you are a podcast person yourself, like I go around reviewing podcasts because I want, you know, I can't ask you to do something I'm not willing to do. So if you have your own podcast, you absolutely should go and review and write a review and give stuff, stars, whatever you see fit for other people's podcasts. It's how, you know, we get what we want in this world. And also that's, you know, we walk our talk when we do this. I love the Enneagram. I love you. Enneagram101 episodes will be continued to be dropped on Tuesdays. And the integration, what we actually do with this beautiful information is what we talk about on Thursdays. Whether it's me, a hotline question.

Or an industry leader somewhere out in the world that I have fallen in love with. And if you want to be a guest on the podcast and you want your questions answered on the Enneagram hotline, we, we do that with people who have gotten the blueprint and I've had thousands of people do their blueprint. So, you know, we want you to get on that list. If you're somebody who loves the Enneagram, go get your blueprint. And if you want to be on the hotline, all you need to do is apply@traceyomalley.com and maybe we'll hear you on the airwaves at a later date. In the meantime, I love you and wishing you so much love and transformation in your life.

I'm so happy you enjoyed the Leadership Formula Podcast.

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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 at traceyomalley. You can also find additional resources on my website@traceyomalley.com I'm excited to lead you.

Into the next level.