Page 105 - Using the Enneagram System to Identify and Grow Your Leadership Strengths and Achieve Maximum Success

82 What Type of Leader Are You?

CHART 3.5 (Continued) Fours: Levels of Self-Mastery

Descriptions
Moderate self-mastery The Unique One
Core concern: Feeling significant, feeling special, and finding
meaning.
With a moderate degree of self-mastery, Fours can be either
dramatic or reticent as they seek meaningful relationships
and authentic conversations. They can also be quite
imaginative, transforming their inner experience, anguish, and
search for meaning into artistic expression. Their
conversations are frequently self-referencing, with excessive
use of words such as I, me, and mine; telling of prolonged
personal stories, and redirection of conversations to
themselves. Constantly comparing themselves with others to
determine whether they are superior or deficient, these Fours
have difficulty being self-accepting. Yearning, moody, and
sometimes melancholic, they can also be reflective,
empathic, and gifted.
Example: Nancy was the author of several excellent books
on self-development and was considered highly creative. Yet
no matter what she created or how much self-reflection she
did, Nancy never felt satisfied. She often wondered: Will I
ever be happy?
Low self-mastery The Defective One
Core fear: Being intrinsically defective and completely
disconnected.
Fours with low self-mastery are bitter, depressed,
emotionally volatile, hypersensitive, and self-absorbed, and
they feel deeply wounded by anything they perceive as a
slight or a rejection. Unable to extricate themselves from
their negative self-perception, they can become tormented,
deeply ashamed, alienated, rageful, withdrawn, or highly
aggressive, accusing individuals in particular and life in
general of intentionally harming them. While they may
express themselves in a variety of artistic forms, their art
has a tragic quality from which there seems to be no
escape.
Example: Jonas was such an envious person that
whenever anyone else was the recipient of an award, was
promoted, received attention in a group, or even was
spoken of positively, he would become highly agitated and
then either do something to draw attention to himself or
criticize the other person. Because it was clear that these
behaviors annoyed and offended others, Jonas became
increasingly sullen, withdrawn, and intermittently
aggressive.