Page 113 - Using the Enneagram System to Identify and Grow Your Leadership Strengths and Achieve Maximum Success

90 What Type of Leader Are You?

CHART 3.8 (Continued) Sevens: Levels of Self-Mastery

Descriptions
find it difficult to focus and carry tasks through to completion.
Energetic and playful, when confronted about something they
have done that is less than stellar, they will reframe the event
by portraying it in positive rather than negative terms.
Example: Many people seemed to like and enjoy Charles and
to appreciate many of his insights and ideas. However, they
also wondered why his response to a serious or difficult issue
was usually to make light of the issue or to tell a joke, as if to
refocus the conversation on something less intense, thereby
minimizing its importance.
Low self-mastery The Frenetic Escape Artist
Core fear: Pain, deprivation, and not feeling whole.
At the lowest level of self-mastery, Sevens are so consumed
by anxiety that they alternate between manic behavior
(hyperactivity to an extreme) and depression. Joyless and
prone to causing scenes, these Sevens are perpetually
fleeing from self-reflection and looking around to see whom
they can blame for their circumstances. Feeling cornered and
trapped, they engage in self-destructive or self-defeating
behaviors.
Example: Although Sherri was bright, talented, and full of
ideas, she created havoc in the team she managed. She did
not provide adequate performance expectations for her team
members, was too busy to train them, did not take the time
to develop adequate work plans, and ran her team meetings
with inadequate guidance. In her mind, everyone was equal,
and she should not act like a boss; she felt it was important
for everyone, including her, to give voice to criticisms of the
organization. After Sherri’s boss had received numerous
complaints from the team members, her boss gave her
straightforward feedback about these issues. Sherri’s
response was to create a series of confrontations with her
boss in the office, to reprimand her team members, and to
increase her criticisms of the organization, repeating them to
whoever would listen. In the end, Sherri was fired.

Development Stretches for Sevens

LEARN TO LISTEN FULLY TO OTHERS After you have had a conver-
sation with someone, ask that person these questions: What per-
centage of the time were you talking, and what percentage of the