Page 118 - Using the Enneagram System to Identify and Grow Your Leadership Strengths and Achieve Maximum Success

Strive for Self-Mastery 95

CHART 3.10 (Continued) Nines: Levels of Self-Mastery

Descriptions
discovered a major theft ring and, after many sleepless
nights, had chosen to file a report. Four years later, Heidi
prevailed. From this experience, she had learned that she
was capable of facing conflict head-on. Because Heidi had
faced her biggest fears and had changed as a result, she was
engaged and fully present, and she welcomed conflict as a
way of building relationships.
Moderate self-mastery The Harmonizer
Core concern: Stability, harmony, and being heard.
Nines at the moderate level of self-mastery want everyone to
get along, preferring peace and harmony above all else.
Because of this, they become adept at mediating differences
but are highly anxious when conflict is directed at them.
These Nines lose focus, pursuing activities that distract them
rather than attending to the challenges in front of them.
Nines at this level have trouble asking for what they want,
prefer the predictable pace of routine activities, and act so
agreeably that they often have many friends, or at least many
people who like being around them. They will rarely take a
stand on something they believe in, opting instead to go
along with what others want.
Example: Brad was a capable and conscientious engineering
manager, able to steer important projects through to completion.
When controversy arose among members of his project team,
Brad would listen at length to the individuals involved and then
try to mediate. Sometimes the conflicts would gradually fade
away, sometimes they would just go underground, and
sometimes they would escalate into organizational warfare.
When the last occurred, Brad would throw up his hands, as if
there was nothing he could do about it.
Low self-mastery The Sleeper
Core fear: Separation from others, being controlled, and
discord.
Nines with a low degree of self-mastery do not pay attention
to themselves, and they have no energy to pay attention to
anyone else. They ignore even the most life-threatening
problems, refusing to face the most obvious consequences
of their desire to pretend that everything is okay.
Consistently neglectful and forgetful, Nines with low self-
mastery become chronically sluggish and immovable.
However, should they feel pressured to do something they
don’t want to do, they become passive-aggressive, saying
yes but meaning no, or they burst forth with unleashed and
seemingly bottomless fury.
(Continued)