Page 251 - Using the Enneagram System to Identify and Grow Your Leadership Strengths and Achieve Maximum Success

226 What Type of Leader Are You?

“When Paul makes a decision, he does ask for our opinions,
but he is more than willing to make the decision himself.
What is most remarkable is that most of Paul’s decisions are
good ones. He seems to know when he needs to take fast
action and when to take his time. Everyone knows what the
decision is and, just as importantly, why it was made.”

Twos can feel anxious when they initially assume a leadership
role, as they are often more comfortable influencing decision mak-
ers than making the decisions themselves. In addition, Two lead-
ers can become even more concerned when the decision’s risk
level is high and the probability of its widespread acceptance is
low. At these times, Twos can lose all contact with what they feel is
the right thing to do, becoming overly attuned to what others think
of them and feeling anxious about the possibility that people will
be displeased with the decision they make. Twos care most about
the reactions of authority figures and those whom they like or
respect, but they also care about the reactions of those whom they
must lead. Twos believe that if their followers become too frus-
trated or angry with them, their ability to lead will be diminished.
In part, this results from the Two’s belief that people follow lead-
ers to whom they are positively inclined, but it is also a by-prod-
uct of the fact that Twos often lead through building positive
relationships.
For Twos, fully utilizing the analytic (Head Center) and instinc-
tive (Body Center) aspects of decision making is an important
development area. While Twos do use rationality and instinct in
their decision making, these two aspects are usually secondary to
their intuition, which generally comes from their Heart Center. A
Two leader is more likely to say “I feel this is the right thing to do”
than to say either “I think this is the right thing to do” or “My gut
tells me we should do this.”
The following example shows how Paul anguished over a deci-
sion concerning an employee, Greg: