Page 69 - Using the Enneagram System to Identify and Grow Your Leadership Strengths and Achieve Maximum Success

48 What Type of Leader Are You?

Besides his positive feedback, Robert also received the follow-
ing negative feedback:

• Stories, though interesting, often go on too long at
meetings
• Makes another manager the butt of some of his jokes
• Takes oppositional ideas personally
• Keeps his group too insular
• Communication with those outside his group needs to
increase
• Needs to solicit more input on engineering designs
• Needs to manage poor performers better; doesn’t want to
hurt these people’s feelings
• Needs to plan and schedule more systematically

Development Stretches for Fours

FOLLOW YOUR MIND AS WELL AS YOUR HEART Most Fours tend to
look at their own inner experience and feelings first and then use
their analytical function to make sense of their reactions. They also
have a tendency to overemphasize the feelings of others—for
example, structuring work or job responsibilities around some-
one’s preferences rather than around what’s best for the organi-
zation. The key is not to ignore your own and others’ personal
experiences, but rather to use your objective reasoning in con-
junction with your sensitivity.

GIVE PEOPLE WHAT THEY NEED, NOT WHAT YOU THINK THEY NEED
While being empathic and sensitive to others is a strength, it is
important to differentiate how you might react in a given situation
from how the other person actually feels. The best way to do this
is either to ask others directly how they feel or what they want, or
to tell them what you imagine they want and then solicit their con-
firmation or disconfirmation. In addition, don’t withhold negative
feedback from people for fear that they may be hurt by it or get