Page 76 - Using the Enneagram System to Identify and Grow Your Leadership Strengths and Achieve Maximum Success

Drive for Results 55

Enneagram Style Sevens

Enneagram Style Seven leaders tend to be vision-
ary, flexible, innovative, and strategic. The Seven
leader includes others and encourages their par-
ticipation in most steps of a project, from the ini-
tial thinking and planning phase to the assessment
of final results. Once Seven leaders grasp what is required for the
success of a project—which usually occurs in a nanosecond—they
are ready to move quickly. Whereas Five leaders can be described
as Ready, aim/ready, aim, Seven leaders can best be described as
Ready, aim, fire, fire, fire.
Although Sevens are rarely at a loss for ideas, Seven leaders like
input from others and become energized by brainstorming various
ideas and possibilities. They like to motivate others (and to be moti-
vated themselves), and they enjoy problem solving, as long as the
obstacles do not seem insurmountable and they feel that they have
enough authority to get things done. As many hours as they work,
Sevens do their best to keep the work environment lively and stim-
ulating, both for themselves and for everyone around them.
Here’s an example of how an exemplary Seven leader provides
the necessary support as his team drives for results:

Terry never thought of himself as the incredible leader that
he in fact was. His greatness came from his belief that
everyone could achieve remarkable results, and he had an
endless capacity for self-development. He understood the
relationship between excellent results and the need for
leaders to continually work on themselves so that they can
serve as conduits for organizational excellence. To this end,
Terry provided a clear vision, a deliberate but flexible
strategy, well-formulated goals, and an array of training and
development opportunities for those who understood the
importance of developing themselves both as leaders and as
human beings.