Field guide · The Enneagram at work
Building and maintaining trust through the nine Enneagram types
Building trust is based on many things. We filter general Enneagram type behavior through three lenses: competence, reliability, and motive. Trust is also built by embodying boundaries, accountability, confidentiality, integrity, and non-judgment. It can be developed or broken through our actions, especially through the commitments we make.
Each type earns trust through one lens more naturally than the others, and has to work at another. Below: the three lenses, then every type with what enhances trust and what diminishes it.
The three lenses of trust
Reliability
Trust is built through the perception that I will follow through, deliver consistently, and do what I say.
- Ensures actions (and non-verbals) consistently match up
- Is more precise in making commitments
- Proactively communicates problems and delays
- Regularly exceeds expectations
Competence
Trust is built through the perception that I know what I am doing (or will say when I don’t) and will get the job done well.
- Consistently performs and demonstrates effectiveness
- Looks to help others
- Creates platforms to share expertise and clear communication
- Asks questions and clarifies how the answers determine the course of action
Motive
Trust is built through the perception of positive and sincere intentions while connected and working as a team.
- Honest and believable: says what they mean, shares intentions, owns mistakes, shares important updates
- Connected and loyal: puts the needs of the organization ahead of their own, shows up in a crisis
- Vulnerable and trusting in others: candid in revealing flaws, assumes positive intent
Type 1
The One
Strength: Reliability
Challenge: Motive
Where they earn trust
Work hard to adhere to rules and processes, fulfill expectations, and meet commitments. Communicate with care and precision about deliverables. Admit mistakes. Consistently produce high-quality output.
Where trust gets strained
Behavior characterized by criticism and control rather than openness and vulnerability. Become resentful when things don’t work well. Put a lid on emotions and impulses, so it is hard to connect with them, see good intentions, and address vulnerability. Repressed anger leaks out as micromanaging, judgment, and resentment. Can maintain impossibly high standards of perfection.
To enhance trust
Be on time. Follow rules and procedures. Admit when you make a mistake. Be honest. Provide logical rationales for why you do what you do. Communicate progress toward shared goals. Always do your best. Identify problems proactively. Take responsibility.
To diminish trust
Make mistakes. Resist being held accountable for errors. Don’t act on feedback and constructive criticism. Don’t follow established processes. Don’t obey the rules. Don’t follow through. Behave badly or inappropriately. Be dishonest or unethical. Be inconsiderate of others.
Type 2
The Two
Strength: Motive
Challenge: Reliability
Where they earn trust
Demonstrate empathy and compassion for others. Share feelings and intentions. Prioritize building relationships through mutual support. Well-intentioned and conscientious. Sincere desire to help others. Readily express care and concern for others’ welfare. Bond through sharing personal information. Emphasize teamwork.
Where trust gets strained
Can react emotionally when stressed. May be unpredictable or sensitive. Overextend themselves. Have difficulty saying “no” and making boundaries. Become exhausted by over-giving. Don’t communicate needs. Adjust their presentation, so may appear inauthentic. Fear disapproval. Prioritize based on affection rather than efficiency.
To enhance trust
Be open and friendly. Make a personal connection. Do what you say you are going to do. Meet the needs of others. Appreciate and affirm them. Let them say “no.” Encourage them to express needs. Accept emotions. Be considerate of others and the team.
To diminish trust
Offer excessive negative feedback. Don’t give them positive feedback. Be inconsiderate of others. Don’t listen to or support them. Demonstrate excessive self-interest. Avoid doing what it takes to create rapport. Judge them or their feelings. Don’t follow through on commitments.
Type 3
The Three
Strength: Competence
Challenge: Motive
Where they earn trust
Meet goals. Execute on tasks. Maintain a high level of productivity. Embody the image of a competent person. Appear confident. Excel at sales and presentation. Work long hours. Get the job done. Value efficiency. Exhibit strong leadership ability and competence for others.
Where trust gets strained
Lack of transparency around motives and intentions. Mimic the image of success. May appear inauthentic. Motives shift with goals and settings. Prioritize work tasks over people. Tend to be impatient. Avoid showing emotion. May not know what they feel. Hard to connect to, or to know their real values.
To enhance trust
Demonstrate competence. Work as hard as they do. Support progress toward achieving agreed-upon goals. Help remove obstacles to shared goals. Do things that make them look good. Support team efforts. Maintain a fast pace. Be efficient. Don’t create delays.
To diminish trust
Be slow. Demonstrate incompetence or lack of productivity. Waste their time. Get in the way of their goals. Fail to manage your emotional reactions. Make them look bad. Repeatedly switch goals and directions. Fail to do your part of a collaborative project, or do it badly. Cause or threaten failure.
Type 4
The Four
Strength: Motive
Challenge: Reliability
Where they earn trust
Emotionally intelligent and available. Authentic. Honest, even under adverse conditions. Value and work to develop meaningful interpersonal connections. Willing to express vulnerability. Encourage others to express real feelings. Motivated to create mutual understanding. Support creative collaboration.
Where trust gets strained
Can shift work behavior depending on their emotional state. Can be over-sensitive and moody. Focus on what’s missing. May be emotionally volatile. When triggered, may be hard to collaborate with. Prioritize creative vision over conformity to processes and agreed-upon goals.
To enhance trust
Share your feelings. Understand their feelings as they experience them. Make time to connect. Seek to understand them. Value and affirm them. Demonstrate authenticity. Support work that has meaning and purpose. Appreciate their ability to tell the truth. Value their emotional intuition.
To diminish trust
Don’t take the time to understand them. Actively devalue their emotions. Assume you know how they feel when you don’t. Demonstrate inauthenticity. Dismiss their ideas and creative visions. Criticize them excessively. Pressure them to be someone they aren’t. Disregard their intuitive insights.
Type 5
The Five
Strength: Competence
Challenge: Motive
Where they earn trust
Consistent, competent, and calm. Objective experts. Emotionally steady and knowledgeable. Excel at complex problem-solving. Develop the knowledge base required to get things done well. Insightful, systematic thinkers. Enjoy intellectual engagement. Demonstrate mastery of information connected to the job.
Where trust gets strained
Difficult to communicate with on an emotional level. Resist sharing personal information. Prefer to work independently; collaboration may feel challenging. Need privacy and boundaries. Prioritize data over people. Appear quiet and withdrawn. Can seem mysterious, aloof, or arrogant. Hard to form close working relationships.
To enhance trust
Spell out time frames and expectations clearly. Respect boundaries. Make clear plans. Back up your position with solid information. Explain your thinking. Communicate on a mental level. Avoid showing excessive or unnecessary emotion. Acknowledge expertise. Value knowledge and the ability to access information.
To diminish trust
Don’t respect boundaries. Surprise them. Intrude upon their private space. Make up information. Base decisions on bad information. Make plans without full understanding of the facts. Push for emotions or personal information. Be emotionally messy. Assume negative intent when they are quiet.
Type 6
The Six
Strength: Competence
Challenge: Motive
Where they earn trust
Skilled at problem-solving. Good analysts and troubleshooters. Insightful forecasters of potential difficulties. Ask the right questions to test plans. Calm in a crisis. Knowledgeable and intuitive. Excel at assessing risks and threats. Good at being prepared and creating contingency plans. Loyal once trust is established.
Where trust gets strained
May ask too many questions. Delay action. Express worry and anxiety excessively. Create problems through looking for them. Convey a sense of insecurity and confusion. Project fear outward. Can appear pessimistic. Expect things to go wrong. Overly focused on problems and threats. Difficulty trusting others.
To enhance trust
Demonstrate consistency. Be honest. Do what you say you are going to do. Understand they need time to develop trust. Be patient with their questions. Value their ability to problem-solve and troubleshoot. Give them time to analyze information and evaluate threats. Be diligently trustworthy.
To diminish trust
Keep secrets. Hold back relevant information. Be inconsistent. Send mixed messages. Lie to them. Don’t keep your word. Refuse to answer questions. Get impatient with questions. Get defensive when they poke holes in plans. Dismiss them as pessimistic. Devalue their threat assessments. Take unnecessary risks.
Type 7
The Seven
Strength: Motive
Challenge: Reliability
Where they earn trust
Bring a positive attitude to everything they do and try to inspire positive feelings in others. Display sincere enthusiasm and optimism for projects and relationships. Expect, envision, and create the conditions for team success.
Where trust gets strained
Avoid challenging situations and feelings. Prefer ideas over implementation; executing on details feels tedious. Overbook themselves. Dislike dealing with constraints. Get distracted and lose focus. Have trouble with follow-through and commitments. Overly optimistic; imagination trumps realism. Promise more than they deliver. Future focus prevents presence.
To enhance trust
Value their visions and plans. Be honest. Enjoy brainstorming. Allow them to think outside the box. Appreciate innovation and creativity. Be kind and gentle when discussing negatives. Take their ideas seriously. Support their interests. Avoid excessive limitations. Enjoy their exciting ideas. Let them outsource tedious tasks.
To diminish trust
Confront them with excessive criticism or negativity. Force them to deal with discomfort. Put gratuitous constraints on them. Dismiss their ideas. Limit their options. Tell them what to do. Slow them down. Curtail their ability to think outside the box or enjoy their work. Devalue their optimism.
Type 8
The Eight
Strength: Competence
Challenge: Motive
Where they earn trust
Strong and forceful. Communicate confidence. Fearless in meeting big challenges. Decisive and action-oriented. Natural leadership ability. Work very hard. Protective of others on the team. Express power in moving things forward. Not afraid of conflict or of confronting tough situations.
Where trust gets strained
Avoid awareness of vulnerability and weakness. Overdo strength and become domineering. Appear intimidating and unapproachable. Hard to connect with. May not know their real impact. Over-focus on taking action leads to mistakes. Confuse their subjective view of reality for objective reality. May not acknowledge mistakes.
To enhance trust
Be direct. Say what you mean. Tell the truth. Keep them in the loop. Don’t be afraid of conflict with them. Put requests at the top of your message; don’t make them figure out what you need. Support them in taking action. Hold your ground when they challenge you.
To diminish trust
Hide things from them. Lie. Don’t keep them in the loop. Act weak or take the victim role when your weakness isn’t genuine or warranted. Communicate indirectly. Undermine their authority. Expose their vulnerability. Treat them insensitively.
Type 9
The Nine
Strength: Motive
Challenge: Reliability
Where they earn trust
Connect well with individuals and the team. Easily see different viewpoints. Good listeners. Unselfishly support others. Hear people out and mediate conflict. Emotionally steady and humble. Readily form positive personal connections.
Where trust gets strained
Indecisive. Hard to know or take action on their own priorities. Exhibit passive-resistant or passive-aggressive behavior. Get stubborn when pressured. Put others before themselves. Difficulty being assertive. Say “yes” when they mean “no.” Procrastinate and fail to meet deadlines.
To enhance trust
Be considerate of others. Support the team. Ask them what they want. Hear them out. Don’t overlook or exclude them. Encourage them to say “no.” Make sure they buy in to plans. Don’t disturb the peace unnecessarily. Don’t tell them what to do or pressure them into things.
To diminish trust
Minimize or dismiss others. Create needless conflict. Don’t listen to them. Assume they will adapt to your agenda without asking what they want. Tell them what to do. Manipulate them. Overlook them or leave them out. Make decisions unilaterally that affect others without seeking input.
Trust is built one person at a time
There is no such thing as a team’s trust, only each person’s. That is why our team work starts with each person’s own subtype and only then builds the map of how the group is wired. The free diagnostic takes five minutes; a team workshop takes a day; Emma keeps the work going after both.
Common questions
Every type earns trust through one lens more naturally than the others and has to work at another. Ones, Twos and Fours and Sevens and Nines lead with motive or reliability; Threes, Fives, Sixes and Eights lead with competence. The practical move is to speak to the lens they value: be on time and honest with a One, make a personal connection with a Two, be efficient with a Three, take time to understand a Four, respect boundaries with a Five, be consistent with a Six, take ideas seriously with a Seven, be direct with an Eight, and ask a Nine what they actually want.
Competence (I know what I am doing, or will say when I don’t, and will get the job done well), Reliability (I will follow through, deliver consistently, and do what I say), and Motive (my intentions are positive and sincere while I work as part of the team). Big Self School filters each Enneagram type’s behavior through these three lenses, because most trust breaks on one specific lens, not on “trust” in general.
Hiding things from an Eight. Overlooking a Nine or deciding for them. Not following the process, or not owning a mistake, with a One. Withholding positive feedback or judging feelings with a Two. Wasting a Three’s time or making them look bad. Dismissing a Four’s emotions. Intruding on a Five’s space or making up information. Keeping secrets or sending mixed messages to a Six. Constraining or slowing down a Seven.