Type 8 of Enneagram
Enneagram Type 8 (Enneatype 8) – The Leader
Popularized in the 1970s in the mainstream of humanist psychology, the enneagram is a method of personal development and management.
The Enneagram describes nine different ways of approaching the world, and consequently nine very different ways of interacting with it. Ennea means 9 in Greek. Each of the 9 Enneatypes has its strengths, its weaknesses. Each of us privileges certain information and leaves others aside, in an unconscious way, limiting ourselves to one version of reality. This personal development tool allows you to get to know yourself better and to free yourself from certain sometimes limiting automatisms, and thus improve your interpersonal relationships and well-being.
The enneagram fits well with approaches in modern psychology. Like mindfulness, it emphasizes the importance of arousal over the “autopilot” of daily routines. Like cognitive and behavioral approaches, it relies on beliefs and the identification of inappropriate patterns. Its cognitive and emotional structure can be a useful and powerful guide.
Each individual has the nine profiles of the Enneagram within him, but does not develop them all in the same way. What makes each person unique.
See below the description of type 8 of the enneagram
Famous Leaders
What I feel. How i see myself
I can easily see the one who holds the road in front of me of the one who is weak or who does not position himself clearly. For me it’s black or white otherwise it’s a mess. I like people to be blunt like I am. You can count on me because I am reliable. If I see injustice I am ready to fight. It’s true that I value being strong. In this world the weak are being walked on. So if the authority in place does not ensure then someone has to manage. On the other hand, if there is no loophole in the authority in place, I respect it.
I am aware that I am seen as being overdone with hurtful words at times. However, I say what to say. I even heard that I was scary. I admit, it surprises me, because far from me this intention. It’s true that I’m taking my place. So if the anger is present, I express it directly. I test what people have in their stomachs and then, and I easily use provocation for that. But I don’t like sluggishness and bullshit
I like
- Correct injustice and protect the weak
- Advance straight ahead
- Win a challenge
- Get respect
I don't like
- Inconsistency
- Softness and weakness
- Injustice
- Those who wander
- People telling about me to others
How others perceive me
The Eight need to be in control, and therefore not to be controlled by others or by events. Protectors, they love fights. They express their anger as it comes and appreciate those who have the courage to face it. They often live excessively. The evolved Eight is competent and fair, especially in the face of adversity. He can be a powerful supporter for others. He will invest in making his friends’ roads straight.
The Eight are strong, decisive, practical, with a strong mind and very energetic. They also tend to be dominant. They expect a lot from life and feel ready to do anything to get what they want. The Eight need to be financially independent and work hard to achieve this. He is subject to excess and lust, thus presuming his influence on people and things. Type 8 is a bulldozer; nothing should (and can!) resist him.
He likes to explain and enforce the rules, but he allows himself to break them (even if they are his own). Quite often, the 8 plans and organizes well. But ideas only interest him if they are at the service of action. The 8 speaks frankly and can easily say “No!” without trying to justify himself. If we are with him, the 8 protects; otherwise, he attacks and / or takes revenge.
Relationships
Type 8 has a hard time letting his guard down in emotional relationships. Intimacy involves emotional vulnerability and this vulnerability is one of the 8’s deepest fears. All betrayal is absolutely intolerable. Eight people often have a strong sentimental side but often they will not even show their feelings to the people who are most intimate to them, as their fear of being vulnerable is great.
An Eight does not give up his trust easily, but when it does, then you will find in him a strong ally and a staunch friend. The Eight have a strong protective instinct that is sure to kick in when it comes to standing up for family and friends. Eight people are often very generous and make sure that those they love do not miss anything.
The Enneagram Type 8 Profile
I am strong and powerful
Unconditional scheme
“the world is hard and unfair”
Conditional schemel
“If I show myself weak, the others will crush me”
Consequences
I have to be strong to gain respect and uphold justice. Even if it can be at the expense of others.
Power, strength, determination, control, protection, justice.
Paradoxes :
- dominating by power may be unfair to others.
- dominating by power does not make you invulnerable (Counter-force, reprisals …)
Courage, decision-making skills, concern for protecting the weak, pragmatism
For this: I am in the denial (defense mechanism) of anything that could disturb me, prevent my control. I minimize or ignore. So I can be blind to dangers, to my fear or my vulnerability.
I take everything and thus prove to myself that I exist, enjoying the lust.
Risks :
to be seen as excessive, arrogant, intransigent, angry, domineering, vengeful, insensitive
ALTRUISM
- I show that I let go of control and excess
- Then I moderate myself in a fair dose of energy and life
- I accept my weaknesses, as part of my strength, without hiding them systematically
- I let myself be touched by tenderness
Projections and wings
When Enneagram Type 8 is under stress, he projects to his region of disintegration. He then resembles type 5 by his secret side, withdrawn and fearful.
In the phase of security and tranquility, type 8 of the enneagram projects himself into his integration zone and behaves like a type 2 flourished by stretching out his hand, moderating his energy to put it at the service of others.
- With a pronounced wing 7 : the Non-Conformist.
- With a pronounced 9 wing : the Bear.
Confusions and similarities with other types
It is often other types that confuse with the Eight.
This is especially common in counter-phobic 6 men who fail to recognize that their aggressiveness is a cover for a deep-seated anxiety.
7s are also prone to think of themselves as a Type Eight, but they lack the intensity of focus typical of 8. Even though 7s and 8s both have high energy personalities, 8s have physical and intuitive energy. at the base, while the 7 have an energy with a nervous and mental quality.
We can also confuse the 8 and the 3, by their leadership. But their motivations differ. The 3 likes to win in order to be efficient, and to be appreciated for it. While the 8 wins to prove himself that he is not weak. Being appreciated is not his priority.
The 1 and the 5 can also be confused. Yet here again the motivation is different. The 1 seeks things to be done correctly, when the 5 is much more in the mind than the instinct of the 8. So the 5 will not be in action unlike the 8
.
Other Enneatypes
Description of each of the other Enneatypes
