The Enneagram - Type 8 (The Boss)
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Eighth of a 9 part series highlighting the Enneagram. Others in the series are: The Enneagram - Type 9 (The Mediator) (GC2E134)
The Enneagram - Type 7 (The Enthusiast) (GC2DBXC)
The Enneagram - Type 6 (The Loyalist) (GC2DB71)
The Enneagram - Type 5 (The Observer) (GC2DA49)
The Enneagram - Type 4 (The Tragic Romantic) (GC2DA10)
The Enneagram - Type 3 (The Performer) (GC2D9N3)
The Enneagram - Type 2 (The Giver) (GC2D8RM)
The Enneagram - Type 1 (The Perfectionist) (GC2CZKJ)
The Enneagram ("ennea" means "nine") has roots going back to ancient Sufi mysticism, & describes 9 different personality types & their interrelationships. It helps us understand our own type & how to cope with our issues; understand our work associates, family & friends; and to appreciate the predisposition that each type has for higher human capacities such as empathy, omniscience & love.
The Enneagram was popularized by the Jesuit order in the 20th century. It is a personality typing system (similar to, but quite different from, the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicators). Each person is one of nine different and distinctive types, though all of us have characteristics found in each of the types. I am a 9, for example. Discovering this, and working with it, has been very informative and helpful to me.
While it's uncertain whether one's type is genetically determined, many believe it is already in place at birth. Enneagram authors have attached their own individual names to these numbers. Helen Palmer for example names them: 1. The Perfectionist; 2. The Giver; 3. The Performer; 4. The Tragic Romantic; 5. The Observer; 6. The Devil's Advocate; 7. The Epicure; 8. The Boss; 9. The Mediator. People of a particular type have numerous characteristics in common, but they can be quite different. It depends, among other things, on each person's level of mental and emotional health. Unhealthy (neurotic) people from a particular type can appear to be quite different from healthy ones of the same type.
For more in-depth information go to my now archived cache "The Enneagram (overview) GC8A196
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Type 8 - THE BOSS
Eights are self-confident, strong & assertive. Protective, resourceful, straight-talking, and decisive, but can also be ego-centric and domineering. Eights feel they must control their environment, especially people, sometimes becoming confrontational and intimidating. Eights typically have problems with their tempers and with allowing themselves to be vulnerable. At their best: self- mastering, they use their strength to improve others' lives, becoming heroic, magnanimous and inspiring.
Basic Fear: Of being harmed or controlled by others Basic Desire: To protect themselves (to be in control of their own life & destiny) Key Motivations: Want to be self-reliant, to prove their strength and resist weakness, to be important in their world, to dominate the environment, and to stay in control of their situation.
Examples: Martin Luther King, Jr., Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pablo Picasso, Richard Wagner, Sean Connery, Susan Sarandon, Glenn Close, John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Norman Mailer, Mike Wallace, Barbara Walters,Toni Morrison, Lee Iococca, Donald Trump, Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Roseanne Barr, James Brown, Courtney Love, Leona Helmsley, Sigourney Weaver, Fidel Castro, Saddham Hussein & John McCain.
Type Eight Overview
Eights enjoy taking on challenges themselves as well as giving others opportunities that challenge them to exceed themselves in some way. Eights are charismatic and have the physical & psychological capacities to persuade others to follow them into all kinds of endeavors—from starting a company, to rebuilding a city, to running a household, to waging war, to making peace. Eights have enormous willpower and vitality, and they feel most alive when they are exercising these capacities in the world. They use their abundant energy to effect changes in their environment—to “leave their mark" on it—but also to keep the environment, and especially other people, from hurting them and those they care about.
At an early age, Eights understand that this requires strength, will, persistence, and endurance—qualities that they develop in themselves and which they look for in others. Eights do not want to be controlled or to allow others to have power over them (their Basic Fear), whether the power is psychological, sexual, social, or financial. Much of their behavior is involved with making sure that they retain and increase whatever power they have for as long as possible. An Eight may be a general or a gardener, a small businessman or a mogul, the mother of a family or the superior of a religious community. No matter: being “in charge” and leaving their imprint on their sphere is uniquely characteristic of them.
Eights are the true “rugged individualists” of the Enneagram. More than any other type, they stand alone. They want to be independent, and resist being indebted to anyone. They often refuse to “give in” to social convention, and they can defy fear, shame, and concern about the consequences of their actions. Although they are usually aware of what people think of them, they do not let the opinions of others sway them. They go about their business with a steely determination that can be awe inspiring, even intimidating to others. Although, to some extent, Eights fear physical harm, far more important is their fear of being disempowered or controlled in some way.
Eights are extraordinarily tough and can absorb a great deal of physical punishment without complaint—a double-edged blessing since they often take their health and stamina for granted and overlook the health and well-being of others as well. Yet they are desperately afraid of being hurt emotionally and will use their physical strength to protect their feelings and keep others at a safe emotional distance. Beneath the tough façade is vulnerability, although it has been covered over by layer of emotional armor. Thus, Eights are often extremely industrious, but at the price of losing emotional contact with many of the people in their lives. Those close to them may become increasingly dissatisfied with this state of affairs. When this happens, Eights feel misunderstood and may distance themselves further.
In fact, beneath their imposing exterior, Eights often feel hurt and rejected, although this is something they seldom talk about because they have trouble admitting their vulnerability to themselves, let alone to anyone else. Because they fear that they will be rejected (divorced, humiliated, criticized, fired, or harmed in some way), Eights attempt to defend themselves by rejecting others first. The result is that average Eights become blocked in their ability to connect with people or to love since love gives the other power over them, reawakening their Basic Fear.
The more Eights build up their egos in order to protect themselves, the more sensitive they become to any real or imaginary slight to their self-respect, authority, or preeminence. The more they attempt to make themselves impervious to hurt or pain (whether physical or emotional), the more they “shut down” emotionally to become hardened and rock-like. When Eights are emotionally healthy, however, they have a resourceful, “can-do” attitude as well as a steady inner drive. They take the initiative and make things happen with a great passion for life. They are honorable & authoritative — natural leaders who have a solid, commanding presence. Their groundedness gives them abundant “common sense” as well as the ability to be decisive.
Eights are willing to “take the heat,” knowing that any decision cannot please everyone. But as much as possible, they want to look after the interests of the people in their charge without playing favorites. They use their talents and fortitude to construct a better world for everyone in their lives.
(from The Wisdom of the Enneagram, p. 289-291) To take a short test to discern your Enneagram type click here: http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/dis_sample_36.asp
Congratulations to AgamemnonVA and Rainbow Weaver for being First to Find
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