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You're listening to the Enneagram at Work Podcast, a show about understanding people at work, including yourself. I'm your host, Sarah Wallace, and I'm looking forward to diving into this week's episode with you. Are you working with an Enneagram type 8? Why does that even matter to know that information? And if you happen to recognize some of these qualities and characteristics and just kind of overall energy that we're going to be talking about today, what should you do about it? What should you do to maybe improve your communication, your collaboration, your overall relationship with this coworker at work? We're getting into all of that today here on the Enneagram at Work podcast. This episode is part of a larger series that we're doing where we're looking at all of the different types. Are you working with this type? And we may not know for sure, but there's some maybe some commonalities that you might notice in your coworker to at least give you a starting point to maybe ask some questions, to start to get curious and really to recognize that you know you have started to really identify at this point and recognize the way that you view things and maybe what you tend to miss because of that perspective. Now with this series, we're really looking at growing our others' awareness and what should we know about our teammates and understanding the different perspectives that they might be viewing, a conversation, a meeting, a um uh project, um, so that we can kind of navigate and not avoid conflict that will never happen, but navigate through that um in ideally a healthier, more productive way. And so far we have covered type five, six, and seven. Looking ahead, we got nine and one uh in the queue. Today, though, is all about our type eight coworker or potentially that that coworker energy. And if you have been a listener, you know that uh, you know, we we never talk about this as a way to label or write somebody off or put somebody in a box and think, oh, that's just how they are, or I can't work with the type A, I don't get along with that, they're not compatible. Um, but rather just to be a starting point for a completely different maybe viewpoint than yours, perspective than yours. Um, and and if you have been listening, thank you for coming back. Thank you for being here. If you're new, thank you for being here as well. Um, I hope that you will come back and join us. I am your host, Sarah Wallace. In addition to the Enneagram at Work podcast, my company is Enneagram NBA, where all we do are team trainings, group workshops, really just bringing the Enneagram to your workplace relationships and identifying, you know, different ways to use that in your own personal growth, professional development, and also in your other's awareness relationship management growth. Today, all about our type eights and quick story that happened recently at a workshop was uh we had we had a type eight, uh a self-identified type eight. And in some of the the discussions during the workshop, people were kind of laughing and and kind of giving him a hard time about uh some of the brutal honesty that is a characteristic of a of a type eight. And we're gonna talk about those qualities in just a second, but the brutal honesty, sometimes just the the low tolerance for a lot of you know explanation or maybe small talk, wanting to get to the point, sometimes seeming a little harsh, people were, you know, kind of ha ha ha ha. Um however, um, and this individual, you know, uh agreed, yeah, you know, I know that I can come across this way. And, you know, it's just I know that about myself. However, when we went around and shared some strengths that we noticed in each other based on what we're learning about their type, he got some pretty consistent feedback that people feel really confident, though, that when they come to him with a problem, that he's gonna be able to take care of it. Like they have confidence and trust that he can handle a situation and they feel safe and taken care of when they come to him with maybe a difficult conversation they had with a with a customer. Um, there's an issue, they don't know what the right decision is. They know that when they bring this to this individual, they can handle it. And like what an amazing compliment, you know, and what an incredible quality to have in a teammate, to have that confidence in them, whether that's a teammate or a leader. So we're going to, though, look at some things that this individual who identified as a type A later shared that he really appreciates when his teammate does, his teammates do, I guess. Um, and so let's let's dive into some of those qualities to first start to recognize could my teammate be this type A energy? And if so, what should I know that they're really going to appreciate and feel supported as well in the workplace and to potentially get along with them a little bit better? So foundationally, what makes the type A a type eight is this striving to feel powerful. They're motivated by the need to feel strong and in control, um, particularly in control of their environment. Um, there are sometimes some confusion between the type one and the type eight. And one of the nuanced clues that can help, and again, it's not true 100% of the time, all the time for everybody, but one of the things that can help clarify sometimes is that eights are really interested in being control of their environment, kind of, you know, this is the way I want things done. Ones are really focused, they want control of their outside environment, but they really want to be in control of themselves as well. Feeling out of control feels bad, um, can feel really scary. And so they may have a strong emotion about something, maybe it's anger, but they're able to kind of self self-control, self-contain that emotion. Where AIDS aren't as control, as worried about being self-controlled as they are. I want to make sure everything, my environment, I have control over, if if uh that helps at all. If anybody else struggling between that eight and one, sometimes that can be a different differentiating clue. Um, a superpower of a type A, and this kind of goes back to what this uh this individual at the training, the the strengths and the feedback that he was getting from his teammate, is that they thrive in the heat of a battle. They bring just this tremendous self-confidence and this energy to their work, and and they love a good challenge and they can handle a challenge. And so that makes sense why this individual got some of that feedback from his teammates. A common struggle, though, that our type 8 co-workers can can struggle with is being stubborn, sometimes coming across as arrogant, uh, maybe coming across as a little impatient, uh, sometimes impulsive, but not recklessly impulsive, usually. Um it's maybe people wish they would have thought something through a bit more, or maybe they didn't think through the their impact on some others. It might have been the right decision. They just didn't think through maybe how it might be interpreted. Um sometimes they're giving out tough love, but others might experience it as brutal honesty, harshness, um, almost bullying. It can be experienced that way. Um, and then they do have similar to our ones, and and who doesn't like to be right, but they have a really strong uh desire to also be to be right, kind of that my way or the highway. Um, some clues that you might be working with a type eight include when they walk into a room, they just carry themselves, they just bring this energy of kind of automatically commanding respect from everyone else on the team, who whoever's in that meeting, whoever's on that call, they just have this presence. And it and it's hard to really describe, but as I'm saying it, I'm sure that there's somebody that kind of comes to mind as like, oh yeah, I kind of I kind of noticed that. Another clue that you your teammate might be a type eight is that, you know, we just kind of touched on this as something that can be a struggle for them, where others see them as maybe aggressive or domineering. Um, but you can see them as assertive and strong. Like you know them enough at this point. You've worked with them day in and day out where you're not, where you're thinking, yeah, maybe someone new or maybe a client, first contact, or another stakeholder might be viewing them this way. But I know that they're just really strong at the end of the day. They're just very confident. And I can count on them to stand up for me, our team, um, the organization when others are criticizing us. Maybe outsiders are criticizing us or we're having to navigate a difficult conversation or situation with some other outsider stakeholder. Um, you might be working with a type A if they are very direct and you never have to question how they they feel or what they're really thinking. They they tell it like it is. You might be working with a type A if you notice they just don't have a lot of patience for long explanations. It's kind of like just get to the point. And we'll talk about this as well when we get to our type threes, because this seems to be a consistent uh quality of those types as well. But they don't need the backstory, they don't need the explanation. If you have a question, I just want you to ask the question. If you have something to say, just say what you have to say. You don't have to soften it. There's there's no background typically that they they want to hear first. And if they do, they'll they'll ask you. They'll ask you questions. Um, you might be working with a type A if sometimes you actually feel relieved when they step in to take charge and take lead. You know, whatever it is, maybe it's a uh another situation with a coworker, um, a customer, um, an investor, um trying to think what what other stakeholder might might you be having some issues with, and they come in and you're almost like, thank God. If I feel I trust them, I feel confident that now that they're here, we're gonna be able to get through this. Um, you might be working with a type eight. If if at times you've seen them maybe explode in anger, um, but for the most part, it blows over and you all kind of move on. Not a lot of grudges are held. Now, sometimes with our eights, they do hold on to a grudge. Um, we don't talk about this a lot in our workshops, um, but there are something that each of the types has called the the passion or the vice uh in Enneagram theory. And for our type eights, it is vengeance or revenge. And so in a very unhealthy place, our eights kind of our eights can't hold on to that grudge. But for the most part, they will have a strong emotion. They tend to experience it as being passionate. They may not even experience it as an explosion of anger, but on the receiving end, it can feel that way. But most of the time, um, they tend to move on and just kind of forget that that happened. Um, and then you might be working with a type A if they seem to respect you more after you argue with them. Where sometimes it can say, oh, you know, I hate, I don't wanna, I don't wanna offend this person, I don't want to upset them, I don't want to make them feel wrong. So I'm gonna kind of maybe sugarcoat my real opinion. I might dance around it a little bit. If you are working with a type A, you're gonna know that one of the key clues is that they may argue with you, they may push back, but you may notice, okay, I I earned their respect. They they came to me, they asked me for my advice in the future about something else because I was able to maybe disagree or offer a different opinion, and they really appreciate it. They didn't get offended. So if any of those are sounding familiar, you may be working with a type A. You may not be, but you but you may be as well. Those are some clues of our type eights that I that I hear from other type eights that are spot on or other that know that uh they they are in fact working with a type A and they say, yep, this is my experience with them. Um so what should you know if if this is sounding familiar, even if they don't want anything to do with the Enneagram, um, but you recognize several of these clues. How should you maybe change your approach or how how might you be able to get along better with this energy? Well, the first thing is being direct. Tell it like it is. When they ask for your opinion, get to the point, tell them what you think. Um, don't give them a book when really all they want is bullet points. This is in conversations, this is in a presentation, this is in emails. And then support them in taking action. Our eights, um, along with our threes and our sevens, are kind of in that assertive or sometimes known as the aggressive stance. And they just have this energy where they want to jump in, they want to go far, they want to go fast. Uh, the the company slogan that I'll sometimes associate with the type eight energy is the Nike, just do it. They're gonna jump in, figure it out along the way. If they make a mistake, you know, so what? They'll course correct, but they want to jump into action. So as much as possible, um, I think if you are are maybe more of a pros and cons list person, maybe more thoughtful, that can be an excellent dynamic because you're kind of both bringing the action and like let's slow down and and just think about this a little bit. And so it's a it's a push and pull, but it's also a good dynamic to have on a team so that it's not over the top in one in one way or the other, overthinking or overacting. However, as much as possible, um, find ways to support them in them taking that action, in them figuring things out kind of along the way in the moment. Um, they expect you to be competent and capable and to be able to work independently. Um, this is not gonna be a micromanager. This is not gonna be a teammate that necessarily needs you to give all, you know, the updates, the check-ins. They're not necessarily gonna be holding you accountable by calling or emailing. Where are you at with this? Um, they expect you to get it done, to have it done by the deadline, to have the information when they need it, um, and for you to to kind of not need a lot of hand holding or guidance. And this can be amazing, right? To have that that that freedom. Um, and also uh this is something that new aid managers will sometimes struggle with or just need to be aware that, okay, this is my natural leadership style. Somebody who's brand new, this may not work. And so whether it's me or assigning them kind of a peer to, you know, hold hold their hands a little bit, get them, get them uh geared up um to have somebody to ask questions to, whether that is you or or somebody that you assign, they're gonna need that a little bit. So just know that that you know, that's something that aides tend to be aware of that they struggle with, and and and if not, to be aware of um so that you know, you know, what teammates at what point in their career may need a little more uh more uh checking in, accountability, support. And then lastly, don't be afraid as much as possible, don't be afraid to have conflict with them. Like we talked about, they they end up really appreciating it. Um, they appreciate it when somebody can kind of stand firm and weather their strong opinion or their their pushback. Um, because I will hear from AIDS that it can be exhausting, um, and that they have learned that they are quote unquote too much. And so they try and, you know, lessen the blow and they just say, man, it it can just be exhausting to try and like temper and constantly make sure that I'm I haven't hurt someone's feelings. And so when you kind of get in that inner circle and you really start to get to know them and understand how they work, they appreciate that like, hey, I I gave you something hard or I pushed back a lot because I know you can handle it. Um, and I appreciate that so much. I don't, I don't feel exhausted talking to you because I know I can just kind of be myself. Um, and and you can handle it and we can have a hard conversation and then you know, we can come back and and and and be okay. Um and I trust that our relationship will still be intact after that. And that is oh, that means the world to our type eights. So again, this is not to say that all type eights are the same, that this will be the exact experience for all eights, but it can give you some insight and maybe you've had an aha because there are other types that are almost the exact opposite of this, that appreciate completely different things that might take offense to the opposite of what our eights do. And so just knowing that um one of those tricky relationships on the surface can be the type two and the type eight, because they seem to appreciate very different things at times. Um, that's not always true. You know, a lot of times um gender will will play a little bit of a role in that, and just um, you know, our our subtypes will also play a role in that. So I don't want to blanket statement that, but we had a really good type two, type eight coworker conversation on the podcast. Um, it came from a uh workshop that I had done earlier this year. Um, it was actually our episode 100, the coworker compatibility of a type two and type eight. And so they got to share a little bit about um their struggles and potential challenges with each other, but then also really got to share because they have learned about each other over months and years, and because they have kind of you know worked through some of those challenges, they also got to talk about what they really appreciate about each other and the the synergy that they bring with those different energies to a project, to their their team, um, because of those differences. So that might be a really interesting one uh to catch episode 100. Uh, if this is uh if you if you personally have that dynamic or or you're a manager and have noticed that dynamic um among others. Another type eight um episode that I've gotten some good feedback on was when we interviewed two type eight founders. And uh they talked a little bit about how they even the differences in their type eight-ness uh as leaders, um they they shared about, but then they also shared knowing that their type eight leadership style was was this particular way, um, and how they kind of adjusted, giving feedback to teammates who were absolutely not type eights. Um and that episode is episode 98. Um, how do you use the Enneagram with remote teams? Uh, we talked about that, and then they also talked about their type eight leadership style, the differences, and then even working with another type eight. So that would be maybe an interesting one to listen to uh to continue to understand your type eight teammate. So, with that, thank you for being here. If you happen to be working with a type 8, if you happen to be a type 8 and listening to this and would add anything, or maybe um share a different perspective, I always love to hear from you. Um, it is valuable, not just to my own understanding of the Enneagram in real life, but it's valuable to others to hear. I love sharing uh what you come back with, your insights, and uh would love for you to to send an email, to reach out, share any additional insight or questions that you have. And and you can do that over at Enneagram.com forward slash contact. So we'll be talking about type nine next. Um, if there is somebody that you think that this episode would be beneficial for, uh, please share and uh let it let them know, you know, why you thought of them. And uh with that, I'll see you back here for our hopefully see you back here for our type nine conversation on are you working with a type nine.