SPEAKER_00 0:01

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. Welcome back to another episode here on the Enneagram at Work Podcast. Welcome back to part two to our preserving teammate episode. Last week we did a little deep dive into all the things that make a preserver a preserver, what to consider if you are trying to decide if you are one, what to keep in mind, if you are definitely not one, but might be working with one. We've talked about how they can drive themselves crazy, ways that they can drive other people crazy, and then some specifics around how the other two instincts, the navigating and the transmitting, get expressed when your dominant type is the preserving. And then some a couple of things to consider uh working on, taking action on to get better for the for the benefit of your career, your team, your leadership skills. Today we are looking at each of the nine types and then overlapping the preserving energy. And we're gonna take a look at some key things about this type specifically, what they will look like, how they might look different than the other two subtypes. Um, we're also gonna look at one specific work challenge and then uh what their leadership style might look like. And then lastly, some common mistypings so that you can, you know, if you happen to be still in your typing journey, um maybe why validate why you you might be struggling because this is a common mistyping, um, and some some things to consider. So, with that, let's get into pairing up the preserving energy. We're just gonna start from the top here at with type one, um, who is striving to feel perfect. That's the thing that makes a one-on-one. When you pair these together, you have perfect preserving. Uh, these types tend to be the most cautious about physical and financial well-being. They notice the details and they tend to notice the mistakes. Uh, they have an orientation towards perfection of their environment. So perfecting the world around them. What does that look like? How they can they fix it? How can they make it better? Um, and they tend to be really dug into their routines. And that makes sense, right? Last week we talked about how preservers tend to be uh very focused on processes, procedures, sometimes um find it difficult to change, to navigate a fast-paced work environment. And so it would make sense that they really appreciate routines. Um, traditions is is one of the subcategories of this type. So it's like, okay, when you have the preserving energy and the one who also tends to be really focused on processes and procedures, this makes sense why they've really value and can can even maybe overdo it a bit with their routines. Um their work challenge is paralysis analysis. And, you know, when you think about the preserver who is thinking about what could go wrong, uh, being a little bit more adverse to risk, wanting to make sure that they're managing risk, that they're safe, that everybody else is gonna be safe. And then you pull that in with the one who is striving to feel perfect. Um, what mistakes might I made? How might I fail? Um, you know, you can you can see, wow, you know, you can also have a lot of empathy for this person if it happens not to be you, but if it does, hopefully some empathy for yourself. Um, and and why this analysis paralysis might be happening. Their leadership style tends to be them kind of seeing themselves as the watchdog, the guardian, kind of the overseer of the excellence, the quality at work. So they want to maintain those high standards and they feel like it is their job in the leadership role to make sure that they're that those are those are um, you know, whole hold firm that people meet those standards. Um, common mistypings include a type three or a type six. Um, I will say for many of the types, I have a this or that YouTube video series over on our Enneagram and BA YouTube channel. And so uh for some of these, I will I will drop in the comments below. But one in three tends to be a very common mistyping. Um one in six does as well. And I I have videos, I believe, for both of those. So I'll drop those below as well. But uh it makes sense, right? It makes sense, especially, you know, that six, um, also very focused. We'll get to that in a second, on on uh risk management processes and procedures, having enough information. So um a lot of similarities there. Um, and then especially when you pair in that preserving energy. So if you happen to be or think that you might be a one or a three or a one and a six, you know, the thing to think about is yes, you may value these preserving qualities, these preserving activities. And then how do you tend to go after them? Is it by making sure you're safe and secure like a six? Is it by making sure that you look successful like a three? So I want to make sure that I'm safe in my career. So I want to position myself to be successful, to look successful. Um, or is it I'm gonna I'm gonna do these preserving things um by striving to feel perfect, by trying to be perfect. Type two, preservers. They are doing connected preserving. Uh the these are the type that tend to be most focused on others' needs, but kind of a little bit uh give with hooks here. They also have a high expectation for others to reciprocate. Uh, they tend to be very focused on the nest. Again, whatever that nest is, it might be the home, but it might also be the office. It might be uh a certain place or a certain club, a certain department within work, but they are very focused on the nest and those in it. Um, and then out of all the three type twos, they tend to be the most introverted. Their work challenge tends to be taking on other people's work, helping people, maybe even when they won't want to, um, and then resenting it, and then resenting it later, wishing that they hadn't. Their leadership style is focused on promoting others. And this also makes a lot of sense for our type twos who in general tend to see the best in others. Uh, you know, they may even ignore, ignore the problems or the challenges that someone has and just want to focus on the potential or all the good things that they have done. Um, and so their leadership style tends to be promoting others, and then um common mistypings here. Um, it could be a one, could be a six again, um, could be a nine. And I think the nine comes from uh, you know, two this two energy and this one energy again can kind of feel like opposites. And so um I think sometimes that that nine could it can kind of look like a nine at times when you when you put that together. Um but again, it's preserving is important to me. I have a you know, I'm I'm extra sensitive to these preserving activities. Um, how do I get that that priority met or that need met? Um for type twos, it's I'm gonna do it by connecting to others. For type one, it's I'm gonna do it by striving to feel perfect. So a lot of these you'll start to see that they can common mistype types um end up being a one or a six because there is just a lot of one and six, a little bit of five, I think, energy in the preserving bias just in general. Uh let's see, type three. We have our outstanding preserving out of all, not just out of all the threes, but out of all 27 subtypes, these are the most task-oriented. They always need to be doing something productive. They need to be checking things off their list, adding to their list. Um, you know, all always be doing here are type threes, preserving threes. Uh, they tend to be a little bit more serious than the other threes. And then um, in their appearance and their demeanor and the environment, the space that they create at work, it's gonna be a little bit more neat, a little bit more controlled than the other two. A challenge that they have at work will be to let go and delegate. That will be a struggle for these threes. All threes really can struggle, especially these threes. Their leadership style tends to lead by example and really lead by being a hard working example. These are you're they're in the trenches, they're coming in to work early, they're staying late, and they kind of expect others to work as hard as they are. Common mistypings for our type three preservers could be a one. Again, here we have that one. Um, might be a five, and could be a seven. And I think that seven gets confused sometimes because of all the all the action. It's almost hyperactivity with this need to be productive at all times, always wanting to check things off. It can almost be some of that uh manic energy that the seven sometimes will bring. Our type four, striving to feel unique, so they have unique preserving. Um, sometimes these can look like a three, um can also look like a one, and they have an emphasis on creating a unique and elegant nest, having unique and elegant things in the nest, so creating that space at their home, at their office. Um, they tend to have really understated and elegant homes, and then they often will also be focused on their clothes, and you know, their clothes are also uh, you know, fine clothes that are unique. And so this type is really focused on that that uh their space, their clothes, uh what what are they wearing, what do they have, what things do they have that can make them look unique? And so nesting is a big part of this preserving energy. So you pair that with this need to be creative, and you're going, you're this is how it's going to come out for our type fours. Um, a tie a challenge at work might be that thinking their work has no meaning. And so they may have to dig deep to connect their work with the mission, uh, maybe have a conversation with their manager about that to stay motivated, or you know, it may be hard to stay motivated and they eventually will need to leave. Um leadership style tends to be generally supportive and encouraging, which makes sense with that type four energy. Um, but sometimes it can come across as remote and a little distant. And um again, I think it's just kind of that that push-pull uh between I want to be unique. Um and we kind of talked about it in last week in this kind of like selfishness versus nurturing energy. I could see that really playing out here with the type four. Um, type five, detached preserving. You got a double dose, double dose of introversion here with our type five preservers. Uh, they want to they tend to hold on and conserve things. Um, in an additional Enneagram literature that you may come across, there's this thing called vices, and one of the vices for the five is this idea of hoarding, and they hoard resources and things, and so you have that paired with the preserving. It's just again a double dose, double down on that. These are your most stereotypical five. So textbook five right here. Um, they are very ambitious and driven. It's just many times they may not show that. Other people may not see that in them, but that doesn't mean that they aren't. Um, and then they tend to have very high standards and can get really frustrated when those standards are not met. So, right away, we got a mistyping for a type one, which makes sense. I think one isn't all of it gonna be a mistyping for all of these. Um six can be mistyped here, and then um nine as well. Now, work challenges can be uh seeming unapproachable, again, which makes sense. Fives also fives are striving to feel detached. So you double down on that, uh double down on the interversion, it makes sense that they would would come across that way. Um, their leadership style is to set a direction and then leave people to execute that direction on themselves. Now, if asked, they'll step in and coach, step in and help. But for the most part, it's here's what needs to be done, here's where we're going, here's the goal, here's the process, and then hands off. I kind of I kind of trust us all to do our own work and get it done. Type six, uh, striving to feel secure. So there, this is secure, preserving, and kind of the the we got the six energy and we got this preserving energy. Um, it is a textbook six, double dose of six right here. Um, they they might be uh they probably are the most fearful and adverse to risk. They tend to be really focused on physical security issues. So am I safe? Um is you know, am I am I safe? Um, are the people around me okay? What do we need? This might be health related, this might be, you know, making sure your your office door is locked when you're at the office by yourself. So really focused on that. Um, and then they really pride themselves on their diligence, their hard work, and the loyalty to the family. That might be their blood family, that might be what they see as their family at work, their family part of a club that they're in. Um, and so this is where that term loyalist will come from. Sometimes sixes are known as the loyalists. Some sixes really resonate with that, some not so much. Um, and that these are going to be your stereotypical loyalist. Oh, a challenge at work that they may run into is this pessimism and constantly pointing out potential problems. Devil's advocate. So when we went over the description last week of a preserver, they very much have the devil's advocate, um, a little bit more cautious and conservative, paying attention to processes and procedures. And anytime that I read that, I see a lot of six. I see a lot of one, but I see a lot of six in that. So when you pair that together, it's like, oh, this, yep, this again, this makes sense. This makes sense. Um, their leadership style tends to be really nurturing and protecting, again, which makes sense. Preservers are focused on nesting and nurturing. Um, our sixes also being that loyalist, want to take care of their people. So there makes sense that they have this nurturing, protective, sometimes kind of mother-henning uh leadership style. And they may mistype as a one, as a nine, um, or as a five. Again, we got that one in there, and it makes sense. Um next, we have excited preserving, our sevens who are striving to feel excited. Um, this is probably the most understated of the sevens. So they will engage when people are around or when they're around people. Um, but they are not necessarily the textbook social butterfly sevens that you probably have read about or all the memes describe. Um, they don't really like to socialize that much. Um, they do, however, get really excited about small things around the house, and you'll find them regularly kind of feathering the nest, taking care of the nest. Um, there is an example of a typing session that we did that we got to watch um as part of the awareness to action certification program I finished up recently. And the woman was describing the situation where she um she took it a extra long time to pick out patio furniture. And it was because she was, you know, wanted to know like, do I get this material or this material? Do I get, you know, what type of cushions do I get? What color do I get? How high does the back table go? And I was thinking as she was talking, I was like, oh, I think she might be a type six. I kind of see like those details. She's researching a lot. Well, come to find out, she was a seven, um, but a preserving type seven. And uh, you know, when we when we found out that, oh my gosh, everything made so much, so made so much sense. But she really got excited about all those details. Now, for other sevens, that might not be the thing that gets them excited, but all sevens are striving to feel excited. But what gets you excited will vary depending on your instinctual bias. A challenge at work these sevens will have is this uh kind of tendency to vacillate between detailed obsessed and then detail-oriented. It's kind of like, oh, let's get into all of it, almost kind of you know, hypermanic detail obsessed, and then, you know, get burnt out, shut down, avoid those details altogether. And that kind of ebbs and flows that way. Their leadership style is known as parachute inspiration. So they'll kind of drop in, drop their inspiration, drop their directives, whatever it is, and then drop back out or step back out until it's time for them to drop back in again. Uh, no surprise, a common mistyping is a type one or a type six. And I shared that story. I thought that woman was for sure a type six as we started talking. But when you add in the variance to your consideration, or not the variance, the biases, the instinctual biases, you it does give you uh just more things to consider, but but in just such a really helpful way. All right, type eight. Our type eights are striving to feel powerful. There's powerful preserving here. So this type tends to be more serious than the other two eights. Uh, they tend to be more reserved and more controlled than the other two eights. So controlling their anger, controlling maybe that big passion. Um they can be rigid and controlling, not necessarily of people like some of the other types, but more of resources. I want to make sure that I have enough, um, that we have enough and you know, kind of my way or the highway kind of thing. And it they're going to have that about their resources that they're managing. Um, they may be very inflexible with their habits. Again, the per this makes sense. Preservers appreciate traditions, they appreciate consistency. And so when you overlay that with that eight energy, they're who already kind of feel like their way is the right way. Um, there's yeah, it's like, okay, this makes sense here. Inflexible habits, yep. Um, and then our preserving eights are very ambitious, but they're gonna be a little bit more uncomfortable with attention that that ambition might bring them in the spotlight. So they want to they want to do great things, they want to make big things happen. Um, however, they don't necessarily need or want to be the one that the newspaper writes up, that is featured in the newsletter, that you know, gets an award. At the annual company conference meeting in Vegas. They're going to be much more uncomfortable with that than the other two. At work, a challenge includes not being able to do the small talk and a lack of empathy. So again, it's very focused on processes, procedures, less and eights already have some work to do around empathy. They're connecting arrow to the type two. That's not to say some AIDS are incredibly, incredibly empathetic, very caring. That though tends to be sometimes when when AIDS in general are struggling at work, that can be that can be a opportunity for development. And then you overlay this preserving energy. It just kind of amplifies what's already there. Leadership style, driving people really hard. They expect great things out of people and they will push people beyond what they probably think is capable for them. They might miss type as a one, as a nine, or as a five. And then lastly, we have our type nine striving to feel at peace. We have peaceful preserving. And this type tends to be very structured, very deliberate, very habitual. So they also really like their habits and routines. They sometimes can be caught in between this need to satisfy their needs. So that's that I want to be comfortable, I'm sensitive to you know the feel of the chair, I want the nice sheets, but also minimizing their own needs. And that's very much a nine kind of thing. Um and a can be that conflict that we talked about last time between indulgence and and conserving. So we want, we want to spend the money on the nice mattress and have that, but also to spend the night the money on the nice mattress can be painful as well. Um they can they can seem to struggle with decisiveness. Uh and then this is also very type 9, but even more so here. They don't want others to think that they think too highly of themselves. So this type preservers already struggle with self-promotion, already struggle with talking about their accomplishments and their success and all the things that they've done well and right. Um, type type nine also will struggle with that. And so it's a double dose of struggling with self-promotion, um, which can impact your your leadership development. It can impact your career advancement. Um, work challenges include, or one work challenge is um self-deprecation and minimizing your work accomplishments. So uh for nines, you probably many nines can relate to this. Uh it's just it's a it's definitely a thing for preserving nines. Uh their leadership style also kind of uh you know alternates between being really warm and supportive, but then also this aloofness and then uh kind of hands off, laissez faire, you you know, you do what you want, um, kind of thing. And so because of that, um, common mistypings include a five, that detached energy. Someone might think, oh, I relate to that. Okay, see that detachedness um in the five, uh mistyping six here, and of course a type one. So that is what it can look like when you overlay your type with your instinctual bias. Um, this is really important. Again, in the first introduction uh episode to instinctual biases, we talked about how it's great to know the type, and that's kind of the height of somebody. But when they give you their weight, like, and then that's representative of instinctual bias, you have a much better picture. You still don't know everything about them, but you know more. And same thing here, we can just know a little bit more, and um we can we can you know start to understand ourselves a little bit better and we can understand, gosh, this is why maybe things about the type three, for example, don't resonate with me because a lot of the textbook type three information doesn't at all look like a preserving three, but threes will resonate very much with that striving to be, striving to feel successful. You know, same thing with the type seven. Um could see them mistyping as a six often, and I do see that where it's gosh, I'm not this like flamboyant social butterfly, but I am striving to feel six excited, and it's actually these nesting and nurturing activities that make me feel excited. So um really, really helpful in the typing process when you can understand both your type and your instinctual bias. As always, if you have a group that is looking to incorporate um this type of information into professional development programming, to team building, to uh team bonding, retreat events, I'm gonna invite you to check out our options for workshops and team trainings over at Enneagrammba.com. The next episode we'll be doing a deep dive on our transmitting instinctual bias. What does that look like? What are their strengths, um, where there might be their potentials to struggle and drive themselves crazy, drive others crazy. So we're gonna get all into all of the transmitting information next week. Thank you for being here, and I hope to see you back then.