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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. Welcome back to another episode here on the Enneagram at Work Podcast. I am your host, Sarah Wallace, and welcome back if you have been listening. And I should say welcome if you are new. I hope to be saying welcome back to you at some point in the future. We have been busy here at Enneagram MBA HQ getting ready for several different Enneagram workshops. And one of those is a pretty unique group that we're preparing for. And this is actually going to be a large family session. But this family is part of a business together board of directors kind of dynamic. And so we're going to be bringing the Enneagram to some very personal relationships, but continuing to look at it through the lens of how can we better understand each other, working together better, listening together better, collaborating better, even though we are a family. And so it'll be really fun to uh I think this will be a really fun group to get to be in front of. So I'll have to let you know how that goes. And then we are going to be uh that will be out in Arizona coming up. And then we are going up to Canada for a couple of days uh for a couple of different workshops. So that will be really fun um working with one team to do a follow-up session and then introducing the Enneagram to an adjacent department to get them on, to get them online officially with the Enneagram. So that'll be a really fun trip. And then uh we have a Nashville experience coming up. And so uh stay tuned for some interesting, insightful, fun takeaways from those experiences. Today we are going to be matching up a two two different types of leaders, two different types of bosses. Uh we've done this before in just a very lighthearted, fun way with our Enneagram type 8 and our Enneagram type 2. So if you have not listened to that one, we do a manager matchup uh a couple episodes back. Today we're doing the same thing, but we are looking at the Enneagram type three, and we're matching that leadership manager style up with the Enneagram type six. And we are going to be answering the question who's the better boss? Which one is the better boss? Now, as a reminder, our type threes are striving to feel outstanding. When they put on that, when you when you see the world through that lens, when you use that strategy to get your needs met, that supports your logic, that that influences your thinking and your your behaviors, it is I want to feel outstanding. I want to be successful. I want others to think I'm successful. I want to be capable. I want to be accomplished. I want to accomplish goals, big goals. Um, I want to um be really efficient in order to be able to meet all those goals. So efficiency is a staple for our type three, and we'll touch on that a little bit in just a moment. Um our type six striving to feel safe and secure. They see the world, kind of the logic that influences their thinking, that influences their behavior, is seeing the world through risks and threats, what might go wrong. Am I prepared? Contingency planning, planning and contingency planning. Um, I'm really focused as a six on our group cohesion and wondering who's this new person that's gonna come into the group, how are they gonna impact that this dynamic or who's this leader coming in to take over our department or this new organization? So they are very sensitive to power dynamics. And our sixes tend to be in the camp of I'll trust you once you give me a reason to trust you. So a little bit more skeptical, but as we've talked before in different episodes, um, our sixes come from a place of deep, deep care, not just for their own safety, but for those that they really care about, including those people on their team. So we have two bosses, we have our type threes who uh maybe are a little obsessed uh with hitting every goal, um, setting another goal before they've even had a chance to celebrate the completion, the hitting of the other goal. They're on to the next flirt, next one. Um, they tend to be really good at networking. So networking like a pro can be a strength for our type threes. And then uh they because of that drive to feel outstanding, focus on being successful, looking successful, they might maybe be out there making sure that their LinkedIn profile looks just right, makes them positions them in just the right light. Now, on the other end, we have our type six leader, uh manager, who is gonna be making sure that there's a plan and then double checking that plan, um, looking into and very necessarily so, assessing the risks, what might go wrong as we push forward into the future, as we push towards those goals. Uh, that's wonderful to have big goals, but are we also thinking about where we might get off track, what might go wrong, so that we can prepare and keep moving towards those big goals and not fall totally off the track. Um, and then our type sixes may want to incorporate others' feedback um into their decision making, looking to get the group consensus, making sure everybody feels seen and heard, which nines are also really great at. So our sevens, or I'm sorry, our threes, we're gonna kind of set the scene. They might be thinking or saying, you might hear them actually say, let's execute the plan and we'll just figure out things as we go. Let's just jump into action. We want to go far, we want to go fast. Um, this is very similar to our type eights, very similar to our type seven. And I will say, I meant to say this at the beginning. Um, I gotta give the disclaimer, not every three is gonna behave this way, not every three is gonna behave this way all the time. Um, not every six is going to do these things, not every six is gonna do it all the time. And so we just the we are talking very high-level stereotypes for the purpose of giving some things to think about. And and like I've said in previous episodes, we're talking about a three-six matchup here, but really it's about what how is this person moving towards get their goals? How are they moving towards the things that they want and need? What are those things that they want and need? How are they getting them? Um, and what are some of those tendencies? And how can I better understand those tendencies so I can better work with that person? And so at the end of the day, you know, I would say it doesn't matter. There is no such thing as an Enneagram type 12, but if there, it doesn't matter. 12, 2, 8, 9, it is just really understanding where somebody is coming from, how they are viewing the world. And so we're using a very simple matchup between our three and six in this situation. Um, but please know, as I know that you do know, human beings are very complex and there is no way to capture all the complexity and in this, in this, I don't know, the next 15 minutes or so, and definitely not in these two just two types. So, with that, we'll use it though as some examples, some things to think about. So um, when we're when we're thinking about um our threes, we might hear them say, let's execute the plan, let's move towards the plan, the future, and we'll just we'll figure out things as we go. Kind of leap and the net will appear type of energy. And our type six is gonna say, Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait. Uh do we have we even planned for there to be a net? Like what do we have a parachute in case the net does not appear? They might be thinking, wait, I just let's just take a moment. Have we considered every possible thing that might go wrong, that might deter us from deter us from our goal? Um, so very different energies, but we need them both. We need that forward pushing momentum towards the goal, but we also need that that balance of the the pulling back a little bit just to make sure we're not jumping off a cliff and have absolutely no net plan to be there, no parachute in case the net does not appear. Uh so this shows up in our in our coworkers often and and it it will show up in the different leadership styles of ourselves, or you might recognize this in um a peer of yours or the manager that you report to. Uh, so if you have ever had a boss that lives for the results, you maybe have worked for a type three. If you've ever had a manager who lives for preparation and uh, you know, is maybe a little bit more uh risk adverse looking at security. Are everybody safe? Are we doing okay? You might be working or have worked for a type six. But which one makes the best leader? Well, that's what we're gonna look at. That's what we're gonna answer. So both types have strengths, especially when it comes to leadership. Our type threes are sometimes known as the pace setter for their leadership style because they are in the trenches with their people, shoulder to shoulder, setting an example. They're not commanding from some high hill. Um, they're there motivating, inspiring because they are so successful, they can really um inspire that same confidence and success in others. And so some of the other superpowers of our type three is that they are very goal-oriented and efficient. They get things done and they get it done fast. Um, they are great motivators, they inspire their teams to win, to hit big goals. Oh, it's so exciting to hit a goal you never thought was possible. Um, they tend to be very fast decision makers. They're not gonna overanalyze a whole lot. Um, and then they can be incredibly charismatic, very adaptable. And so they're able to, they have this political savviness, this organizational awareness uh that you'll talk about sometimes in uh the with the emotional competencies, but just this ability to really see the room, who's in the room, and who do I need to be in this room to reach my goals fast? I just uh to get to my goals fast, to reach my goals in general, um, to get something done maybe quicker, um, to look more successful. Who do I need to be? And so they're really great at selling that vision and getting buy-in. On the other side, we have our type six. Their leadership style is known as the guardian because they are really so protective of their group. Now it takes a while to get into the inner circle of a type six, much like I the other one that comes to mind immediately is a type eight. Um, they also can be kind of sensitive to uh power dynamics and um they really care for the people. They want everybody to be okay, they want everybody to be taken care of. Um, and so our type six leader superpowers are their ability to assess risk and come up with a plan so that they're prepared. They can spot problems before they happen. And we absolutely need this person on our team, and this leadership quality can become invaluable, can be invaluable. Um, they are incredibly loyal and team-oriented. Now, any type can be loyal. Um that's why we don't we won't use the term loyalist a lot, but that is uh a nickname that sometimes you'll hear the type sixes referred to as. Any type though can be incredibly loyal. Um but I think it comes from this this like very much um very much cohesion of whatever group it is, their friend group, their group at work, their family. I just I want everybody to be working well together, getting along, feeling taken care of. Um and they are able because of that to build very strong supportive teams that want to support each other. They are supportive of that team, they are very reliable and detail focused. Again, type threes can be really reliable. Any type can be really reliable. Um, but our sixes tend to not cut a lot of corners. They want to get into the details. They want to know the details, they want to go through the process. If there is a process, they want to make sure that they're not skipping steps. If there's directions, they're gonna open those directions and read through them. Where I know there's some types, so it's like, oh, was there supposed to be instructions with this? Um, and so they're going to be very thoughtful about those plans and processes that are gonna move them towards the company goals, towards their own career goals, toward their team goals. And then they are great at contingency planning. They always have a backup and a backup for the backup. And so sometimes people will say that actually in the midst of a crisis, you might expect the type six to be freaking out the most, but really they can be one of the more calm types because it's like, okay, I planned for this. I got I got my bag ready. I am I'm ready. What do we got? We got we got I got it, I got it all right here. I'm ready to go. Um, so our type three um might be that that um charming, charismatic, um, political, savvy networker on a stage, maybe at the company event, selling the future of the company, or maybe bragging about their team on stage. Um, whereas our six might be a little bit more reserved, might not be stepping into the limelight, the spotlight, um, and just maybe, you know, be be thinking about um the team more and and uh not necessarily needing needing the spotlight on them, which again, maybe you know, pros and cons, but sometimes we need to put ourselves in the spotlight. Sometimes we need to put our team in the spotlight uh to be recognized, to toot our own horns. Um, and this is something that is not specific to just sixes. I think nines can sometimes struggle with this, nine leaders too. Um, I think sometimes twos, specifically for themselves, can also struggle stepping into the spotlight at times. So again, it's not only these types. Um, and these types don't do these things all the time, every single thing. Um, but these are be these are some stereotypical tendencies. Now, how they might overuse their strengths um is the type three might be a little too focused on winning, reaching those goals, and they can prioritize success and reaching those goals or over sustainable practices, um, maybe the mental health of their team, not running running their team into the ground for the sake of achieving that goal. Um, they might move too fast and might overpromise and maybe end up missing the delivery day or the project day because they've overpromised, or they might end up skipping important details because they are so focused on moving fast towards that future. Um, and then uh others might well, I I will say both can be true. There could be some issue with trust on both ends. Um, there could be some trust issues from the leader. Um, and so they might act independently, they might really struggle with delegation um instead of leaning on their team because they might believe and and feel like I can't, nobody can be trusted to do it as good as me, to do it as fast as me. Uh it's just easier if I step in and do it. And then sometimes their team can have issues trusting them because it can be hard sometimes to really get to know that type three leader because they are so good at shape shifting, at that political savviness, turning it on, being this person here, being another person here. Um, and then they don't usually share when things don't go well. It's just always sharing their success stories. So it can feel like oh, this person didn't admit when this went wrong. They're spinning it um to make it look like this, or I don't know who this person really is. So they just sometimes kind of seem really authentic. So that can cause some distrust among their team. We'll talk about sometimes our type threes have an inner PR agency where it is such a gift and a strength to be able to spin things at times, and then at other times it can erode trust and um uh make you seem inauthentic. Our type six leadership strengths that are overused at times, or what it looks like when they're overused, is that they can overthink paralysis analysis. So they might delay decisions out of fear of making mistakes, out of needing more information, out of wanting to think things through more, make another pro and con list. Um, they can be too dependent on consensus. They want everybody's input before moving forward. This is something else that we'll talk about specifically with our type um nines may also struggle with. Um, they may lead from a place of worry and anxiety. So rather than running towards something that's really exciting, um, that's that can be really positive, they might instead feel like they're running away from something, that they want to get away from something, running from what might go wrong. So they can come across as skeptical or hesitant instead of confident. So our type threes are gonna sell that dream before they even figure out how to make it. They're going to just, hey, we'll sell it. And if it sells, then we'll figure out how to make it. Whereas a six will question wait a minute, we we have to make this. We have to make it right, we have to make sure it works before we even think about talking about it, before we even think about selling it. So there's just, and again, both have its pros and its cons. And so it's just understanding what situation, what prod project, what person might need what turned on a little bit more and what might need to be dialed back a little bit. So who's the better leader out of these two? The we got the type three, the pace setter, the type six, the guardian. No surprise, great leadership is a mix of both of these. Um, we need both confidence and caution. We need them both. So, where can a type three learn from a type six? Slow down. And as I say that, type threes might be thinking, like, no way, never, never well, plug in my ears, not listening to this, slow down, no. Um, but the thing to think about or the question to ask yourself if you are a type three, um, type three leader, is how might I be even more outstanding if I did slow down and double check the details and not view it as a way of killing momentum, but instead maybe preventing disasters, preventing mistakes so that we look outstanding, so that I feel outstanding, that my team is outstanding. And another opportunity for growth for our type three leader is to delegate, to trust your team. Um, you don't always have to go at it alone in order to succeed. Your team, of course, when they're learning something new, when they're stepping into a new role, uh, maybe that you could do with your eyes closed and your hands tied behind your back, of course they're gonna make some mistakes. Of course they're not gonna do it as fast as you, or as slow as you, or as uh, or as um well as you. There we go. Um, but the only way for them to get to as fast as you can do it, as Well as you can do it, is to give them opportunities to do it, is to practice. And so that will be a huge area of growth. But there is a lot of incredible growth that can happen there. And again, it's changing that story, not uh, my team's not going to do it as good as I can do it. And so we're not going to win, we're not going to be as fast, we're not going to succeed as much. I'm not going to be as outstanding. But instead think, change that story to or change the question is to how can I be more outstanding, allowing my team to make mistakes, to learn from those mistakes, to grow into high-performing individual contributors and then eventually high-performing, um, really uh impactful leaders. How could that actually make you feel and be even more outstanding? So that's how we want to kind of reframe that for our type threes out there. And then our type sixes, what they can learn from the three, is to take action. Even if you aren't 100% sure how it's all gonna go down, sometimes leadership requires calculated risks. And so you're not, you're not, and and even when you think you know what's gonna happen, don't don't we always, doesn't something always a speed bump happens, a wrench gets thrown in the plan. So there is just never any way, even as much as we have planned, even as certain as we are in something, it can, it can, it can shift just like that. And then we're back to, you know, oh, we're not, we don't know what's gonna happen again. So go ahead and start taking thoughtful, um, it doesn't have to be reckless, it can be thoughtful action forward, even if you don't have anything or everything figured out. And then uh the second thing to remember as our type six leaders or developing a type six leader is that confidence is contagious. And so the team is going to be looking to you for assurance, and so lead with that conviction. Our type sixes, they have because they have dove into the data, because they have observed, very similar to our type fives, um, because they have thought things through and they have plans, um, they have really strong opinions and a lot of times very correct opinions, very, very um, it's the right thing to do, it's the smart move to make, because they have taken the time to look at the data, to, to think things through, to slow down. And so it is just that that trust in themselves that they do know what they're talking about, because most of the time they do. And so when you can do that for yourself, it actually spills over and gives your team the confidence to do that for themselves, to have confidence and in their abilities, even when they don't have everything figured out. So remember that um, that impact on your team as well. So um I guess the perfect leader, the best leader, uh, it might be if you could combine the type three drive with the with the type six preparation, you might you might have the perfect leader. Um, there are all kinds of other things though that go into that. But again, this was just a way to kind of think about either yourself, understanding your manager a little bit better, um, and potentially already being a leader, but managing one of these types on your team, helping them develop their own leadership skills. I hope you're able to take something away from this. Um, these are things that we talk about inside our Enneagram introduction workshops. We have the ways we lead Enneagram introduction workshop that is specifically for um new and emerging leaders and or executive leadership teams. Um, it would just take a little bit of a different take with each one, but we're looking at the Enneagram through the lens of leadership, leading ourselves, managing ourselves, and then understanding and leading and managing others. So I'm gonna invite you to check out those workshop opportunities, those program opportunities, the um coaching opportunities, our leadership coaching opportunities, all over at EnneagramMBA.com. And with that, as always, thank you so much for being here. And uh I hope to get to have you back next time.