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Well, welcome back to another episode here on the Anyagram Upload Podcast. I am your host, Sarah Wallace. And if you happen to be watching this from over on YouTube, you'll notice the background is very different. If you happen to be listening, you may also hear, I'm not sure what the air pods will pick up, but you'll probably hear some sounds of the cities. We're coming to you from Puerto Rico or downtown San Juan. So you're going to hear some sounds of the city. We got construction, car horn, coop, some other sounds. But it's such a beautiful afternoon that I wanted to hang out outside a little bit. So I think you'll still be able to follow along. We are continuing our series on the overview of how each type shows up at work. So today we're going to be getting into all things type four. And I'm not sure what the next episode or two will look like because at some point I want to add in a special episode. We have, we were in Scottsdale earlier this week with a full department introduction to the Enneagram workshop, which was a lot of fun. And then the next day I was out with a group in New York, downtown Manhattan, for a new hire training group. And that had been the second new hire training group in this the last two weeks. And both of those groups were pretty young. I think most people were under the age of 25. And then we have another group that we're going to be doing with a very kind of startup, fast-growing organization. And they also have a very young team. And so I have some notes and some thoughts on how to use the Enneagram and things to look for with a young team. And so I don't know if that'll be next week or the week after, but at some point I'm gonna add in a just a special episode and uh interrupt uh this series, but we'll get right back to it. But today we are continuing on with the series looking at our Enneagram type four, who is striving to feel unique. Um, this type, type five, type seven are the three least common types that I see show up in the workplace. Uh the type four might be the least common, and we always tease, and you've probably heard that if you're a type four, but you know, they kind of love, they kind of love that because that fits right in with striving to feel unique, one of a kind. Uh, sometimes the sole type four, um, sometimes not at all. Uh, but we're gonna look a little bit about or talk a little bit about today. What does it mean uh to be a type four in the workplace if that happens to be your type? How to be a supportive teammate to somebody who most identifies as an Enneagram type four. And then I will share an example or two of uh teams who had zero fours, but some conversations that they have had around how can we bring in some of the strengths of the four to make our team that much better. Now, not hire a type four, but what are some of those strengths that a type four has that comes kind of natural to them that we could with more awareness and intentionality bring into the fold and our and our team. So we're we'll talk about that as well. But our type fours sometimes you will hear them call the individualist, the creative. Um, the the creative is a little, I don't love it because any type can be creative. And I think sometimes people um can mistype and they think, oh, I'm really creative, I must be a type four, or I'm not creating that creative, I must not be a type five or four. And it it's any type can be any level of creativity. So I don't love that. It really goes down to that starting to feel unique. Now, awareness to action has a leadership style that they will use for this type called the visionary. And as we get into it, I think you'll see some of why that name is such a great fit. Um, type fours in the workplace, they bring a lot of depth, they bring a lot of originality, they are able to connect meaning to their work, and they bring a level of emotional awareness, empathy to teams that um is is really important, it is very important. And so um, that is one of the things that we'll talk about. If you don't have any type fours and you're low on the twos, maybe low on the nines, um what can you do to bring more of that EQ to your team? Um, so when what does this look like? Striving to feel unique, there is this desire to be their one authentic, one-of-a-kind authentic self, to be very distinct. And at the same time that they are expressing their one of a kind, unique self, they very much want to belong, but they're not going to follow the status quo, they're not going to blend in so that they can belong. They want to belong for being their one-of-a-kind self. They want to be seen and understood. And it is one of the biggest pet peeves. And I I bring this up because it comes up in Enneagram theory. And then in when I'm sharing about this particular point, anytime I have a type four, they're just nodding their heads saying, Yes, this is quite possibly my this is my biggest pet peeve, is people to assume that they know how I feel. Um, and that can make me feel very misunderstood because they haven't asked any questions, they haven't asked a follow-up question to really understand they're just making assumptions, and I do not like that. Um, they have a very strong pull towards identity, self-expression, um, and just depths are able to go below some of the standard feelings that most of us will kind of our range typically um is I'm happy, I'm sad, or I'm mad. Fours can really go deep. I always joke, I you know, I don't know. Taylor's supposed to have a lot of four energy. And one of the things is that she'll be able to, you know, whereas one of us might say, I'm really sad. Taylor's gonna say, you know, I'm down bad crying at the gym. And so it's just they have this ability to really capture the feelings through storytelling and really get to, I'm mad. Okay, are you what's under that? Is it embarrassment? Is it frustration? What they're able to really pull apart those feelings very in touch with their own feelings, and they can be incredibly creative, very imaginative. Um, they safety job with the type school. And I like to bring that one up because I think in the workplace a lot, we they they can get a reputation for just being these kind of out of touch with reality creatives who like to go home and paint. And that's not necessarily true. They can be incredibly powerful and influential leaders. So I do like to share that Steve Jobs. They say, I don't know whoever they is, but they say Steve Jobs was uh most likely a type four. Um, they are painters, they bring a lot of richness to conversations and to ideas, and they they really are because they pay attention to people, they pay attention to themselves, um, they have that high emotional IQ or emotional awareness, they can be incredibly interesting, inspiring, influential storytellers, and are able to connect what might seem like mundane or day-to-day tasks in a deep and meaningful way. Now, when those drinks that they have get overused, dialed up too high with the wrong person or in the wrong situation, um they can be a little driven by their mood. And sometimes it's kind of a melancholy, they're in a melancholy mood. Um, when that happens, they might withdraw when they feel like people are misunderstanding them, their ideas aren't landing, um, maybe people are dismissing their ideas, dismissing their feelings, they're gonna they're gonna pull inwards. Um, they can't, they they could struggle with some impactalities, meaning, you know, we do love that creative touch, that new and interesting approach to life that can come so natural to them. On the flip side of that, when it's overused, it can you we just especially in the workplace, we're not able for efficiency reasons, resource, financial reasons. Um, we are not able to put a unique touch on every single thing. And so we might have to go with the status quo. We might have to go with the tried and true proven method, the standard, the policy, because it's worked and there's just not enough time or resources to do anything different. And that can feel really frustrating for the type four. And so there might be some friction between the four and who's ever telling them we can't do it, we got to do it the way that we always do it. Um, but hopefully, if you're working with this person or managing a person with this type four energy, you're able to find some outlet, some opportunities. It doesn't have to be all day, every day, but some opportunities for them to channel that. Um, they may also struggle with comparison. Again, which makes sense. I'm focused on myself. Um, I want to be unique, I want to um be accepted for being my one and only self. And I also want to understand kind of how I compare to other people. And sometimes they they can they can compare in a way that makes them feel like, oh, I'm actually maybe a little bit up here compared to that person. A lot of times, though, they are comparing and they can feel shame and envy um and really feel disconnected. So those are some things that that can not always or not all the time, but that can creep up on our type four um teammates in the workplace. Um, when they are at work, you're going to see them valuing meaning over just kind of random goals to just check the box. Whereas I know there are some types, and I'm thinking of our ones and our threes who just love a good checklist. It's just like whatever it is, let's do it, let's get it done, let's drive towards it. And fours are gonna struggle with that a little bit more. They're they're gonna need more meaningful work over that random checklist. Um, they're going to be most likely drawn to roles where they do have opportunities to express their creativity, to storytell, to design, um, maybe even to coach. They could be really great leaders because of that ability to go deep, to understand, to face for people, to understand the different people are different. And I don't expect everybody to for everything to work the same for everybody. Um, so they're probably going to be pretty good um leaders, managers, coaches, focused on people development. They're going to work best when their work feels personal and purposeful. And then they are going to have a need for autonomy very similar to a type 7, similar to a type A a little bit. Um, they're going to need that autonomy and some channels, some uh what's the word that I'm looking for? Outlets to express themselves. Now we talked earlier, the their leadership style is known as the visionary, and this person is going to lead with a lot of inspiration, most likely a lot of emotional intelligence. They're going to be able to connect their team or help connect their team to why the work matters. I'm thinking of the Simon Sinek book, could be a good leadership mantra for our type fours, where the book was uh start with why, and being able to motivate people because of that connection to something that matters. They're gonna bring innovation and fresh ideas and perspectives to the team, to the organization, whatever project they're a part of. Now, that challenge though, especially in leadership, those challenges might look like smoothiness. Um, it could look like a little inconsistency because sometimes routine and structure and doing the same thing over and over can feel boring, it can feel um not creative, not unique, uh, doesn't have a lot of meaning. But sometimes those things are necessary. So just depending on the team, the culture, the organization, this leader might have to put a little bit more effort and attention into that structure, that consistency. Um, and then if this leader doesn't feel appreciated for what they're doing to help their team, they can they can pull back a little bit, um, becoming a little distant, a little remote, maybe a little hard to get to know, hard to access in those times when they feel that way. I've heard type fours talk about their pet peeves as feeling boxed in. Um, it's a huge pet peeves to be dismissed, either their ideas, which I think also a lot of type sevens can relate to. Uh, they can feel um dismissed uh when people dismissing their ideas as well. Uh, I've heard them talk about a pet peeves being surface level conversations. I do not want to talk about their weather. I don't want to say, how's your Monday? You know, happy birthday. I want to talk about meaningful things. I want to build that rapport. I want to get to know you. I want you to get to know me beyond just the weather and some surface level facts about your latest vacation. Um, they will also say, I hate it when I'm told to be more practical without any sort of emotional context. Um, I think they understand that you know it can't always be creative, make sort of creative touch on everything. Um, but for somebody to say, I'll just be more practical, you're not thinking rational, um, can feel can feel really dismissive. And then uh they will say, at work, my preferences are authentic communication. I want to be recognized for my contributions, and ideally, um, I would like to individually, personally be called out for the work that I am doing. Um, that's that is probably a great conversation with all of your team, though, is what makes you feel appreciated. How would you like to be recognized for a job well done? Some people would say, please tell me, but please only tell me in private. Other people might say, you know, tell me consistently, specifically, regularly. Um, and if you want to do it in the team meeting, please, by all means. I I don't mind if you want to put me in the company newsletter. Um, but but having those conversations is is really important because we're talking about theory, we're talking about um typical behavior tendencies, but this will not be 100% true 100% of the time for all fours, um, which I think folks would appreciate. And uh fours, fives, nines, sixes, maybe ones occasionally are probably gonna need a little bit more time to process, process how they're feeling, process what they think, um, rather than putting them on the spot and expecting them to have a quick answer or quick suggestion. So as much as you can, give them that space, that time to explore creative ideas, to think about how they're feeling, to understand how they're feeling. Um, and they will also say, I really value when I can have deep and meaningful conversations with my coworkers about our work and about the purpose of our work. When we're looking at giving feedback to a type four, there are a couple of tips, and one of the ones that I hear is around acknowledging their unique perspective, their ability to be creative first. So I don't know that we would call this the sandwich method, but I have heard twos, fours most recently say, you know, if you could just remind me of the things that I'm doing well, maybe even threes a little bit, but remind me of the things that I'm doing well that you appreciate about me before you kind of give me the sting, I really that would be ideal. Um, you want to avoid minimizing their feelings or any type of emotional response. So you could ask somebody giving feedback, I you know, I can see where you're coming from. Um, I think things like tell me more, say more, asking follow-up questions about whatever their feedback is, maybe it's a little bit of a pushback, but but allowing them to share feelings and not to just shut them down and say, well, this is just the way that it is. Um clear is kind in these situations. So you want to be specific, also you want to be kind. And I think when you're giving that specific feedback, if you can focus on um the impact of whatever that feedback is versus this is who you are as a person, to kind of take that, um, making it personal and just focus on this is even though this might be your intention, this is kind of how it's landing, or this is why it may not be working. I understand though, you know, where you're coming from, or tell me more about where you're coming from. All I can tell you is this is this is the impact, and this is my what you might need to tweak a little bit here. Um, and then I think all fours would value some sort of question at the very end. You know, can how did you how did this feel on your end? Is there anything you would like to add? Anything that I I should know that you want to you want to share with me? And I think asking some version of how did this feel on your end can mean so much to the type four for building future trust, for feeling appreciated. Um, maybe it was some hard feedback, but they're going to be, it's gonna be much easier to accept and actually act on if they understand and feel seen and heard by you as well. Um, if you are a type four receiving feedback, some things to remember is to separate your identity from your behavior or whatever the impact of that behavior is. So we're not saying um, you know, you're bad, you're incapable, you're, you know, not strategic, whatever that might be. It's just, hey, this isn't you as a person, it's just this particular approach that you took, work that you did, and it may or may not have landed the way that you had intended it to. Um, you want to avoid making assumptions at all costs. So as you're giving feedback, if you're saying you did this or whatever facts you're stating, I think just be very careful um when you're talking to the four about you thinking that you know their intentions if you want to ask anytime that you can. Um, and so on on the flip side of that, our fours can work on changing the narrative in their minds that if I'm being criticized, that means I'm being rejected. And it's simply you could change the story. I'm I'm getting some constructive criticism so that I can grow, so that I can do more meaningful work. And then you want to use the feedback as data. Okay, this person experienced me this way. Okay, this person uh said had this to say about my work. You don't have to make it your the definition of who you are and who your work style is. So just Just be be careful because it's easy to do that. It's easy to say, well, this person thinks this, and now kind of internalize that, and now that becomes a fact. You want to use the feedback as data, not necessarily to define who you are. Okay, so that's kind of the overview for our type four showing up in the workplace, how they appreciate what their workplace peas and preferences are, how they appreciate getting feedback, receiving feedback, giving feedback, receiving feedback, talks a little bit about their leadership style. And now we're going to look at those three instinctual biases and how they might flavor the expression of the type four. So when we overlap the type four preserving instinct, um, preserving as a reminder is you're kind of focused on preserving uh resources, you might be a little more risk adverse, focused on risk management. Uh, you might uh value the routine a little bit more than than others. So this is kind of an interesting one when you pair it with the the type four. Um these the preserving four, because of that, probably gonna be your most practical fours. They're gonna be probably a little more grounded, maybe even uh a little quieter than the other type of fours. They might express their uniqueness through their work ethic, through uh silent suffering, or feeling like they have to earn their worth. So I don't know about you, but there may be not it doesn't happen a lot, but I do have some fours thinking, am I a three or am I a four? Um, and I think that right there might be a little bit why that preserving four could look a little bit like a type three, um, may even look a little bit like a type one. So if you're struggling between, am I this or am I that, these flavors might be some additional insight to help you understand, oh, maybe I'm just a preserving four, or maybe you're actually a type one. Uh the second instinctual bias is the navigating instinctual bias. So navigating for the navigating energy in general is focused on group dynamics, understanding role and responsibilities, um hierarchy, clarity around job titles, who's in charge, who's really in charge. And so this type four, the navigating for, it's gonna be really sensitive to group dynamics and belonging. So they're gonna take that fighty sense, emotional intelligence, and really use it in these group settings. Um, probably some political fabbiness, some organizational awareness happening right here. They can feel like an outsider, though, even in the regular familiar groups. Again, they're just kind of thinking, well, how do I fit in here? Belonging is going to be uh a big focus here. And then they are going to be tuned into their own feelings, like fours are, and then really attuned to the vibe, the tone of the team as well. They're gonna be a little bit more focused on that. And then our last type four is the transmitting four, and as a reminder, our transmitters are a little bit more open to risk. They want to leave a legacy, they want to leave an impact on the world. So it's kind of like double down on that four energy, which they say Steve Jobs was most likely a transmitting four. And here you're gonna get that very expressive, really intense, um, maybe artistic, very charismatic energy. They want to be seen, they want to be self, they want to be recognized here, and then they're going to have some strong main character energy when they show up in their room. And so you can see just from those three, that's why it's very hard to look solely at behavior, and you have to go back to that core strategy, that core logic, that core feeling needs. Where for our fours striving to feel unique, and then the way that it shows up and ends up getting expressed in this case, specifically in the workplace, can very much be flavored by the different instinctual biases. So if you're a four looking to grow, um, you want to start, they recommend looking at your two resource points. So for a type four, that's gonna be the type one where you're bringing in structure and discipline to help that those big visions come to life, building routine, even when your emotions you don't feel like it, they might be fluctuating. Um, you might not, you might be having a really bad day, a really sad day. Um, but implementing those routines can actually help a lot of times in those situations. Um, and then taking small, consistent action regardless of the mood can be really helpful to our type fours in the workplace. And then the other resource point or connecting line is to the type two, where you're building connection and contribution. You might be moving a little more from inward to focusing on your relationship and not just how am I feeling, how are the people around me feeling, and then offering care to others without necessarily losing yourself, being a martyr, self-sacrificing, which for our twos, we talked about they have a lot to learn from the fours who tend to be really in touch with themselves. All right, and then last but not least, how can we start to practice some of this, put some of this in action? I got two experiments for you. So if you happen to be a type four, a good question to ask might be okay, what can I do today, regardless of how I'm feeling? And it might be even helpful just to say, okay, every day this week I'm gonna do this, or every Monday I'm gonna do this, you know matter how I feel, just to have some sort of um embedded routine, embedded consistency that you're gonna feel good about doing it. It's gonna get you closer to where you want to go, regardless of how you're feeling. Um, you might also practice grounding those emotional insights that you have into practical action. So I'm really feeling this way, I'm really in my feelings. You don't need to rush through those feelings by any means, but there may be an opportunity to pair those feelings once you've had a chance to process and understand them with okay, to uh to lessen this in the future or to help me move through this faster in the future or to be more productive or collaborative or reach my goals faster, whatever that might be. Here's what I need to add in. Here's some practical action that I can pair with these emotions. And then this is hard. This is very hard. I think it's hard for all of us. It's it's we all can can fall into this, especially for our force. Be very careful about comparing, comparing yourself to others and coming back to curiosity when you feel yourself doing that, getting curious. What's behind this? What is it that I'm I'm feeling less than, or what is it that I'm envying? What is it that I'm feeling maybe a little insecure about? And and try your best to get curious about it rather than feeling like you're not enough and game spiraling. Um, again, easier said than done, but those are some things to keep in mind. Now, if you work with a type four, some ways to be supportive is to be very inviting to their ideas early on and not just like you know, into the meeting, what do you think? Pulling them in from the beginning is gonna mean a lot to them. Um, we talked about the importance of giving our fours space to process, so making sure that you are giving them room to emotionally process how they're doing without though letting it completely derail the team or themselves from their goals. So that's that's gonna be a fine line. You're probably gonna have to do some dialing up and back if you're a teammate or managing a type 4, but at least that's something to be aware of. Holding space for the time it takes to process while also not getting off track. Um, and then I think any time that you can acknowledge their individuality, their uniqueness, um, their original contributions and calling specific attention to those really means the world to our type fours, from what I hear. So if you happen to be a type four and have anything to add to us, I would love to hear about it. We'll share it in a future episode. Um if you happen to manage a four or work with a four and you have found some things that have been um supportive teammates um uh strategies, please share those as well. These are the types of things that we are sharing in our Enneagram workshops, and then we're also having opportunities for the similar types to connect and share their experience, which is always kind of fun, and then for the other types to better understand, um, in this case, type fours, but what whatever, whoever is on your team, um, that was exactly what we do inside these workshops is to introduce the Enneagram, the nine types, share those insights, the information, and then have different activities and opportunities for your team as a as a whole and the individuals that make up the team to continue to better understand themselves and how this might show up in real life for them and the impact that that has on the team's collaboration and communication. So I know a lot of people are looking to close the year out on a high note or kick off the year with a high note, something fun, something that you can use going into the new year. So I'm gonna invite you to check out our workshop and program options as well as some of our coaching, leadership coaching opportunities over at Enneagramba.com. Um, would love to hear from you, would love to connect. Uh, we have a couple of signature experiences, and then we're always able to build an experience based on your event, your agenda, your specific teams, needs and interests. So, with that, as always, thank you for being here. Thank you for joining me uh here in Puerto Rico, and I will see you next week, probably for type five.