List of Articles by Jack Falt

Article by Jack Falt for APT Canada

This past fall when I was asking for suggestions for topics, someone asked if I could do a presentation on the Enneagram with them. I had taken the basic Enneagram program a couple of times and so figured we could use the introductory book The Enneagram Made Easy by Renee Baron and Elizabeth Wagele. (One of my group who comes occasionally is qualified in the Enneagram, and although she wasn’t available to lead the group, she did encourage me and was willing to act as my consultant.) The group are enjoying the sessions. I have also used with them the video Discovering Yourself Through the Enneagram produced by Swiftwater Media (https://vulcan.safe-order.net/swiftwatermedia/orders.html/) which presents the basics in a very clear manner.

I find I learn best when I have an opportunity to teach the material. Being able to research the material and to figure out how to present it helps me to grasp the concepts better. My group is keen and patient enough to allow me the luxury of indulging my passion.

Psychological type tells us how we think--our mental processes. The Enneagram tells us why we think as we do--our inner motivations. The two theories work well together. Pat Wyman’s book The Three Keys to Understanding  (http://www.patwyman3keys.com/) shows how she uses MBTI®, Enneagram and Inner Child Work to help her women clients.

The Enneagram has ancient roots, and through the work of Gurdjieff, Ichazo, Naranjo, and others, it has become a well-integrated theory of human personality. Ennea is the Greek word for nine and gram is the word for drawing, so the Enneagram diagram is a nine pointed star within a circle. Essentially there are nine personality types, one at each point of the star. These points represent the main defence mechanism we chose as a child and continue to use in our adult life. These defence mechanisms keep us from seeing reality. It is as if we are in a trance. The value of the Enneagram is to reveal the trance we are in and help us to learn to live more authentically. It is similar to Jung’s concept of individuation. While the MBTI® theory looks mainly at our positive aspects, the Enneagram looks, as well, at our negative aspects or psychological flaws. The closest to this in MBTI® theory is the inferior function or “being in the grip.”

Similar to the MBTI®, the Enneagram is used in the world of work, for personal growth and relationship counselling.  I feel it is worthwhile for anyone using the MBTI® to also know the Enneagram. It provides a lot of information and depth, and helps you and the client understand their motivations.

Tom Flautt and John Richards (http://www.breakoutofthebox.com/flauttrichards.htm) have been active in correlating the two systems, and have presented their findings at least two APT Conferences (1997, 1999). Richards has developed an instrument to help determine one’s Enneagram type. Like the MBTI®, one has to verify one’s Enneagram as there is no foolproof method of determining ones type in either system. Richards has also produced a booklet called The Illustrated Enneagram (http://www.trytel.com/~jfalt/Rev-oth/richards.html) which has fourteen cartoons for each of the nine types. These correspond to the questions in his instrument. I have used these with my group and they have proven to be very helpful both to understand the concepts and to be more precise in answering the questions in the instrument. (Proper procedure with the MBTI® does not allow the administrator to explain a question. Since this opens up the possibility of many various interpretations, in my opinion, it also leads to problems with the final scores.)

Here is a comparison of the two systems by Tom Flautt and John Richards (from their web site):
“The major advantages of the MBTI® typology are 1) that its origins are more clearly in line with accepted psychology (Jung and Myers-Briggs), 2) that it uses a psychologically validated instrument, 3) that it has well developed applications, especially career counselling, management and team building, 4) that powerful exercises have been developed to demonstrate the theory, 5) that it is widely accepted by counsellors, business, and education. The disadvantages of this approach are 1) it is complicated—many people report that it is difficult to remember the description of each of the16 types, 2) that it measures the part of the psyche, relating to consciousness and cognitive behaviour, not motivations, 3) that so many people have been exposed to Myers-Briggs typology that they feel “been there, done that ,” 4) that the results of the instrument can be taken literally to label people.

“The major advantages of the Enneagram typology are 1) It is easier to remember the key motivations of 9 Enneatypes than the description of 16 Myers-Briggs types, 2) It is a relatively new system which is attractive because of its novelty, 3) that self-development or personal growth is an integral part of the theory, 4) that use for organizational development or team building brings a new perspective to these subjects, 5) that it has been shown to be very engaging and helpful for people interested in spiritual development. The major disadvantages are 1) the origins come from obscure esoteric “teachers of wisdom” who have been secretive about this system, 2) there is no common terminology or description for each of the 9 Enneagram types, 3) there is no validated instrument.” (This was written at a time before Richards published his instrument. Don Riso has also published his instrument in his book Discovering Your Personality Type [Houghton Mifflin Co.])

Like the MBTI®, the Enneagram is quite a complex system. You can use it at a very simple level and just read the type descriptions, or you can look at the wings (the type on either side of the type on the circle), the arrows (the lines between the various types), and levels of healthy or unhealthy expression. Just as you can spend you life studying Jung/Myers theory, you can do the same with the Enneagram.

Spirituality has been one of the applications of the MBTI®. The Enneagram has spirituality as one of its main focuses as well. It is very popular within the Roman Catholic Church. In fact the nine types have been identified with the seven deadly sins with deceit and fear thrown in to complete the nine. It helps us to see our compulsions which in turn can lead to a transformation in our behaviour. (Just do a Google search on Enneagram +Spirituality and you will get a host of hits!)

The Enneagram has a wealth of information that would be very useful to any MBTI® facilitator, and it is well worth looking into even if you don’t plan on becoming trained in the system. Having the added information about what motivates people can greatly enhance the facilitator’s effectiveness.

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List of Articles by Jack Falt