This article delves into the strengths, potential hurdles, growth opportunities, and the influence of Enneagram Type 8 leaders on team members who may have different personality types. By comprehending the dynamics of the Type 8 leadership style, you can cultivate a well-rounded and inclusive work environment that encourages collaboration and individual development.
The Enneagram Type 8 leadership style, can be referred to as the “The Strong Protector,” brings a powerful blend of strength, assertiveness, and justice to the forefront.
Strengths of Type 8 Leaders:
- Advocacy for Equity and Justice Practices: Type 8 leaders excel in prioritizing justice and fairness. They actively support inclusivity, equality, and foster an environment where every voice is acknowledged and valued.
- Confident and Decisive: The Type 8 leaders are recognized for their straightforward and assertive approach to communication. They confidently make decisions, offering clarity and guidance to their teams.
- Innate Leadership Qualities: Leaders of Type 8 naturally assume control and leadership responsibilities. They express themselves without hesitation, champion their team members, and take decisive action when required.
Blind Spots and Potential Hurdles:
- Desire for Control: Type 8 Leaders often possess a significant need for control, potentially restricting delegation and impeding the growth of team members. It is crucial for them to cultivate trust in their team and empower individuals to assume ownership.
- Vigor and Command: The formidable presence and assertiveness of Type 8 leaders may occasionally come across as domineering or overwhelming. Striking a balance between their assertive nature and fostering an environment conducive to open dialogue will be essential for them.
- Difficulty with Vulnerability: Type 8 leaders may find it challenging to deal with both their own and others’ vulnerability. This challenge may lead to a tendency to underestimate the emotional aspects of teamwork, potentially impeding the development of empathy and connection.
Growth Opportunities for Type 8 Leaders
To continue to enhance their leadership effectiveness, Type 8 leaders can focus on the following growth areas:
- Harmonizing Power and Vulnerability: The Strong Protector stands to gain by embracing vulnerability within themselves and fostering it in others. This practice promotes psychological safety and openness, thereby strengthening team cohesion and trust.
- Cultivating Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Type 8 leaders can enhance their connections with team members by developing empathy and emotional intelligence. Through understanding and validating emotions, they contribute to creating a more supportive work environment.
- Encouraging Collaboration and Delegation: Type 8 leaders can strive to nurture a collaborative culture, empowering team members to contribute their unique strengths and express their thoughts freely. Developing effective delegation skills enables Eights to concentrate on higher-level strategic initiatives.
For additional development opportunities, study Type 8s resource points (arrows in the enneagram symbol), Type 2 and Type 5, to see what behaviors and qualities they can pull in to improve their approach to leadership. Also, please refer to the leadership strengths of Type 2 and 5.
How the 9 Enneagram types perceive leadership?
Source: https://theenneagraminbusiness.com/
Potential impact on their team:
Positive impacts/ Favorable effects or benefits
- Tenacity and Determination: Type 8 leaders exemplify resilience and determination when confronted with challenges. Their steadfast commitment serves as a motivating force for team members, encouraging perseverance even in the midst of adversity.
- Robust Leadership: Eights typically exhibit innate leadership qualities, marked by decisiveness, confidence, and a ease in assuming control. These traits can serve as a source of inspiration and effective guidance for their teams.
- Straightforward Communication: Leaders employing this style often communicate in a direct and candid manner. They openly express their thoughts and opinions, cultivating a team environment characterized by clear and honest dialogue.
- Guardianship and Support: Leaders embodying the Strong Protector archetype are recognized for their unwavering loyalty and protective stance toward their team members. They consistently champion the needs of their team, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary resources and support for success.
Negative impacts/ Adverse effects or drawbacks
- Difficulty with vulnerability: The Strong Protectors often have a need to appear strong and invulnerable. This can make it challenging for them to express vulnerability or seek input from others, potentially limiting the team’s ability to share ideas and foster trust.
- Potential for Confrontation: The assertive disposition of Type 8 leaders may at times result in confrontational interactions. While constructive conflict can be advantageous, an excess of confrontation might contribute to a tense and hostile work environment.
- Authoritative Conduct: The assertiveness and control-seeking tendencies of Eights may occasionally translate into domineering behavior. This behavior has the potential to overshadow or intimidate team members, impeding collaboration and suppressing diverse perspectives.
- Propensity for Excessive Assertiveness: Type 8 leaders, driven by their desire for control, may display an inclination towards being overly assertive. This can limit the space for others to share ideas or participate in decision-making processes, leading to feelings of shutdown, disengagement, and diminished team morale.
Conclusion
It is crucial to acknowledge that the influence of a leadership style is contingent on the particular context, team composition, and the project at hand. Striking a balanced approach that combines the natural strengths of the Type 8 leadership style while being mindful of potential challenges and blind spots can optimize its positive impact and mitigate or lessen any negative effects.
Every individual is distinct, shaped by a myriad of factors such as childhood experiences, race, culture, birth order, socioeconomic status, education level, religion/spirituality, family dynamics, and more. These elements collectively influence a person’s personality and the strategies they employ to navigate life. Utilizing the Enneagram as a framework provides a starting point for gaining a deeper understanding of oneself or others. It serves as a valuable tool to comprehend and support individuals, fostering personal and interpersonal growth.
Which leadership styles do you incorporate? Leadership is a fluid/dynamic endeavour, allowing for the adoption of various styles. Your approach evolves as you consistently aim to improve your support for both your team and the overall development of the company.
As the Chinese proverb conveys, wisdom lies in adapting to circumstances, akin to water moulding itself to suit its container. To enhance our leadership capabilities in the future, it is vital to comprehend the suitable leadership styles for diverse situations and take into account the motivational factors of those we lead.
Engaging in a leadership workshop that employs the Enneagram profiling system can aid in developing an agile/adaptable leadership style, a quality increasingly acknowledged as crucial for effectively guiding today’s workforce.
Utilizing the Enneagram in leadership enables participants to grasp the nine unique leadership paradigms, encompassing their inherent strengths and potential challenges. This approach delves into the expected behaviours demonstrated by leaders of each Enneagram type and proposes customized development activities to augment leadership capabilities according to individual Enneagram types.
Moreover, the Enneagram proves valuable in refining specific leadership competencies, including the ability to drive results, strategic planning, leading high-performing teams, and more.