An Engineer's Take: How the Enneagram Provides a Path to Growth

I have an Industrial Engineering degree and you can infer some basic things about me with that knowledge: I love math, data, systems, and processes. My brain likes structure, clarity, and predictability. And yet, I’m going to start with semantics and history as I explain why the Enneagram has become one of the most useful development tools I've ever encountered.  

A (Super) Brief History of the Enneagram 

Let’s start with semantics, because of course we need to define our terms. In Greek, “Ennea” means nine and “gram” references a diagram or drawing. Portions of the Enneagram symbol and its characteristics appear in major world religions. Several contributors in the 1960’s and 70’s through today have developed the Enneagram into the personality framework we now know by integrating modern psychology. The Enneagram is a model of nine personality types, each differentiated by a specific core motivation. 

“All models are wrong, but some are useful.”

- mathematician George Box

It’s not every day that I get to quote a mathematician. As someone who loves math and data, nuanced concepts have always been more of a challenge for me. I’ve studied the Enneagram for many years, along with many other personality frameworks, as part of Corporate Rachel’s decades-long quest for self-improvement. 

The Enneagram has been the most powerful and most useful development system I’ve ever encountered. By a long shot. 

Sure, I don’t resonate with the descriptions 100% of the time. But the majority of the time, the information about my strengths, opportunities, defense mechanisms, and blind spots is spot on. And not only is the information spot on, but it offers specific, tangible growth opportunities mapped directly from the diagram. It’s useful in a way that feels actionable.

The Nine Types

When you see the nine types laid out visually, the Enneagram looks less like a personality quiz, and more like a system: one with structure, logic, and pathways.

The 9 Personality Types of the Enneagram

Development through Lines and Wings

One of my favorite aspects of the Enneagram is that this framework does not put you into a box; rather, it frees you from the boxes you may have put yourself into. We have access to all nine types, including connections to specific numbers. These connections provide built-in paths to growth.

Wings: Your core type has two neighboring numbers, considered your wings. You can access these qualities as part of your development. You can ask yourself, "What attributes about the wing numbers would be helpful for me in this situation?"

For example, for a Type 3 (Competitive Achiever), it may be helpful to access Type 2's (Considerate Helper) focus on helping others by balancing task-oriented behaviors with a more people-oriented approach.

Lines: The Enneagram diagram includes lines connecting specific numbers: 3-6-9 and 1-4-2-8-5-7. You can view the numbers connected to your own type as additional qualities you can intentionally draw from.

For example, for a Type 2 (Considerate Helper), there may be certain situations when it could be helpful to lean on more of a Type 8’s (Active Controller) ability to set firm boundaries. 

As a Type 9, leaning into my Type 3 (Competitive Achiever) line helps me take action towards specific goals, instead of staying comfortable with the status quo. Tapping into my Type 1 (Strict Perfectionist) wing brings more structure and clarity to my work.

Each type has direct connections to four other types through these two wings and two lines. As a starting place, by learning about all of the types, and especially focusing on your wings and lines, you can more easily identify which qualities to lean into as you grow.

Moving Forward with the Enneagram

I’ve created a quick reference sheet that maps each core type with their wings and lines: Join my newsletter to download here.

You can use this guide to quickly identify your built-in growth paths, the four types you can intentionally draw from as you develop. Perhaps it's the engineer in me that needed to see this in table format; hopefully, it's also a visual reminder that we are more than our type.

This guide can be used as a jumping off point for growth. It may not be perfect, but I've found it to be useful and I hope that you do too.

Interested in learning more about personal and professional development through the Enneagram framework?

If you're curious how your type can guide your growth, I'd love to explore it with you.

Schedule a free 20-minute discovery call.