Enneagram Personality System

Enneagram is a powerful and dynamic system of personality analysis consisting of nine different points that describes patterns in how people conceptualize the world and manage emotions. The name Enneagram comes from the Greek: “Enna” is the word for nine and “Gramma” means model or figure. Enneagram model describes nine different personality types and maps each of these types on a nine-pointed diagram. It helps to explain why people behave in certain ways and show opportunities for personal development and understanding others.

When you find out your personality type and its key features, you'll discover what will motivate you, strategies to deal with problems, and key points for your personal development. Below we will summarize the key features for each character type, but if you want to learn more, you can also refer to very useful books about this interesting method.

Summary Definitions for Enneagram

Types Type 1- Perfectionist / Reformer: Perfectionists believe that they must always be good and right to have a respected personality. They are honest, responsible, and improvement-oriented. Self control is important for them. The disadvantages of this type are that they are sensitive and resentful and overly critical of themselves and people around. Some of the famous people who are perfectionist are Confucius, Hillary Clinton, Aristotle, Queen Elizabeth II., Abdullah Gul and Deniz Baykal.

Type 2- Helper / Care Taker: They think that people around need them or they can slip into doing things for others in order to be need. That's why they like to have close relationships with people around them. They are friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing. However, they have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging their own needs. They want approval and appraisal of others. The celebrities that might be suitable for this type are Princess Diana, Bill Cosby, Madonna, Sezen Aksu, Sunay Akın, and Müjdat Gezen.

Type 3- Achiever / Performer: They channel their emotional energy into getting things done. They like to stay active, achieve results, keep up their image, and have high status and respect. However, they do not pay much attention to feelings; they are impatient, intolerant, and they can be extremely jealous. The celebrities that might be suitable for this type are Tom Cruise, Sharon Stone, Hulya Avsar, Fatih Terim, Yilmaz Erdogan, Mahsun Kirmizigul.

Type 4- Romantic / Individualist: They think that they need to be special and different. They are self-aware, sensitive and reserved. They have a strong sense of self-identity, they are self-confident and idealistic. However, they may excessively moody, depressed and fragile. Since they have a very creative personality, most of the artists are usually in this group. Celebrities that might be suitable for this type are Van Gogh, Johnny Depp, Can Dundar, Ugur Yucel, and Ilhan Irem.

Type 5- Thinker / Observer: They want to pursue knowledge and understand the world around them. They believe that they must protect themselves from a world that demands too much and gives too little. They love research and observation. They always get around to do this, and therefore they think that they are self-sufficient and do not like to devote much time to other people. They have analytical thinking. They are very personal, they need to isolate themselves from human beings, and at times they are detached from the outside world. The famous people that might be suitable for this type are Buddha, Hıncal Uluç, Cem Yılmaz, Mehmet Ali Birand.

Type 6- Loyalist / Questioner: They think that the outside world is very dangerous; they highly skeptical and seek security. They are caring, generous, thoughtful, and friendly, but it is not so easy to strike up a friendship with them because at first they approach everyone they do not know with suspicion. They are very interrogative and want to be aware of the possible dangers in advance. The most important disadvantages are that they are overly skeptical, extremely suspicious of everything and everyone in their environment. Famous people that might be suitable for this type are Adolf Hitler, and George W. Bush.

Type 7- Enthusiast / Epicure: They are constantly active and enthusiastic about almost everything that catches their attention. They approach life with curiosity, they are optimistic and adventurist. They are practical and energetic. They foresee events and generate ideas. However, they do and say whatever comes to their mind. They struggle with focusing on the task because they always have a desire to partake in something more interesting. The famous people that might be suitable for this type are Jim Carrey, Jack Nicholson, and Sergen Yalcin.

Type 8- Leader / Challenger: They feel that they must control the environment around them. They try to be fair and they are determined. They like to become inspiring and heroic. They are domineering and ego-centric. They are self-confident and assertive. They never hesitate to take the initiative. However, because they are straight-talking they might be deemed confrontational and intimidating. Some of the famous people that might be suitable for this type are Stalin, Fidel Castro, Gandhi, and Ibrahim Tatlises.

Type 9- Peacemaker / Mediator: They are easygoing and willing to tolerate everyone. They have the tendency to avoid direct confrontation and conflict. They struggle to neutralize tension and provide harmony because peace is the most important thing for them. They want to think through the positive and negative aspects of the events before making a decision and therefore their decision-making process is a bit long. They do not want to judge their decisions; therefore they do not easily change their decisions. They go with the flow. They might have passive aggressive behavior patterns. They are stubborn and indecisive. The famous people that might be suitable for this type are Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Turkan Soray, and Zerrin Ozer.