Enneagram Type Eight: The Leader

 

Enneagram Type Eight- The Leader

The primary motivation for a type Eight is power and control and they present as the toughest personality of the whole enneagram system. Type Eights are blunt, direct, and assertive- and they like to get the same in return. They are often in positions of power, but when subjected to being ‘under’ someone else, they often have a defiant streak that is palpable. They are often shrewd business people and are not shy about turning a situation toward their material advantage.

In the levels of development that are part of the Enneatype system, an integrated (healthy) type Eight is a magnanimous leader capable of delegating large swaths of responsibility to those who have earned it and to whom the Eight can trust. A healthy Eight often uses their dominance in a work setting but turns their strength into protection on the home front. A healthy Eight integrates toward type two and becomes nurturing and protective of those around them.

Average  Type Eight’s can be ‘bossy’ but are usually correct in what they are expecting of others. They do not like threats to their dominance or people who hide information from them.

Under stress, when an average Eight starts to disintegrate, they feel their power slipping and feel insecure. This makes them take on the qualities of an average 5 and they can become very introverted, rigid, and controlling in an attempt to regain their power.

Famous 8s: Joseph Stalin, Henry Kissinger, Mick Jagger, King Henry VIII, Muhammad Ali, Julius Caesar, Vladimir Putin, Pablo Picasso, Rosie O’Donnell, Lyndon Johnson : Sean Connery, Carl Sagan, Bruce Lee, Franklin Roosevelt