How the Enneagram Can Improve Workplace Relationships
The workplace isn’t about efficiency, it’s about relationships. Whether you’re leading a team or figuring out how to set better boundaries, the Enneagram offers a dynamic, nuanced map for navigating the emotional and interpersonal terrain at work.
When you understand what drives your behavior and the behavior of those around you, you’re better equipped to lead, relate, and grow.
The Enneagram framework can reduce tension, improve collaboration, and make work feel more human. When used thoughtfully, it helps you understand not just what people do, but why they do it, giving you insight into what drives your colleagues (and yourself) at a deeper level.
What Is the Enneagram?
The Enneagram is a personality framework that identifies nine core types, each with its own core motivation, fear, and internal narrative. It’s not about boxing people in—it’s about understanding what shapes their behavior from the inside out. When you understand someone well, you can work well together.
To get a basic understanding of the 9 Enneagram types, see here.
When applied in the workplace, the Enneagram can help you:
Understand patterns of stress and reactivity
Learn how others communicate and make decisions
Build empathy in the face of differences
Approach feedback, conflict, and teamwork more effectively
And unlike surface-level personality quizzes, the Enneagram actually helps you grow. There are no bad types, only unhealthy expressions of each type. And even if a type is being expressed unhealthily, there's a clear path toward health.
Examples of How the Enneagram Can Help at Work
1. Providing and Receiving Feedback with More Compassion
Nina (Type 1 – The Reformer) is highly principled, organized, and perfectionistic. She leads a small legal team and prides herself on high standards. Her colleague Jordan (Type 9 – The Peacemaker) tends to avoid conflict and wants everyone to get along.
During a review cycle, Nina gives Jordan some direct (but constructive) feedback. Jordan shuts down, seeming withdrawn and distant for days afterward.
In an Enneagram workshop, Nina learns that Jordan may interpret strong feedback as emotional rejection. This isn't because he's fragile, but because he fears disconnection and loss of harmony. Meanwhile, Jordan learns that Nina isn’t trying to shame him; she genuinely believes direct feedback is a way of showing respect and helping people grow.
By understanding each other’s inner worlds, they begin communicating more clearly and with less emotional fallout.
2. Balancing Ambition with Collaboration
Alex (Type 3 – The Achiever) is a rising star in her consulting firm. She's efficient, image-conscious, and always focused on success. But her colleague Sam (Type 4 – The Individualist) is more introspective, emotionally attuned, and focused on authenticity and creative expression.
Tensions arise when Alex pushes for polished presentations and tight timelines, while Sam resists what he sees as “surface-level” work.
Through team coaching using the Enneagram, both start to recognize the value in each other’s approach. Alex realizes she can slow down to integrate more creativity and nuance, and Sam sees how structure and timelines don’t have to erase authenticity.
The result? Better collaboration and mutual respect instead of quiet resentment.
3. Managing Stress and Preventing Burnout
Leah (Type 6 – The Loyalist) is the operations manager at a nonprofit. She’s detail-oriented, a team player, loyal to the mission, and always scanning for what might go wrong. While this helps her prepare for the unexpected, it also causes chronic anxiety and difficulty trusting her team.
Her coworker Devon (Type 7 – The Enthusiast) thrives on spontaneity and brainstorming. He finds Leah’s contingency planning overwhelming and stifling—and she finds Devon’s optimism naive.
In Enneagram workplace coaching, both begin to see how their coping strategies serve a purpose but also create friction. Leah learns to step back and let go of micromanaging. Devon learns to follow through with more consistency. Together, they build a workflow that allows space for both flexibility and structure.
How Not to Use the Enneagram at Work
The Enneagram is a powerful tool—but it should never be weaponized.
One team made the mistake of printing everyone's types on name placards and joking about each other's flaws. “Oh, that’s just her being a Two again,” or “You’re being such an Eight right now.” It started as light teasing, but eventually people felt misunderstood and pigeonholed.
The Enneagram isn’t about labeling or excusing behavior; it’s about cultivating compassion and self-awareness. If it's being used to shame, stereotype, or silence someone, it’s being misused.
Working with a trained Enneagram therapist or coach can be helpful. We hold the nuance, guide the growth, and make sure the tool serves the people—not the other way around.
Enneagram Therapy In California & Florida
We offer Enneagram therapy for individuals and couples, and Enneagram workshops for leaders and teams. Whether you're addressing workplace burnout, career clarity, or interpersonal stress, we can help you deepen self-awareness and improve communication using this powerful tool.
Book a free consultation today to start work with an experienced Enneagram therapist in California.
