Both of these types are driven by ideas. Both can light up a room when the topic is right. But underneath that shared curiosity, two very different strivings are running the show.

The Five's striving to feel detached, capable, and competent isn't about being a know-it-all, it's about making sure they have enough before they give anything away. They go inward, go deep, and conserve their energy carefully. The Seven's striving to feel excited and satisfied isn't about being scattered, but rather about staying energized and in motion. They go outward, go wide, and keep moving because slowing down feels like being limited and contained.

One goes within to recharge. The other expands to stay fueled up. Put them on the same team and you get either the most idea-generating pairing in the building... or two people who genuinely cannot figure out why the other one works the way they do. The difference usually comes down to whether they understand what's actually driving each other.

The Strengths of This Pairing:

• The Five goes deep; the Seven goes wide; together they cover interesting topics that neither could cover alone, and the best ideas usually live in the overlap
• Sevens draw Fives out of their heads and into momentum; that spark can get a Five's best thinking off the whiteboard and into the world
• Fives give Sevens something they rarely slow down for: needed rigor, helping stress-test an idea before it's already been announced to the whole company
• Both types are genuinely energized by learning; when they find a topic they're both excited about, the conversation is electric and the output shows it

Potential Friction:

• The Seven's pace can feel reckless to a Five; the Five's pace can feel like hesitation to a Seven, and both interpretations are wrong, but neither person says so
• The Seven keeps introducing new ideas before the Five has finished with the last one, and the Five quietly loses trust in the Seven's ability to actually execute
• The Five's need for quiet and solitude to do their best thinking can feel like rejection to a Seven who is energized by engagement and presence
• Both types avoid sitting with hard things, but from opposite directions; the Seven pivots away through optimism and activity, the Five retreats into analysis, and difficult conversations end up intellectualized or quietly dropped instead of actually resolved

Resources + Links:

• Learn more about the 3-part Dream Team Momentum program: enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops
• Run your own Enneagram Workshop: enneagrammba.com/enneagram-workshop-kit
• Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahlynnwallace/
• Take the 2-question Enneagram quiz: enneagrammba.com/blog/enneagramtest
• Work with Sarah - workshops, speaking, and team facilitation: enneagrammba.com/enneagram-speaker

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

🗓️ Book a Guided Enneagram Workshop for your team retreat at work:
https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops

✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
https://www.enneagrammba.com/cheatsheet

Striving to Feel Powerful meets Striving to Feel at Peace

The Eight and Nine pairing is one of those dynamics where the differences are impossible to miss and the similarities can be completely hidden.

Eights tend to be direct, decisive, and energized by challenge. Nines are steady, accommodating, and energized when everyone is getting along.

But here's what most people miss: both types are deeply loyal, both are quietly protective of the people they care about, and both have a stubborn streak that isn't always visible until something important is on the line.

The Eight's striving to feel strong and in control isn't aggression, but rather self-protection. They push hard because backing down feels like losing something important about themselves. The Nine's striving to feel at peace isn't necessarily passivity, but rather preservation. They accommodate because conflict feels like a genuine threat to the stability they need to function well.

When those two strivings meet in a workplace, you get a dynamic that's full of potential and can also be full of landmines. The difference between the two usually comes down to whether both people understand what's actually behind the friction.

The Strengths of This Pairing:

• The Eight generates momentum and makes the tough call; the Nine builds the consensus and brings people along. Together, they can move fast and sustainably
• Nines have a rare ability to receive an Eight's intensity without shutting down or mirroring it back, which often makes the Eight more effective with others
• Eights give Nines something they often struggle to find on their own: permission (and sometimes pressure!) to take up space and speak honestly
• Both types are fiercely loyal to their people; when this pairing trusts each other, they can create a workplace bond that runs deep

Where the Potential Can Show Up:

• The Eight's directness can feel like an attack to a Nine striving for peace, even when zero attack was intended... and the Nine won't say anything, so resentment can build
• The Nine's tendency to go along can quietly drive an Eight up the wall, because Eights actually want real pushback. It doesn't feel safe when they can't get a read on someone.
• Unresolved tension looks completely different for each type: the Eight escalates, the Nine withdraws, and neither one is actually resolving anything
• The Eight reads the Nine's calm as disengagement; the Nine reads the Eight's intensity as a sign that something is already wrong

Reflection Question from This Episode: Where on your team is someone striving to feel strong and powerful and someone else striving to feel calm and at peace? Is the organization/team creating conditions for both of those to actually get what they need?

Resources + Links:

• Learn more about the 3-part Dream Team Momentum program: enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops
• Run your own Enneagram Workshop: enneagrammba.com/enneagram-workshop-kit
• Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahlynnwallace/
• Take the 2-question Enneagram quiz: enneagrammba.com/blog/enneagramtest
• Work with Sarah - workshops, speaking, and team facilitation: enneagrammba.com/enneagram-speaker

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

🗓️ Book a Guided Enneagram Workshop for your team retreat at work:
https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops

✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
https://www.enneagrammba.com/cheatsheet

If you work with or manage a Type 4 (or if you are a Type 4!) this one's for you. In this episode of our Starting Monday series, we're breaking down the do's and don'ts of giving feedback as an Enneagram Type 4: the Visionary. As always, the goal is simple: take these insights and put them to work by Monday.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

Type 4s bring something genuinely rare to feedback conversations: real, deep empathy. They have an almost uncanny ability to see the whole person in front of them, not just their performance, but who they are. That's a gift. But like every type, the very thing that makes the 4 great at feedback can also get in the way if left unchecked.

We walk through three things to do and three things to avoid when giving feedback as a Type 4, including a specific phrase you can use to open the conversation in a way that's both honest and caring.

3 Things to DO as a Type 4 When Giving Feedback

1. Lead with genuine connection. You naturally create emotional safety. Let the other person feel seen before you get into the substance of the feedback.
2. Back up your observations with specifics. "I noticed in the last three meetings, you seemed disengaged" lands differently than "something feels off with your energy lately." You're still using your intuition, just anchoring it in something observable and actionable.
3. Trust that honesty is kindness. Clear is kind. You may want to protect people from discomfort, but holding back the feedback they need isn't protecting them; it's withholding. You'll deliver it with care. Trust that.

3 Things to AVOID as a Type 4 When Giving Feedback

1. Letting the emotional temperature of the room decide what gets said. If the other person seems fragile or it "doesn't feel like the right moment," the conversation can keep getting pushed. Check in with yourself — it might actually be exactly the right time.
2. Framing everything through feelings language alone. "My sense is..." and "it felt like..." are valid, but they need to be paired with observable specifics. Without them, the feedback can be too easy to dismiss.
3. Making it about your emotional experience rather than theirs. It's a subtle shift, but an important one. Ask yourself: whose feelings are being centered here?

A Phrase to Try

"I want to share something with you because I think you're capable of more , and I care too much about you and your success to stay quiet about it."

Make it yours. But that spirit of "I see more in you than what's happening right now" is very much in the Type 4 wheelhouse, and it's a powerful way to open a hard conversation.

Resources + Next Steps

1) Have something to add? Are you a Type 4 who wants to push back on something or share what's worked for you? Or do you work with a Type 4 and want to share what you appreciate about the way they give feedback? We'd love to hear from you at enneagrammba.com/contact.

2) If you want to keep exploring how to lead and communicate better by type, grab the Enneagram Manager's Prompt Pack. It's a practical, downloadable guide organized by real workplace situations so you always know what to say and how to say it. Find it here.

Enneagram MBA is a team training and leadership development company based in the Louisville metro area. We help organizations build self-aware, high-performing teams using insights from the Enneagram.

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

🗓️ Book a Guided Enneagram Workshop for your team retreat at work:
https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops

✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
https://www.enneagrammba.com/cheatsheet

NEW RESOURCE! The Manager's Prompt Pack: Scripts for All Types in All Situations

Download Now for just $47.

Striving to Feel Perfect Meets Striving to Feel Safe

What happens when the person striving to get everything right teams up with the person striving to feel safe and certain? In this episode of the Coworker Chemistry series, we're diving into one of the most quietly complex pairings in the Enneagram: Type 1 and Type 6.

On the surface, these two look like the dream team. Both are dependable. Both are thorough. Both would rather over-prepare than be caught off guard. But underneath that shared work ethic, two very different strivings are running the show, and when they rub up against each other, things can get complicated fast.

We're breaking down:

• Why the One's striving to feel perfect and the Six's striving to feel safe and secure are more compatible than they look...and where they can collide
• The specific friction points this pairing creates (including why Six's questions feel like undermining to a One, and why One's certainty feels like a threat to a Six)
• How these two types communicate completely differently under stress, and what each one actually needs to hear
• What this dynamic looks like when a One is leading a Six, when a Six is leading a One, and what peer-to-peer looks like when trust is (and isn't) established
• The growth paths that can turn this pairing from a loop of perfectionism and anxiety into one of the most reliable duos on your team

If you work with a Type 1 or a Type 6 (or you ARE one!) this episode might feel a little uncomfortably familiar. :)

Reflection Question from This Episode: Where on your team is someone striving to get it right and someone else striving to feel secure? And are you letting both of those be valuable?

Resources + Links:

• Learn more about the Dream Team Momentum program here
• Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahlynnwallace/
• Take the Enneagram assessment: the 2-question quiz
• Looking for a gift for your coworker or boss? Find their type-specific mug

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

🗓️ Book a Guided Enneagram Workshop for your team retreat at work:
https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops

✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
https://www.enneagrammba.com/cheatsheet

Set the stage for collaborative coworker chemistry among all the types inside your team with the Enneagram Introduction DIY Workshop Kit:

https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-workshop-kit

******

What happens when your most standards-driven coworker teams up with your most relationship-focused one? In this episode, we're kicking off a brand new series on coworker chemistry, and we're starting with the Type 1 (striving to feel perfect) and Type 2 (striving to feel connected).

We're breaking down:

• What makes the Type 1 + Type 2 dynamic genuinely powerful
• Where the friction shows up (and why it usually goes unspoken)
• How these two types communicate completely differently (and what to do about it)
• What this pairing looks like when a One is the leader vs. a Two, and what it looks like peer-to-peer
• One growth recommendation for each that can ensure this dynamic is collaborative and successful

Whether you're a Type 1, a Type 2, or you manage someone who is, this one is going to hopefully give you some fresh perspectives and maybe even some good-natural laughs at yourself and one another :)

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

🗓️ Book a Guided Enneagram Workshop for your team retreat at work:
https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops

✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
https://www.enneagrammba.com/cheatsheet

Get access to the DIY Workshop Kit plus get the "Coworker Chemistry" add-on slide deck for free (a $95 value):

Step 1: Add the DIY Kit to your cart:

https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-workshop-kit

Step 2: Check the box under the checkout section to add your free access to the Coworker Chemistry slide deck using the coupon code FEBENNSIDER (valid the whole month of February 2026).

---------------------

In this episode, you'll hear about how the Enneagram works differently with long-standing teams, and why it can be even more powerful at this stage.

Tenured teams bring a lot of trust, loyalty, and company knowledge. But they also bring established patterns, unspoken roles, and sometimes outdated assumptions about one another. The Enneagram can help teams move from “That’s just how they are” to a deeper understanding of motivation, stress patterns, and growth potential.

If you lead or work within a long-standing team, this conversation will give you considerations for how you can see familiar dynamics with fresh eyes.

When you listen in, we'll cover:

• What makes tenured teams unique
• The upside of comfort, trust, and shared history
• Why teams often say, “We already know ourselves”
• How to update outdated labels and team roles
• Practical ways leaders can use the Enneagram

Key Takeaway

The Enneagram isn’t just for teams trying to figure out who they are.

It can be incredibly useful for teams who already know each other because it brings awareness to the patterns everyone has learned to live with.

Young teams use the Enneagram to discover who they are.
Tenured teams use it to update who they’ve become.

Interested in Bringing This to Your Team?

If your team has worked together for years and you're looking to revisit seasoned dynamics with a fun and fresh perspective, you can learn more about Enneagram workshops and leadership programs at enneagrammba.com.

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

🗓️ Book a Guided Enneagram Workshop for your team retreat at work:
https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops

✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
https://www.enneagrammba.com/cheatsheet

Get access to the DIY Workshop Kit plus get the "Coworker Chemistry" add-on slide deck for free (a $95 value):

Step 1: Add the DIY Kit to your cart:

https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-workshop-kit

Step 2: Check the box under the checkout section to add your free access to the Coworker Chemistry slide deck using the coupon code FEBENNSIDER (valid the whole month of February 2026).

--------------------

When the world feels uncertain, your personality patterns get louder, but so do your instincts.

In the Enneagram, your type explains how you react to stress.
Your instinctual bias explains where your attention goes when things feel unstable.

Some people focus on safety and stability.
Some focus on relationships and belonging.
Some feel driven to act, influence, or create change.

In this episode, we explore the three instinctual biases—Preserving, Navigating, and Transmitting—and how each one can build resilience at work during uncertain times.

Because each instinct doesn’t just have a stress reaction.
It also brings a strength your team may need right now.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The difference between type and instinctual bias
• How each instinct responds to uncertainty
• The core gift of each instinct in stressful times
• One practical action you can take this week

The Three Instinctual Biases (Quick Overview)

Preserving Instinct
Focus: Safety, resources, and day-to-day stability.

• Under stress: Worry about finances, health, or job security.
• Resilience move: Create practical stability through routines and boundaries.
• Gift to the team: Grounded realism and steadiness.
• Practical action:
  Do a short “stability check” with your team—clarify top priorities, remove one unnecessary task, or confirm needed resources.

Navigating Instinct
Focus: Relationships, alliances, and group dynamics.

• Under stress: Heightened concern about belonging, morale, or social tension.
• Resilience move: Strengthen key relationships and build trust.
• Gift to the team: Social awareness and connection.
• Practical action:
  Schedule two short check-ins this week—one with a team member and one with a peer—to ask how they’re doing and what support they need.

Transmitting Instinct
Focus: Impact, expression, vision, and influence.

• Under stress: Urgency to act, speak out, or drive change.
• Resilience move: Channel energy into meaningful, constructive action.
• Gift to the team: Inspiration and momentum.
• Practical action:
  Share a short LinkedIn post or internal message highlighting something positive your team is doing to navigate the current moment.

Have a request for a future episode? Drop a text here!

🗓️ Book a Guided Enneagram Workshop for your team retreat at work:
https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops

✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
https://www.enneagrammba.com/cheatsheet