When you feel stuck in a decision, question, or struggle, it is likely you have only engaged in it from your dominant intelligence center. To get unstuck, you can try to “work the wheel” of the Enneagram circle, by moving through each intelligence center thoughtfully. It is helpful to use a journal or notebook to work through the steps.

Step One is to describe the issue.

What is a decision, question, or struggle in your life that feels stuck? Or in which next steps are uncertain? If possible, narrow it down to a question you are trying to answer or a problem you are trying to solve.

Step Two is to take that issue “to the wheel.”

First, answer 3-5 of the questions listed below your dominant center. (Which is the heart center for Types 2, 3, and 4, head center for Types 5, 6, and 7, and gut center for Types 8, 9, and 1.) After completing those questions, choose a direction– usually counter-clockwise feels most comfortable– and answer 3-5 questions from that second center, followed by the third center. After going through all three intelligence centers, take a step back and look at the issue again. Is there any more clarity? What is the next step you can take?

Repeat the exercise as needed.

“According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a syndrome resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It’s characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.” - Ashley Abramson, in the article Burnout and Stress Are Everywhere on apa.org

Are you feeling that way these days? Many of us are.

When struggle is present, our Enneagram Type patterns jump into action. Our Type patterns exist because they have “worked.” Our experience knows how they have helped us survive our lives to this point. In certain kinds of stress, we move with the arrows of the symbol, and away from the behaviors of our Type. Burnout and overwhelm are different.

We move towards burnout when we are doubling down on our Type patterns, even when they aren’t serving us well.

We get stuck inside that definition of insanity that names it as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. What if instead of doubling down, we used the wisdom of the Enneagram to choose something different? What if we opened to the energy of the arrow pointing towards our Types?

Recently I was working with a group of business leaders when one leader named struggles with productivity within her company. She asked the question, “What can I do to improve their motivation?”

My response was, “What if it’s not a motivation problem?”

Our Enneagram Type is one of many lenses through which we see challenges. It colors our perspective about what is going on.

I caught myself doing the same thing recently as I looked at my to-do list. I wondered why I can’t seem to get better at time management. I naturally thought that was the problem because that is usually a struggle for me- as a Type 4, prioritizing tasks is difficult.

After this interaction, I turned the tables on myself and asked, “What if it’s not a time management problem?”

In both her case and mine, the problem is with productivity or effectiveness. What if we don’t assume we know what “the why” behind that problem is just yet? How might we see the problem differently if we look through the lens of each Type? Could a novel set of questions lead to a new insight?

People who know me know that I’m not my best self when the seasons change. I’m not talking about weather changes- I love those. (Fall is my favorite). No, I’m talking about the life transitions that happen when spring moves to summer and summer moves to fall. Extra concerts, games, and awards ceremonies get piled onto an already full schedule. The special work that is connected to ending and beginning things has to be seen and done. Routines and expectations have to shift into a new normal.

In short, I struggle when I’m disrupted.

When I choose it, I actually can thrive in change. But when I feel hemmed in and without a choice? I get overwhelmed and drop balls. It’s hard for me to sort through what is most important. It takes a lot for me not just withdraw and give up. Or go to the other end of the spectrum, to not just muscle through with an intensity that shuts down my heart. But, with learning and practice, I am learning.

Our Enneagram Type interacts with change in a four key ways.

There is so much uncertainty in the world about so many things. We are still walking through the domino effects of a global pandemic, witnessing wars that don’t have easy resolutions, watching racial justice struggle to take hold, feeling the frustration of political division, and seeing the effects of climate change. And so much more.

Perhaps we can all agree that this world need some visionary leadership.

Perhaps you are hoping to be one of those leaders, or perhaps you are looking for some good leaders to follow. In either case, Enneagram can help us think about visionary leadership from a different angle.

Any Enneagram Type can be a visionary leader. Any Enneagram Type can struggle to be a visionary leader.

Here are some visionary leadership questions to think about, with one strength and one growing edge for each type.