Out of the Box Coaching and
Breakthroughs with the Enneagram, Mary R. Bast, Ph.D. 
Copyright © 1999. All rights reserved. Revised: July 21, 2010 

Case Description: Style Four

Gil Gamble was being groomed to take over the top finance job for an international company. Because his company's position was slipping in their industry, the importance of strategic thinking and innovative problem-solving had been particularly emphasized as criteria for promotion, and he fit the bill. Charming and interpersonally skilled, Gil didn't at all match the stereotype of a "bean-counter." But that very fact -- his difference from others in the organization -- had caused him some pain. He often dreamed of an organization that was less mundane.

In spite of his interpersonal skills, Gil hadn't built sufficient back-up strength within his team. He had great ideas about how to make his ordinary organization extraordinary, but when he tried to get buy-in to his ideas he kept running into roadblocks. For one thing, most of his peers were more tradition-bound and he had to work to overcome their resistance to doing something new. In addition, while his own staff members bought into his vision, he had trouble getting his ideas across to them in a way they could implement. An assessment revealed that their conceptual style was more concrete than his, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Gil's development work changed his communication style, and also gave him a fresh look at how his focus on innovation had a down side -- it kept him dissatisfied with the status quo and sometimes forced unnecessary change.

"The Innovative Four"           Subtypes   

A Withdrawing Style      

Path of Transformation    Relationship Dynamics

Quick Views of Nine Personality Patterns           Leadership and the Enneagram

Poems That Speak to Fours

Much more in Out of the Box Coaching Book
(Click here for free preview of Four chapter)