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 Seven
Described by others in the organization as "fun to be around," Carol Burkhart was highly energetic, enthusiastic, and optimistic. She had a particular ability to get others excited about the organization's mission. Carol talked about herself pretty openly, and was easy to be around, though she often did most of the talking (she told great stories)! Able to invoke an upbeat environment that was focused on possibilities, she processed things quickly and moved on them.
Her inherent optimism, however, could sometimes keep her from being as effective as possible. Her subordinates found her impatient with details. She said this occurred when people come to her with problems but no solutions: "Who wants to hear the bad news?" Carol's boss was concerned that his mentoring of her had been a mistake, because she golfed a lot with customers and he'd been asked by his own boss if he thought Carol was "serious enough to be a heavy hitter." Furthermore, she missed an error in her area's year-end report that made them significantly under-budget for the coming year -- this was likely to endanger her boss's credibility with the board. In her development work, Carol learned solution-focused problem solving to help her solve problems with subordinates in an acceptably positive way. Beyond that, her understanding of the Enneagram enlightened her about her "addiction" to pleasant options. Consequently, she noticed a lessening of her drive to "escape" from the nitty-gritty details a manager has to face.