Out of the Box
I'm an Enneagram
Four, and I interpret things differently, as
compared to most people. I feel I have good abilities to find ways to innovate
systems, but more often than not my suggestions are discarded without appropriate
reasons. Instead of congratulations, I see resentment. I'm afraid there's
very little chance of finding a job with lots of room to explore my ideas and a nurturing
environment. Can you help me see the light at the end of the tunnel?
Are you familiar with Plato's
Allegory of the Cave?
Found in Book VII of The Republic, the allegory is told in the form of a
dialogue, with Socrates as the speaker describing symbolically the predicament of
humankind:
Human beings have been living in an
underground cave since childhood, their legs and necks chained so they can only see
in front of them. Behind them is a fire, and between them and the fire a raised
stage with marionette players working puppets. The truth is nothing but
"the shadows of the images." Plato suggests if
the prisoners were released they'd be unable to see the reality and instead
believe the shadows they formerly saw were truer. Even if dragged out of the cave their eyes would be dazzled by the light, "pained and
irritated." And if one grew accustomed to the sight and tried to release
others to lead them to the light, "Let them only catch the offender, and they would
put him to death."
Dr. Michael
Kirton researched creativity in
organizations, and concluded most organizations favor adaptive creativity
(doing the same things better). There are points in time when an organization can't
survive without more innovative creativity (doing different things) and certain types of organizations
even thrive on innovation. But most organizations (and most
people in them) are adaptive in their approach to problem solving. This fits
the need for low-cost investments, standardization, and repeatability.
Adaptors tend to accept
a problem as it's defined, produce
a few ideas that aim at continuity with current practices and norms, and
find a better way to do them. They'e often seen by Innovators as
unimaginative, stuck, resistant to change, in the box, always focused on problems vs.
solutions, and lacking a view of the big picture.
Innovators tend to redefine the problem, produce many
ideas, break through what the organization perceives as givens and restraints,
and provide
solutions aimed at doing things differently. They're often seen by Adaptors as
undisciplined, impractical, irreverent, abrasive, insensitive to people, and threatening group
cohesion and cooperation.
Both types are valuable, depending on the nature of the problem to be
solved and the organization's stage of development. But as with many sources of
difference, either focus can become stuck in how "wrong" it is to see the
world the way others do. It's important for Fours to accept that to
most others (unless you join an organization whose mission is to be innovative) you will
seem undisciplined, impractical, irreverent, abrasive, insensitive, and threatening to the
status quo. This is the gift and the curse of being an
innovative
thinker.
A number of colleagues are excellent consultants who bring
this gift of looking in from the outside. Because it's their
job to figure out a
way to communicate with organization members, they no longer resent the
cleverness and subtlety required, how patiently they must
listen to understand peoples' perspectives in order to
influence
them to change. Perhaps you could take on that mind-set, even from an internal
position. Think of yourself as an anthropologist exploring a culture different
from your own. From this perspective, you'll quickly discover the "natives" have their customs and language, and
you'll be unable to communicate with
them, much less change their practices, until you first learn to speak their language and
respect their customs.
Most people when able to see "outside the
box" assume if they simply describe their vision people will
say, "Ah, wonderful, let's go!" Not so. If your ideas are truly outside
the box, the only way you'll get others to appreciate your ideas is to respect them
where they are, GET IN THE BOX WITH THEM, and from their perspective examine the barriers
to looking outside. You might find, at times, it's sufficient to simply
improve what's already being done (some Innovators are compelled to do different
things when it's not necessary). At any rate, if you're open to learning what the
world looks like from the inside of their box, you'll see opportunities to help people
break through from the inside.
This reader said
he'd resisted authoritarian organizations
("It is something I cannot bear");
if he doesn't receive
appropriate recognition he becomes disenchanted and the strength of his dedication
starts to deteriorate ("This is something I cannot avoid").
Fours need to see, in these respects, they're in a box, the box of
their personality. We all trap ourselves in belief systems and then perceive the world
through filters that reinforce our beliefs. So we all live in boxes of one sort or
another, and until we're enabled to see the light at the end of the tunnel (or outside
the cave), we don't know how to break through.
The Enneagram is a
powerful system precisely because we can read
about our style and more readily accept the patterns of our own. Enneagram
Fours can begin to notice ways they fit the following:
More in touch with their feelings than other types, Fours are
in danger of sinking into moodiness if they
meet with resistance
to their ideas. The same talent that allows Fours to look outside the box can lead them to
wonder why they never see things the way others do, and subsequently to question if they're flawed.
Their conversation is ripe with sad stories. Their driving force is envy,
which shows up in dissatisfaction, perceiving the grass is always greener somewhere
else.
When
this reader notices himself sinking into the "bitter
feeling, as if I've been wasting my productive years in the wrong places or aiming at
the wrong goals," he could say, "Ah, I'm inside a box where I compulsively focus on myself as an outsider, a misfit. I've bought into this belief
and keep myself from seeing the light outside." When
he
observes himself feeling "disenchanted,"
he could say "Ah,
I'm inside a box again, playing out the belief that the grass must be greener somewhere
else." When he sees himself as "odd,"
say "Ah, I'm in a box of focusing on my flaws." When
seeing, "Oh, God, I'm in this box again, I can't bear it!"
keep observing himself until he can accept himself as he is.
As Fours develop this
ability to observe themselves non-judgmentally, they'll
discover the possibilities of whatever job they're in because
they'll see
the whole picture, noticing how their "flaws" are also
strengths, and learning to champion their ideas in ways that are inspiring instead of
challenging. The Four's goal is at once the most simple and the most difficult: to live fully in
the present moment.
More Responses to
Readers' Questions
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