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Decision Making and the Enneagram

Decision making is one of the most important tasks that employees and leaders of all levels do on a daily basis. This becomes particularly challenging when the information you have available is incomplete or contradictory and when the time is short and the impact of the decision is high.

This topic area includes:

Decision-Making Model
Productive Uses of Each Center of Intelligence
Misuses of Centers for Each Enneagram Style

This section first provides you with a model or framework for making optimal decisions that integrates the wisdom of the Head, Heart, and Gut and places this in the center of organizational factors such as the organizational culture, the authority structure within the organization, and the specific context of the decision. Then, using the three Centers of Intelligence (Head, Heart, and Body), you will see the most productive uses of each Center when making decisions. Finally, you will see how the Enneagram illuminates the most common misuse of each Center for individuals whose Enneagram style is formed in that Center of Intelligence.

Decision-Making Model

Being able to make wise decisions quickly and to do so in the context of the organization's culture is a crucial skill. The seven Competency Components of Make Optimal Decisions show you how to develop even more refined skills when you make decisions.

Seven Components of Optimal Decision Making

Using Your Head to Make Rational Decisions
Using Your Heart by Listening to Yourself and Others
Using Your Gut by Trusting Your Instincts
Making Wise Decisions by Integrating Your Head, Heart, and Gut
Understanding the Organizational Culture
Honoring the Organization's Decision-Making Authority Structure
Factoring in the Context of the Decision

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Productive Uses of Each Center of Intelligence

When we use our three Centers of Intelligence in productive ways and then listen to and integrate the wisdom that comes from each of them, we optimize our decision making at work and in our personal lives. Each Center of Intelligence has three primary purposes, and these are described below:

HEAD CENTER

Objective analysis

Astute insight

Productive planning

HEART CENTER

Empathy

Authentic relating

Compassion

BODY (GUT) CENTER

Taking effective action

Steadfastness

Gut-knowing

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Misuses of Centers for Each Enneagram Style

Although we all can misuse each Center of Intelligence, each Enneagram styles tends to misuse each Center in highly predictable ways. The following information describes how individuals each Enneagram style specifically misuse the Center of Intelligence from which the style arises.

Head Center Styles

Style	Ideal Use of Head Center	Common Misuse of the Head Center	Development Activity
	Objective analysis	Overanalysis The exhaustive collection and examination of data	Remember that logical analysis is not necessarily objective; logic can have its own bias, depending on the logic used, and this dramatically affects your decision making.
	Astute insight	Projection The attribution of one's own motives and behavior to other people without recognition of doing so	Learn to differentiate your projections from objective insights by honestly examining your own feelings and motivations. This is help you clarify your intentions and allow to make better decisions.
	Productive Planning	Overplanning Excessively planning and overscheduling	Make a decision and a plan, then stick to both; focus your mind.

Heart Center Styles

Style	Ideal Use of Heart Center	Common Misuse of the Heart Center	Development Activity
	Empathy	Emotional manipulation Consciously or unconsciously trying to orchestrate the behavior of others through the calculated use of emotions	Examine your motivation for needing to know exactly what others are thinking and feeling when making decisions.
	Authentic Relating	Playing roles Relating to others through an image or role rather than one's true self	Share your real feelings (including your anxieties) related to the decisions you must make; this will help dismantle the overly confident image you have created that creates a barrier between you and others.
	Compassion	Oversensitivity Being excessively emotional and overidentifying with feelings	Remember that too much emotionality does not help either you or others when making decisions.

Body Center Styles

Style	Ideal Use of Body Center	Common Misuse of the Body Center	Development Activity
	Taking effective action	Excessive action Taking too much strong, immediate, direct action	Don't rush into decisions, and don't make overly complex decisions when simple solutions work just as well.
	Steadfastness	Passivity Being inert, non-reactive, and accommodating	Without being stubborn, hold firm on decisions you truly believe are best, even in the face of opposition and conflict.
	Gut-knowing	Reactivity Reacting too strongly or quickly, verbally and emotionally, without sufficient deliberation	Learn to honor your deeper gut reactions by asking yourself what it is that you know very deeply to be true; be extremely watchful when you react too quickly.

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