Although the military sector is just beginning to use the Enneagram, it is a fertile place to develop Emotional Intelligence with the Enneagram. While the military culture can be thought of as traditional, it can also be quite innovative, a result of the demands on them to develop excellent leaders who can set vision and direction but also create strong, team-based units. Because military personnel, particularly at the leadership level, change jobs on a regular basis, they must be up-and-running in their new roles within a short time period; otherwise, the consequences for their units and their countries can have far-reaching results. In addition, many military leaders, upon leaving the military, join the private or public sectors in leadership positions. Thus, leadership development for the armed services provides value beyond the military itself.

As an example, in 2008, the German military added a five-day, two-part training module on leadership development to the MBA for Officers, a course designed to prepare German military officers for transferring their skills from a military to a civilian setting. Although the officers had been exposed to other personality models during their training, the Enneagram was selected as the model on which to base this training with a focus on helping the officers to understand themselves better and how their personality influences their leadership style, and to provide ways improve their emotional and social intelligence skill set. The result? These officers say that they wish they had been exposed to the Enneagram much earlier in their careers.



> back to top