Enneagram or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? Why Not Both!

I am going to start with this - I love personality assessments! I love finding new ways of knowing myself and others. I started with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) through the work of David Keirsey in January 2010 (you can read about that journey in this blog post). I use the MBTI as a tool for self-discovery and to learn more about those closest to me. There is a whole side to MBTI that explores every aspect of the world through your personality temperament, with book lists, playlists, humor, and even video game recommendations tailored to your specific type. And then there is the whole culture of Instagram and YouTube MBTI, where theory and perspectives are introduced and debated.

Another angle for looking at your personality is the Enneagram. I was late to the Enneagram. My first recollection of the Enneagram was in the Summer of 2019 when my cousin introduced me to it (I still have the screenshot of my first result somewhere). However, it fell off my radar as I pursued my work as a high school band director until the Spring semester of 2022. My students had always known about my passion for the MBTI, but one day, my teacher's assistant asked me if I had ever taken the Enneagram. They explained it, and I was intrigued, so I took the assessment again. That test led me to explore my personality and the types of those close to me. I read some books, did a lot of research, and began following Enneagram social media accounts, all to learn more.

And if you are looking for an interesting take on the Enneagram, I suggest you look into the album Atlas: Enneagram by Sleeping at Last. On this album, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ryan O'Neal explores each type with care and respect. For most people I introduce this album, they respond with an experience of being understood and tears of joy. My favorite experience was a former student who did not know the album was about the Enneagram and fell in love with the song that matched her Enneagram type and favorited it without knowing!

Three Quick Items on the Enneagram and Myers-Briggs

Validity in Personality Assessments

It does not take much digging into personality assessments to find debate on the validity of the MBTI and the Enneagram. And I agree with this take. The main issue with both systems is that they initially rely on an assessment to return a result. There are two issues. First, any assessment will have some bias. This bias is unavoidable. For example, some researchers claim that MBTI assessments are more likely to type individuals as intuitive versus sensing. For the Enneagram, it is supposedly difficult to identify a type 6 through assessment. It is my belief that these assessments are a good starting point. However, after taking the tests, the next step is self-reflection to ensure your result is your true type. The second issue is that of self-reporting. One of the challenges we face with these assessments is sometimes we can second-guess how we would answer, or we answer how we hope others see us. Taking one of these assessments is a mix of honest reflection and going with your gut instinct. This issue is also why reflection on your results is necessary, just in case.

Types as Nametags

When we discuss personality types, we can often wear these as a label and say they now define us. I want to encourage you to see all personality assessments as an opportunity for reflection, not a badge of identification. It is also important to remember that no personality type is better than any other. Each one has its unique strengths.

Finally, individuals should never use a personality type to defend poor behavior. For example, I am an ENTJ. ENTJs can come off as stubborn, dominant, and arrogant. Being an ENTJ does not excuse these behaviors. I am aware of them and understand that, while they may be a tendency, that does not make them okay.

Temperaments and Types are Incomplete

No result, even if you are sure about your type and temperament, can be 100% true for everyone all the time. This aspect is where popular sites for the Enneagram and the MBTI often fall short. They give broad tendencies for each type, not established law. An ESTJ can be in touch with their emotions, and an INFP can be a strong leader.

One or the Other!

The most perplexing part about the original student who introduced me to the Enneagram was their justification for sharing it. They told me I needed to explore it as it was a superior view of personality compared to MBTI. I was a bit surprised by this opinion as I studied the MBTI for years and found it to be a solid tool. At first, I was not sure what to make of this opinion. It upset me a little, but I respected the student, so I wrestled with it for a few years. They both seemed so good and appeared to complement each other. I concluded it would be a loss to favor one exploration of personality over the other.

I knew that the MBTI seemed to focus on how we perceive and then make decisions in the world, and the Enneagram was more about our behaviors and their basis around our motivations and fears. These two systems did not seem to overlap. Both appear necessary to develop a complete picture of who we are as individuals. This thought led to a revelation a few weeks ago while tapping through stories on Instagram. To share this, though, I will take a quick education detour.

Higher-Level Questions

In the education world, there is a concept developed by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom that we now refer to as simply Bloom's Taxonomy. This taxonomy is a hierarchical framework that categorizes cognitive learning objectives into six levels, ranging from basic recall of information to higher-order thinking skills like analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. As teachers, we are trained to get students thinking at the highest levels as often as possible, specifically synthesis and evaluation. These levels of thinking skills are where deep and lasting learning and meaning are created, versus lower levels, which are more about information recall. At the higher levels, original ideas and creations develop. You can see one version of Bloom's Taxonomy below.

(Photo Source: Corydave through Wikimedia)

Another way of looking at these different levels is in the types of questions asked. Lower-level thinking and learning focus on questions like who, what, where, and when. The highest levels are more concerned with how and why or the ability to connect disparate ideas for a more complete understanding of how the world works. Higher-level thinking also revolves around problem-solving and coming up with novel solutions. In everyday life, if we can answer the how and why, we have a deeper understanding of the subject we are working with.

With that established, let us head back to our conversation of MBTI versus the Enneagram!

Combining the Two - Our Why and How

Earlier, I was telling you about scrolling through Instagram. One account I follow is Enneagram Explained. They produce educational and fun content on the Enneagram (you can follow her at @enneagramexplained or check out her website and blog). Every so often, she puts up ask-me-anything questions on her stories and answers a few. I can not remember the question, but someone once asked about the intersection of the MBTI and the Enneagram. Britney (the name behind Enneagram Explained) wrote something quite profound. While I do not have her original wording, she explained what I had always known - that these two systems explain different aspects of our personality. She described it in terms of the Enneagram explaining why we behave a certain way and the MBTI explaining how we go about behaving that way. Returning to our friend Bloom above, when we can explain the why and the how we have a stronger grasp on the subject we are working with. In essence, when we can explain the why and how of our personality, we have a deeper understanding of ourselves. How cool!

Great! How Do We Use This Information?

It is one thing to understand that we can get a clearer picture of ourselves by using these two systems. It is another thing altogether to use these systems to understand ourselves better. So, let us take the time to discuss each system.

The Enneagram

The Enneagram is our "why" when it comes to personality. The Enneagram seeks to explain and understand individuals through their motivations, fears, desires, and core characteristics. While there can be similarities between different types, these are often clarified when we explore the motivations and fears of an individual. By delving into these aspects of each Enneagram type, we gain valuable insights into why people behave the way they do, shedding light on the underlying factors that drive their actions and decisions. This deeper understanding provides a framework for personal growth, fosters empathy, and can strengthen interpersonal relationships.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The MBTI is our "how" when it comes to personality. While an MBTI result will give you four letters that represent your place on a continuum (extroversion vs. introversion - sensing vs. intuition - feeling versus thinking - judging versus prospecting), this is only the surface of this system. The MBTI stands on the work of Carl Jung, who focused on cognitive functions - the ways we become aware of information and make decisions. That is it! It is just those two aspects that Carl Jung wanted to answer! But from Jung's work, Myers and Briggs expanded on these concepts and developed the 16 temperaments and an assessment to discover them.

This definition means that our traditional understanding of ideas like extroversion and introversion (outgoing versus shy) is not what Jung was talking about. I always like to tell people I am a true extrovert. If you put me on stage in front of 10,000 people to give a speech, I will knock it out of the park and thrive. But if you put me in a situation where small talk is necessary with adults I do not know, you will witness the definition of struggle.

I do not want to go too far down the cognitive function rabbit hole, but I will provide a brief overview. Each person has a cognitive function stack consisting of intuition, sensing, feeling, and judging functions. This element often surprises people who know a little about MBTI because they go, "But I'm an Analyst! I don't use either sensing or feeling!" Yes, you do! It is just not represented in your four letters. When it comes to our cognitive stack, we default to our first function most often, which does most of the heavy lifting and most often saves your day. Your second function then supports your first function. These two functions make up around 90% of your MBTI personality. For example, the first two functions for me as an ENTJ are Extraverted Thinking and Introverted Intuition. This combination means I make quick decisions about the world using facts supported by my ability to plan ten steps ahead. And this is only the beginning of how cognitive functions combine into your unique personality.

Cognitive functions are a whole rabbit hole that requires a separate blog post! You can check out this video from Frank James if you want to learn more - What are the Cognitive Functions of the 16 Personalities? | Cognitive Functions Explained.

Putting It Together

Knowing how the Enneagram and the MBTI work, we can now see how using both creates a clear picture of who we are. The Enneagram reveals what motivates us and what we try to avoid, while the MBTI is how we perceive the world and then make decisions based on what we perceive. I am not sure about you, but for me, this is all cool!

But this is only the beginning! We can then learn more about ourselves by identifying our values and strengths. But these break down further, too! We have career values and personal values that shape how we make decisions! Our strengths break down into character strengths (like courage and humor) and career strengths (like competitor and empathy). But these are topics for another day and another post!

For now, I hope this has been an enlightening journey into the Enneagram and the MBTI and why I love both of them!

Ready to learn how you can use insight into your personality to improve your life? Reach out today, and we will get started moving you from overwhelm and uncertainty to clarity and direction.

Tom Chapman, TruePath Discovery Coaching