The Enneagram & The Digital COO

Today I want to share a bit more about a weird passion of mine, and that’s the Enneagram. I'm sure you’ve heard of it, but if you’re totally in the dark about it, it’s a personality indicator similar to the Myers-Briggs. Once I learned about it and learned about my Enneagram number, which is a 1, it was such a game changer in understanding why I am the way I am, and how I related to other numbers. I even learned how to better understand my husband and our relationship, as well as my friendships. It’s seriously the coolest!

Now I first want to say that I am by no means an expert on all things Enneagram. But you can find one of my favorite Enneagram experts on Instagram (@enneagramandcoffee), you should go follow her because she knows ALL the things about the Enneagram and she’s amazing. I have read up a ton on different Enneagram types and now I’m that person who makes everyone I meet take a test and figure out their number, I even did that with all my dance mom friends recently.

Using my new found obsession knowledge, I want to dig into which Enneagram numbers lend well to being a Digital COO or integrator type in online business. Because there are definitely numbers that will make great integrators and numbers that will not. Same goes for Myers Briggs types and DISC profiles, but we’re not going to get into all of that here.

Now if you don’t know your Enneagram number, there is like a gazillion free tests you can find online, but honestly I find it better to just read up on the nine numbers. You will then likely find that a specific number resonates most with your personality. Basically there will be a number that will make you say “oh my gosh I feel so seen. That is so me!”.

I’m also not going to go through all nine numbers and everything about each one (because you can just read that on the internet), but I am going to talk about a few of the numbers and why I think that those types would make great Digital COO’s, and one type that absolutely would not.

I want to emphasize that there are no good enneagram types or bad enneagram types. Every type has good qualities and bad qualities. For example, and I will discuss this more below, Enneagram 1’s are high achieving perfectionists but also seem like cold, emotionless, a-holes at times. So I’m not saying that one Enneagram type is better than another, just which Enneagram type would be best in the role of a COO.

Let’s start with my own type obviously, because as a COO I feel that my type is clearly the best in that role. And that is of course the Enneagram 1.

Enneagram 1

So 1’s are essentially the perfectionists, with an emphasis on personal integrity and self control. Their attention goes toward seeing and correcting what is wrong, and doing the right thing. They are known for their honesty, dependability, and common sense.

Ones are very responsible, so much so, that they may resent other people who don't take life as seriously as they do. Honest, responsible, improvement-oriented. So yeah they like to get sh** done.

And because they are so “type A” so to speak, they make excellent integrators. They tend to be organized, detail oriented, dependable, and want to see a job or task through the end. They also are very good at removing emotion from everything, so they can be very logical, data driven, and good at making business decisions. Again this can also be a huge detriment in other areas of their lives, just ask my husband who thinks I’m a robot with no feelings, but it’s just that 1’s are REALLY good at compartmentalizing things and just not hinging so much on emotion and feeling.

Also 1’s are very motivated and disciplined. They want to make an impact in the world and improve things so they will WANT to improve the business and help things happen.

Enneagram 3

Moving onto the 3’s - the high achieving type. They are all about success, which means they are also all about getting stuff done in a big way. However they approach that more from a place of feeling and emotion that the 1’s do. They just want to go go go and get more and more done. They are very competitive, but also very enthusiastic. Now that is an Enneagram type that actually makes for both great CEO’s and COO’s. I have a few clients who are Enneagram 3’s and they also make great Visionaries. But just like the 1’s, they are very driven and that drive and discipline also lends well to the COO role.

Enneagram 6

The next Enneagram type that I think would make a good COO is the 6’s. The 6’s are known as the “loyal skeptics” and are very pragmatic. They are all about using their intellect to figure stuff out. Since they are extremely loyal, they would most likely make a great partner to a CEO. And they are strategic thinkers which is hugely important on the strategy side of the business. The 6’s are very good at anticipating problems and coming up with solutions, which is obviously a big part of online business and launching. They don’t have the same high regard for organization that the 1’s do, but that’s not to say that a 6 can’t be organized.

Now there are a couple other Enneagram types that might work well as a COO for a few reasons, but they come with some caveats. To discover which Enneagram types those are, tune into episode 93 of Planning for Profit.

But let’s talk about the one enneagram type that probably wouldn’t make a successful COO and that’s the Enneagram 7. Many of my clients and past clients are 7’s because 7’s are really the ultimate visionary. They love big ideas and they crave adventure & possibility and therefore they tend to be highly creative. These big dreamers are also tend to great marketers and storytellers, but with all of that comes a lot of shiny object syndrome. Therefore they tend to be starters and not finishers, which is why so many 7’s need a COO or integrator the most because they need someone to help keep them on track. So if you are a 7, you probably need a COO the most.

So those are my thoughts on Enneagram types and COO’s, to hear more about the nuances of these types, listen to this episode of the podcast.

If you are curious about which Enneagram types make the best CEOs, then check out this episode of Planning for Profit.