Enneagram 3 workplace habits show their energy and enthusiasm in workplaces. They are hardworking and efficient employees who are motivated to take actions that can take them closer to their goals. Threes are ambitious and prefer to appear successful socially.
These individuals are passionate about following the dream and choose to remain dedicated towards the end result. At workplaces, they are adaptable and considerate. They will listen to the opinions of others and prefer to maintain healthy workplace bonding with fellow colleagues.
They are magical leaders with the ability to involve the entire team and make everyone work towards a common goal. Enneagram 3s have a clear communication style. They are focused and inspire everyone to maintain a high quality work in the workplaces.
In this article, we will talk about how an Enneagram 3 type individual behaves in their workplace. An Enneagram 3 has a strong desire to receive the validation of others. They always wish that others appreciate them for whatever work they do.
An Enneagram 3’s worst fear is a fear of failure, or a fear of not being good enough. This fear and basic motivation control the various strengths and weaknesses of an Enneagram type 3.
As a consequence, these strengths and weaknesses control how an Enneagram 3 behaves in the workplace. Keep reading below to find out how.
Enneagram 3 Workplace Habits
The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator or RHETI is one of the most common personality tests available to use today. Some people also call it the Enneagram test. This test classifies human beings into nine different personality types.
The name “Enneagram” originates from the Greek language. “Ennea” in Greek means the number nine. The term “Gramma” means drawing or painting. The nine Enneagram personality types can also be expressed in the form of a drawing. This drawing can show the connection between the different Enneagram types. This explains the origin of the name Enneagram.
Each of the 9 Enneagram personality types has some basic fears and motivations. These fears and motivations control the personality traits of the individual. This, in turn, affects how they behave in all aspects of life, including their workplace.
Many people call Enneagram 3s “the achievers”. This is because most Enneagram 3s tend to be very competitive and ambitious. They are strong achievement-oriented individuals. They strive to achieve success in every small task that they do.
Enneagram type 3s also hates procrastination. They do not like sitting idle with no work. They are always proactive and want to get things done. Even if an Enneagram 3 has no work to do, they would sit in silence and plan their next course of action.
Enneagram 3s tend to keep a mental list of tasks that they need to do. They always try to keep checking off one task after another from that list, in a gradual manner.
Because of characteristics like these, Enneagram 3s are highly productive individuals. They have high standards of themselves and their work. They have a good work ethic. For qualities like these, Enneagram type 3s can become very successful in their workplace. They can become well-suited to work at all different kinds of hierarchical positions – be it an employee, supervisor, or subordinate.
So, how does an Enneagram type 3 behave with their fellow colleagues? How are they as managers or subordinates? Let us find out below.
Enneagram 3 as a Colleague
As we have said before, Enneagram 3s are “the achievers”. They are always focused on achieving their goals. So, in a work environment, an Enneagram type 3 individual is always focused on getting the task done.
An Enneagram 3 also tends to be extroverted by nature. They are friendly and amiable by nature. Type threes are good at social interactions. They have a deep-seated caring side to them. Because of this, they are good at understanding other people.
Thus, they can become friends with others with relative ease. Qualities like these make an Enneagram 3 a good team player and colleague. They love working with other people in groups.
But there is a little catch here.
Enneagram 3s can either be of the healthy, unhealthy, or average types. All these subtypes have the regular characteristics of an Enneagram 3. But the extent, to which they are present, varies across the different subtypes. Healthy Enneagram 3s tend to be more helpful to others, than the average or unhealthy types.
They are image conscious like an Enneagram 3 generally is. But this is because they want to be role models for others. They want to inspire the people around them. But on the other hand, unhealthy Enneagram 3s are image conscious at an extreme level. They want to maintain their image at all costs. They are willing to do anything, even sabotage other people’s work, in order to achieve success.
From this, it becomes clear that healthy Enneagram types 3s are better team players than the unhealthy types. As a matter of fact, in any team setting, healthy Enneagram 3s often go ahead and take the initiative to get things done.
Because of the fact that they are proactive and good at social interactions, their colleagues often give them a lot of respect. For this reason, oftentimes, they become de facto leaders of the group.
But this can have a negative side as well. Some of their colleagues may take advantage of the good nature of Enneagram 3s. They delegate their own work to the Enneagram type 3 individual, knowing that the Enneagram 3 would definitely get the job done.
Enneagram 3 as a Manager
Enneagram 3s can be incredible managers. As we have mentioned before, they are achievement-oriented individuals. This side of their character comes quite handy in a managerial position.
Enneagram 3s are also good at social interactions. They have a natural talent to understand other people’s inner thoughts. They are also quite friendly and amiable. For this reason, their subordinates often love them as a boss. An Enneagram 3 manager knows almost all of his or her employees at an individual level. This fosters a sense of community and a general good feeling in the workplace.
In a managerial position, an Enneagram 3 often sets goals and small targets for his or her employees. But because they know all the employees at an individual level, the Enneagram 3 manager delegates the tasks to an appropriate level for each employee. Thus, no employee feels that he or she is being overworked.
An Enneagram 3 manager also has an ability to look at the bigger picture or pay attention to small details – whichever is needed at the correct moment. Thus, they can allocate resources and manpower to the appropriate task as required.
Enneagram 3 as a Subordinate
Enneagram 3s are achievement-oriented individuals. So, they often strive to get the job done. As a matter of fact, they often have a poor work-life balance. Sometimes, they may become so engrossed in their work that they forget to eat or sleep until they get the work done.
They may lose touch with their personal life and stay in their office until they finish their work. Because of such a strong work ethic, their bosses often appreciate them.
But this may not always be the case. Enneagram 3s are often assertive and dominant. In a team meeting, they may express their opinions in a strong fashion. This may anger their managers.
Because of their goal-oriented nature, Enneagram 3s do not want to work on something just for the sake of it. They want to gain some sort of productive experience from whatever job they do. Ideals like these may sometimes lead to conflicts with their manager.
Enneagram 3 Communication Style in Workplace
Most Enneagram 3s tend to be quite assertive and dominant. They prefer direct communication. They themselves are goal-oriented individuals. For this reason, they prefer if their colleagues also have goals and follow deadlines.
In their core, an Enneagram 3 always wants the validation and respect of others. So, they always want others to appreciate them for what they do. Even if they cannot achieve success in a certain task, an Enneagram 3 hopes that others will praise them for their efforts.
If they do not get the necessary validation or appreciation from others, they may become sad. An Enneagram 3’s worst fear is the fear of failure, or the fear of not being good enough. Not getting others’ validations reinforces this fear in them.
In general, an Enneagram 3 is friendly and amiable by nature. Because of their easy-going nature, they can socialize with others at ease. For this reason, Enneagram 3s often have many friends in the workplace.
But sometimes, they may be too dominative for their own good. During meetings with their supervisors, they may end up speaking in a rude tone if they do not agree with their boss.
How Does an Enneagram 3 Manage Business Meetings?
In any business meeting, an Enneagram 3 demands equal respect from his or her supervisors.
Enneagram 3s also tend to be very impatient. So, during any meeting, they expect the key topic of the meeting to be discussed early. Once they have an idea of what the meeting is about, they can think about it in their mind as long as the meeting goes on.
They also want feedback from their supervisors. So, if the meeting is about a performance review, Enneagram 3s want positive appraisal. Even if their performance has not been good, they want their supervisors to appreciate them for their efforts.
Conflict Resolution of Enneagram 3 in Workplaces
Enneagram 3s always want to avoid conflict in the workplace. They believe that having conflicts with others is an obstruction to achieving success. But because of their dominative and assertive nature, they may end up being embroiled in conflicts with others, even if they do not want to.
If an Enneagram 3 ends up being in a conflict, they tend to repress their feelings and focus on the task at hand. If needed, they would be willing to apologize and move on to doing their job, in order to avoid precious time being wasted.
To Sum Up
In this article, we have discussed how an Enneagram 3 personality type behaves in their workplace. These individuals have a good work ethic and are productive in nature.
They are well-suited to achieving success at all levels in an organization. They prefer a direct style of communication and want to avoid workplace conflicts at all times.
In gist, an Enneagram 3 in the workplace is a productive and achievement-oriented individual. They want to collaborate with others and focus on getting the work done at all costs.
