Enneagram Type 5s are curious individuals who remain watchful of their surroundings and always look to gain deeper insight. They use knowledge and objectivity as motivational factors to know how things are going on around the world. It will allow them to understand their implications. Enneagram 5 workplace habits talk of how people with this personality type behave when they play their role as a colleague, a subordinate, and a manager.

An ideal workplace for these individuals is one that lets them make use of their creativity and put all their ideas into action. They would enjoy carrying out their responsibilities in those environments, which allow them the freedom to express themselves.

Are you aware of your Enneagram type? If your answer is no, then take the online personality test to determine the same. One of the most prevalent testing methods for enneagrams is the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator. The enneagram test will help you to take note of all your professional habits.

Enneagram 5 Workplace Habits

Enneagram 5 workplace habits talk of how professionals carrying this personality type perform in their roles as colleagues, subordinates, and managers. It specifies how they enjoy working with complete independence. They will carve out their path for carrying out their responsibilities and attaining success.

Enneagram 5 personality type people are sober yet detached. Their basic desire is to understand how the world operates. Fives always intend to protect their privacy and freedom so that they can live at their convenience. These people love analyzing all those things happening around the world. As a part of this process, fives will investigate every single detail. They will go deeper inside every aspect of life. It will make them feel like they have understood almost everything they need to before taking the next step.

Fives are incredibly good at adopting a rational approach while looking at different aspects of life. Despite this, they struggle to leave their habit of analyzing things and connecting with life. They have the instinct to stay aloof from others. This enneagram-type individual keeps their emotions within themselves. These tendencies can make things difficult for others to understand what is happening in the life of a five.

When we talk of professional setups, enneagram 5s enjoy working in specific environments. Those environments must give them sufficient personal space to nurture their ideas and re-energize on their own. They hate working in large groups. These individuals prefer to have seniors who will always encourage them to constant learning and growth in their careers.

As a colleague, an enneagram 5 individual is always ready to use their area of expertise for helping co-workers deal with challenges they face while carrying out responsibilities. We all know that they are experts in giving guidance on technical knowledge. If they get an opportunity to lead, this individual would keep a close eye on the proceedings. Fives wish to set personal boundaries. They will let them work without any external disturbance.

Let us now discuss in detail how enneagram 5s handle different positions in the workplace –

Enneagram 5 as a colleague

When Enneagram 5 works as a colleague, they will analyze all those responsibilities that are allotted to their team. Then, they will use their logic and cooperation with other members to fulfill them in the desired manner. Fives come off as those individuals who are deep thinkers. They know how to strategize matters.

These people enjoy gathering knowledge and get greater insight into the job at hand. It enables them to give desired inputs to their colleagues. Hence, they can undertake all their responsibilities according to the requirements of the organization. Fives are technically sound individuals. Hence, team members can rely on their colleagues of this personality type for much-needed assistance and support.

Enneagram 5s will perform at their best while working in teams when specific tasks allow them to use their intense observational skills. They can implement creative ideas for carrying out their responsibilities in the desired manner. Associating with someone of this personality type will be a boon for other colleagues. They will attain significant improvement in their overall performance.

As a colleague, an Enneagram 5 is not an individual who will listen to the emotional problems of their colleagues. It is because they cannot effectively tackle emotions. They would prefer to use their logic and offer appropriate suggestions. These people are ideally suited for resolving technical problems. It could be of great help for colleagues as they might face similar issues while carrying out certain tasks. Fives will always do well to take the burden off their shoulders.

Enneagram 5 as a subordinate

Do you have an enneagram five working as a subordinate in your organization? You can rest assured they will put a wholehearted effort into fulfilling their responsibilities. These people will never ponder over matters for a length of time. Their energy level would always remain at its peak when they must carry out some work.

They are always well-informed with sound technical skills. These people are ready to spend time learning new things. A subordinate with an enneagram 5 personality type will remain on the lookout for attaining knowledge from different quarters. Their sole purpose in life is to widen their knowledge base. They can implement them effectively for serving orders from their boss.

The sincere effort from their end toward their duties would always make them earn accolades from their reporting managers. One of the drawbacks that lie within this subordinate is their lack of interpersonal skills. It is because they are naturally reserved people. They prefer walking away from the scene after the completion of a job.

They will behave politely with their seniors and give them due respect. Managers and bosses can expect their office environment to be at complete peace when enneagram 5s are at work. These people avoid going into any kind of conflict. Moreover, they will stay calm in front of others.

Enneagram 5 as a manager

Enneagram 5s are highly competent leaders. They observe things closely to keep all the elements of business on their toes. These people know how to make connections that others will not recognize. As managers, fives will lead their teams with complete authority. They will offer good guidance on how to carry out their duties in the most effective manner.

The reason for which an enneagram five managers can easily reach out to people and increase their network is that they can detach emotionally. They even manage to keep themselves away from others physically from whatever they try to examine. These individuals can look at various scenarios and challenges from different perspectives.

Enneagram 5 managers will always engage with trustworthy people. They can turn out to be their ideal stakeholders. It will enable them to build and enhance their sense of security. They trust only what they are aware of. Hence, it is extremely difficult for any individual to influence them in any manner. Managers of this enneagram type are masters at handling a complicated matter in hand. These professionals can convert the same into a convincing and elegant theory as per their observation.

Another reason behind fives attaining success while they work as managers is their ability to see situations across workplaces in an innovative manner. Somehow, they will manage to find a way out of any precarious situation. Otherwise, it might threaten to hamper the progress of the organization. He will use his relationship skills and creative ideas to overcome the toughest of challenges and make their company grow. They do not look too far ahead but only focus on the task at hand.

Enneagram 5 Communication Style in the Workplace

Enneagram type 5 professionals tend to pay attention to scarcity. They wish to fill those gaps with the qualities they possess. If there are not sufficient funds available for expanding their business, they will quickly identify some areas and then approach investors for funding. They will communicate their requirements for additional funds. Then, these people will relate to them with plans and programs. It will eventually help them fulfill goals as per their level of expectations.

These individuals suffer from the basic fear that outside demands might be too overwhelming for them. Therefore, there is absolutely no doubt that their communication style is sparse. So, they do not feel overwhelmed. They speak up only about what is necessary. Enneagram five professionals do not bother about sharing unnecessary information with their co-workers. Fives will also not spend their precious time doing small talk.

An enneagram 5 possesses so much clarity in their thoughts that they can easily communicate only those things that matter. They will play a significant role in easing the concerns of colleagues and employees. It will make them focus on the job at hand. These people will carry out responsibilities that would meet the company’s targets.

Due to their reserved nature, the attention of enneagram five professionals would always remain on the available facts and data. Fives use them and combine those with their knowledge and creative mindset. They manage to allot the right set of responsibilities to the right person. Creativity comes from being open-minded and having the ability to explore various options. On the other hand, as a subordinate, they will clearly express their willingness to work independently without any inhibition.

How Does an Enneagram 5 Manage Business Meetings?

When an individual with an enneagram 5 personality type is part of a professional setup, it is a matter of great comfort for the organization. We know they love working independently. They are totally aware of how to meet their responsibilities. Team leaders and managers need not push them to achieve their assigned targets.

They will use their creative ideas and offer unique solutions to ensure the growth and progress of the organization. Fives love peace. These professionals would ensure that things operate smoothly and fairly, devoid of conflicts. Usually, any employee would enjoy putting forward their beliefs and opinions in front of the management during team meetings. It is not the case with enneagram 5s.

If a senior manager gives their enneagram 5 team leader the responsibility to hold review meetings with his team members, he would either plan for very few of them. There is also a chance that they might not have any at all. They will prefer working in isolation and communicating as little as possible. Still, the meeting happens to be an essential part of corporate life.  Despite this fact, fives will prefer spending lots of time alone to think. These people will analyze and find something substantial to get rid of a problem. An enneagram 5, to avoid meetings, will look for more information, even if less of it would inform team members what they must do.

Conflict Resolution of Enneagram 5 in Workplaces

The Enneagram Type 5s are those individuals who belong to the competency group. Competency is especially applicable at the time of handling conflicting scenarios in workplaces. This shows that they always want to lead by example. Whenever they are faced with a conflict in an organization, they will portray their competitive nature. They will do so by taking the role of an expert. Enneagram fives will use the necessary information that they have at their disposal.

These individuals will always try to manage their feelings and sentiments by staying away from them. Fives would approach every challenge in a practical manner. Emotions will not manage to dictate terms. These individuals will even use their intelligence to resolve problems at hand.

An enneagram 5 professional would nurture their knowledge. They would implement it to accumulate new information. It will be highly beneficial for getting rid of unwanted tussles within an organization. No matter what happens, these people will look to reject the plans and procedures in place. Fives will rather undertake responsibilities without anyone’s assistance. They have the confidence to take care of the hassles that an organization might face due to the lack of these basic principles.

Conclusion

Enneagram Type 5 professionals always have their focus on their work at hand. These individuals strategically think of ways to deal with various aspects of an organization. They love working independently and always remain curious to gather knowledge from different areas.

These people look to have sufficient time with themselves to allow their thoughts to run wild. Enneagram 5s flourish in their professional life when they can devise theories and hypotheses, thus adding to their wealth of information and knowledge.

Irrespective of whether an enneagram type five professional works as a colleague, subordinate, or manager, they look for work independently with the proper use of knowledge and information. This freedom gives the luxury to give their best performance maintaining complete efficiency.