Enneagram Seven At Work

Who is the Enneagram Seven at Work?

The Enthusiast, The Visionary, The Joyful Person

Sevens are motivated by a need to be happy, to plan stimulating experiences, and to avoid difficult feelings. Sevens are energetic adventure-seekers who are always thinking about the next escapade. Similar to the Enneagram Two, Sevens bring energy to an organization and make excellent first touch-points with customers. 

Sevens are quick thinking, adaptable, and positive in their outlook on the world. Where others see problems, they see opportunities. Sevens can put the silver lining on anything and manage fear with optimism. In the face of difficulty, their mindset is, “Yes, we can – AND, we’re going to have FUN doing it!”

Their challenge is to acknowledge that problems and limitations do exist, thus they need to bring their attention back to reality and to the task at hand. If a problem is pinning them in, they will try to escape by focusing on a more fun task or by planning a new trip or dreaming a new dream. 

Sevens’ minds move quickly- they have ideas upon ideas. In fact, they have so many ideas, they need to sift through them to see which ones they want to commit to. Exploring options feels like play – this sense of openness makes the world feel available to them. Sevens like to enjoy multiple interests or multiple options.

It is for this reason that Enneagram Sevens are particularly prone to explore a slash career. Specifically, they are excited about the possibility of drawing multiple streams of income from the multiple ideas they have.  

Despite their optimism and love of play, Sevens need you to check in on them. They will not show their sadness openly. They find comfort in knowing that someone is going to take care of them. They can feel burdened by the responsibility to a group to be the lighthearted person; allow them space to not entertain.

Enneagram Seven Strengths

In the workplace, Sevens can be conceptual innovators. Sevens excel at creating NEW visions, NEW ideas, and NEW solutions to problems. If a project is tanking, they will find the silver lining, e.g., “This is good because it gives us time for something else.” 

Sevens connect ideas well. They consider possibilities to be wide open so they are able to connect lots of different ideas and concepts together. 

Sevens make a workplace fun. They don’t get bogged down in pressure and are creative problem-solvers.

Enneagram Seven Weaknesses

Sevens want wide-open possibilities and consequently, they have difficulty making commitments. They may be passionate about an idea, but when it comes to executing the more mundane tasks necessary to put the idea into action, they struggle. Accordingly, they may try to escape tasks or activities that aren’t exciting for their minds. Sevens fear and avoid boredom. 

Sevens are afraid of not being taken care of. They are concerned about being trapped in emotional pain or boredom, or missing out on something fun.

Sometimes their thirst for change can create unnecessary change. If things are working, they may want to jump to something else just because they are finished with that idea and are ready for something new. Sevens tend to jump around between hobbies. 

Sevens struggle with gluttony, and not necessarily related to food; rather, they feel like they have an empty bucket inside of them with holes in it. They have an insatiable desire to fill up this bucket, but try as they might, it keeps emptying out. All they want is satisfaction and contentment, which they cannot have when all the fun things are gone. 

When Sevens manage to be in the moment to see, savor, and be grateful for their blessings, the holes in their buckets start to plug up & they find peace with what they already have.

How to Support an Enneagram Seven at Work

Sevens bring a lot of creativity, fun, spontaneity, and joy to a workplace. Here are some ways to support a Seven at work:  

1. Match a Seven with a varied job description. Sevens will thrive in multi-dimensional environments, such as by being an internal or external consultant. Regular travel to different places and consistently meeting with new clients is enticing to a Seven.
2. Don’t put a Seven in a management position for too long. Sevens are great at getting an idea up and off the ground, but they tend not to excel at management. Making decisions that cause pain and disappointment will keep Sevens on the run; rather, Sevens seek to flatten hierarchies and create camaraderie.
3. Keep moving them around. Wherever you need juice- a spark of energy or innovation- send them there. A Seven will bring positive energy to projects, events, and meetings. 
4. Sevens excel in establishing bonds within a team. Put your Seven to work with (but not in) Human Resources on creating fun team-building experiences.
5. Don’t put them in situations where things are routine. They risk getting stuck when things are too predictable on a daily basis. Being stuck feels like pain to a Seven, and pain is what a Seven seeks to avoid at all costs. 
6. Prepare yourself for the pace of the conversation. It’s going to be fast because they are thinking so fast. Sevens may develop the habit of interrupting others because they are so excited & their brains are moving quickly. 
7. Don’t mistake their enthusiasm for their commitment. They like to say “yes” to encourage new and fun things; however, just because they are excited with you doesn’t mean they are going to do the work with you. Follow up with an email to confirm responsibilities in writing. 
8. Sevens need support to help get their ideas done. As a leader, a Seven needs to surround herself with people who like to execute the vision. They may otherwise generate a lot of ideas but lack follow-through. With this in mind, an Enneagram Eight makes a great wing-man or wing-woman to the Enneagram Seven. 
9. Keep them around positive people. The best way to kill a Seven’s spark is to put them in close proximity with negativity or critical people for a long period of time 

Personal Growth Areas

1. Pick ONE task to FINISH this week. Commit to seeing it through, even when the work loses its fun.
2. Find someone who is a stabilizing, tethering force in your life. Resist the urge to escape the grounding that this person offers. 
3. Slow down enough to fully listen and appreciate the grounding that these people offer you. Have a practice of stillness or meditation.