As you read through the different types below, you will likely identify with one more than the others. That is your basic personality type. You were born with it; it will not change. No type is better than another, although some types might be more desirable for certain roles or lines of work.

Indeed, your Enneagram almost certainly informs your basic work style, how you go about accomplishing your roles in compliance, and how you get along with others in your company.

As part of our recent survey of nearly 300 compliance execs, we asked what type you most identified with. Below are results. It’s not a huge shock that CCOs are mostly achievers, reformers, challengers, and loyalists.

“Each [type] has its strengths and blind spots,” says As the Enneagram at Work Website. “Learning to recognize these different points of view enables us to understand people’s motivation, their major needs and concerns, and their style of working and relating. It helps us build rapport, reduce unnecessary conflict, and cooperate at higher levels of effectiveness.”

Perhaps even more fascinating is reading about the interaction between types. Say you’re a 6 (cautious, dependable, risk-averse), and your boss is a 7 (constantly suggesting fresh new ideas and wanting them implemented yesterday) … you might feel shell-shocked and exhausted after every meeting. There is great value in researching how these interactions affect our work, and lives. Happy reading.

TIP: Online tests tend to be inaccurate; much better to read through the nine descriptions on the Enneagram Institute Website and decide what fits. Or, as Thought Catalog puts it, “The only reliable method of identifying your type is to discover which of the nine basic fears guide the majority of your behavior.”

The Nine Enneagram Types

Source: The Enneagram at Work. “Things a CCO might say” phrases by Erin Lynch