The Type 2 Leadership Style: Empathy and Support in Action

Leadership comes in various forms.

The Enneagram Type 2 leadership style, can be referred to as "The Servant Leader." They tend to bring an important blend of empathy, support, and collaboration to the teams they lead. 

In this article, you'll learn more about the strengths, potential challenges, growth opportunities, and the impact of Type 2 leaders on team members who may not share the same personality type. By understanding the dynamics of the Type 2 leadership style, you can foster a balanced and inclusive work environment that inspires collaboration and personal growth.

Read on to learn more about the anatomy of a Type 2 Leader.

Strengths of Type 2 Leaders: 

• Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: These leaders excel in understanding and empathizing with the emotions and needs of others. Their emotional intelligence allows them to create a supportive work environment where team members feel valued and heard.
• Strong Relationship Building: Type 2 leaders are skilled at fostering positive relationships with their team members. They prioritize building connections and establishing trust, which enhances collaboration and promotes a sense of belonging.
• Service and Support: A Type 2 leader tends to have a natural inclination to help and support others. They go above and beyond to assist team members, ensuring their well-being and providing the necessary resources for success.

Potential Challenges and Blind Spots:

• Difficulty Setting Boundaries: Type 2 leaders may struggle with setting boundaries between work and personal life. Their strong desire to help others can sometimes lead to overextending themselves and neglecting their own needs.
• People-Pleasing: Sometimes Twos will seek external validation and fear being rejected or unappreciated. That fear can sometimes impact their ability to provide honest feedback or address conflicts directly.
• Over-Identification with Others' Emotions: Type 2 leaders may find it challenging to separate their own emotions from those of their team members. This can impact their objectivity and decision-making abilities.

Growth Opportunities for Type 2 Leaders

To continue to enhance their leadership effectiveness, Type 2 leaders can look at the growth areas below:

Self-Care and Boundaries: Type 2 leaders should prioritize self-care and establish healthy boundaries. Taking care of their own needs enables them to show up fully and sustainably to support their team members.

Assertiveness and Self-Advocacy: Developing assertiveness skills allows Type 2 leaders to express their own needs and opinions more effectively. This strengthens their leadership presence and fosters open communication.

Balancing Support and Accountability: Type 2 leaders can learn to balance their supportive nature with the need for holding team members accountable. By providing constructive feedback and setting clear expectations, they facilitate growth and development.

For additional opportunities, study Type 2's resource points, Type 4 and Type 8, to see what behaviors and qualities they can pull in to enhance their leadership style. 

Potential impact on their team:

Positive impacts

1. Supportive and caring environment: Type 2 leaders create a supportive and nurturing work environment. They are attentive to the needs of their team members and provide emotional support, cultivating a sense of belonging and well-being.
2. Collaboration and teamwork: These leaders value collaboration and emphasize building strong relationships within the team. They encourage teamwork, promote cooperation, and create opportunities for individuals to contribute their unique strengths and perspectives.
3. Empathy and understanding: A Type Two Leader is often highly empathetic and understanding. They actively listen to their team members, seek to understand their concerns, and provide guidance and assistance when needed.
4. Development of others: Type 2 leaders have a genuine interest in the growth and development of their team members. They provide mentorship, offer constructive feedback, and create opportunities for learning and skill-building.

Negative impacts

1. Over-involvement and dependency: Type 2 leaders may become overly involved in the personal lives and issues of their team members. This can lead to a sense of dependency, where team members rely heavily on the leader for guidance or decision-making, potentially stifling individual autonomy.
2. Difficulty setting boundaries: The nurturing nature of Type 2 leaders can sometimes make it challenging for them to set clear boundaries. This can result in an imbalance between personal support and professional expectations, potentially impacting productivity and team dynamics.
3. Putting up with bad behavior: Occasionally, people-pleasing tendencies can make it difficult to give constructive feedback or make difficult decisions about firing because Two Leaders tend to be able to see the good in almost everyone. Allowing "bad behavior" from a member of the team can negatively impact the entire team's morale and productivity.
4. Neglect of personal needs: Type 2 leaders often prioritize the needs of others above their own. This selflessness can lead to neglecting their own well-being and potentially experiencing burnout, which can affect their ability to effectively lead the team.

It's important to remember that the impact of a leadership style can vary depending on the specific context, the composition of the team, and the project at hand. A balanced approach that combines the natural gifts and strengths of the Type 2 leadership style with an awareness of potential challenges and blindspots can help maximize their positive impact and lessen the negative impacts. 

Every person is unique. Factors like childhood experiences, race, culture, birth order, socioeconomic status, education level, religion/spirituality, family dynamics, and more, all impact how a person's personality and strategies for navigating life show up in the real world. Understanding yourself, or someone else, through the lens of the Enneagram gives you a starting point to begin to better understand and support yourself and others. 

Sarah Wallace is the owner and lead trainer at Enneagram MBA, the host of the Enneagram MBA podcast, an Enneagram Certified coach, and a workshop facilitator for teams and groups. Learn more about Sarah and her approach to the Enneagram here. 

(Pictured above is from a Dream Team Workshop Experience with over 30 educators and administrative staff from the JCC of Indianapolis team.)

WHAT'S NEXT?

If you lead a team or plan to host an event where you'd like the Enneagram to be shared through the lens of leadership and team building, learn more about the presentation and workshop options below:

https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops