What If I Relate to More Than One Enneagram Type?

You take an Enneagram assessment.

You read through the descriptions.

And instead of having an immediate “THAT'S ME!” moment, you think:

Well...I relate to that one.

But I also do that.

And... well, this other type sounds like me too.

So what happens if you relate to more than one Enneagram type?

The short answer is:

You should.

You're a complex human being, not a collection of characteristics belonging exclusively to one of nine categories.

Determining your Enneagram type isn't about finding the one description that accounts for everything you think, feel, and do.

It's about identifying the underlying pattern or strategy you most habitually rely on.

And that's a very different question.

You Have Access to All Nine Enneagram Types

One of the misconceptions people can pick up when first learning the Enneagram is that identifying as one type somehow means the other eight no longer apply.

But think about what that would mean.

You don't have to be a Type 2 to help people.

You don't have to be a Type 3 to care about succeeding.

You don't have to be a Type 6 to want security.

You don't have to be a Type 7 to get excited about something new.

You don't have to be a Type 8 to want control over a situation.

You don't have to be a Type 9 to want everyone to get along.

Of course there are moments when you want to feel connected, competent, secure, excited, powerful, peaceful, or unique.

That's being human.

The Enneagram question is more specific:

Which strategy do I tend to reach for most automatically and consistently as I move through the world?

Don't Ask “Which Description Sounds Most Like Me?”

This is where typing based on behavior can become confusing.

Imagine someone reads a Type 3 description and thinks:

I'm ambitious. I own a business. I set goals. I like accomplishing things. Maybe I'm a Type 3.

Then they read Type 7:

I love new ideas. I get excited about possibilities. I'm optimistic. Maybe I'm a 7.

Then Type 1:

I'm also responsible and organized. And I definitely care about doing things correctly. Maybe I'm actually a 1.

Pretty soon, every description contains something familiar.

That's because behavior isn't owned by a type.

The more useful question isn't:

“Do I do this?”

It's:

“What's driving me when I do this?”

Two people can behave almost identically for very different reasons.

And one person can behave very differently across situations while still relying on the same underlying strategy.

Your Work Role Can Make Another Type Feel Familiar

This becomes especially important when we're talking about the Enneagram at work.

Your job requires things from you.

Maybe you're naturally flexible but your role demands detailed project management.

Maybe you don't particularly enjoy confrontation, but you're responsible for giving difficult feedback.

Maybe you're naturally reflective, but your sales role requires you to be outgoing and highly visible.

Over time, you can become very good at those behaviors.

That doesn't necessarily mean you've changed Enneagram types—or that the behavior tells us your type in the first place.

Your professional role, company culture, responsibilities, relationships, and experience can all influence how your underlying pattern gets expressed.

This is why someone may strongly relate to characteristics associated with a type other than their own.

Other Parts of the Enneagram Can Make Multiple Types Feel Familiar

There are other reasons you may recognize yourself in several types, too.

Your resource points or arrows connect your type to other points within the Enneagram system, which can help explain why certain patterns or behaviors associated with those types may feel familiar.

Your Instinctual Bias can also significantly influence the way your core type gets expressed.

Two people with the same Enneagram type can look surprisingly different depending on what else is influencing the expression of that underlying strategy.

This is one of the reasons we have to be careful with stereotypes.

If you're looking for yourself in a caricature of a type, you may miss the pattern entirely.

What If I'm Stuck Between Two Enneagram Types?

Instead of making another pros-and-cons list of characteristics, start comparing motivation to motivation.

Ask yourself:

• What am I trying to get?
• What am I trying to avoid?
• What feels especially important or threatening to me?
• What happens when I don't get what I'm seeking?
• What strategy do I keep reaching for, even when it isn't working particularly well?

And here's another question I like:

Which pattern is so automatic that I may not even recognize it as a strategy?

That's where working with someone trained in the Enneagram can be particularly useful.

A professional doesn't need to simply tell you your number. They can help you investigate the patterns underneath your answers, distinguish between types that look similar from the outside, and notice assumptions or blind spots that may be difficult to recognize on your own.

What If My Enneagram Assessment Gives Me Several High Scores?

That's information.

Not necessarily a problem.

And not necessarily a final answer.

If an assessment gives you two or three types with similar scores, use those results as places to investigate, rather than feeling pressure to pick whichever number is one point higher.

Look underneath the traits each result identified.

Why did you answer those questions the way you did?

Which behaviors are connected to your underlying motivation?

Which may be influenced by your professional role or environment?

Which pattern has shown up across different chapters and circumstances of your life?

An Enneagram assessment can give you useful data.

The deeper work is figuring out what that data means.

This Matters When We're Typing Coworkers, Too

There's a workplace lesson here beyond figuring out your own type.

If you can relate to multiple types, imagine how difficult it is to accurately type someone else based only on the handful of behaviors you see at work.

Your coworker may be assertive without being a Type 8.

Your manager may be highly organized without being a Type 1.

Your teammate may ask a lot of questions without being a Type 6.

Those behaviors give us something to get curious about.

They don't necessarily give us the answer.

That's why I want the Enneagram to make teams more curious about each other, not more certain that they already have one another figured out.

Your Enneagram Type Doesn't Need to Explain Everything About You

This may be the most freeing part.

Your Enneagram type isn't supposed to explain every personality trait, preference, skill, habit, reaction, or behavior you have.

It doesn't need to.

We're looking for something more specific:

..the recurring strategy underneath the behaviors.

So if you relate to more than one Enneagram type, don't immediately assume something has gone wrong.

Instead of asking:

“Which one sounds exactly like me?”

Try:

“Which pattern do I keep coming back to?”

That's where the Enneagram becomes much more useful, not as a box describing who you are, but as a way to notice the strategy you're using so automatically that you might otherwise never think to question it.

Bring the Enneagram to Your Team

Understanding everyone's Enneagram type is only the beginning.

At Enneagram MBA, we help teams move beyond type descriptions to understand how different patterns show up in communication, tension, leadership, and everyday working relationships—and turn those insights into a shared language for working better together.

Explore our Enneagram workshops and development programs to see what this could look like for your team.

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