To be a brilliant coach we need to understand our ingrained tendencies (patterns). I am someone deeply fascinated by the Enneagram. It is an accurate framework for understanding and coaching all personality types. The more I learn, the deeper I can go with my clients.
I find the characteristics of Type 7s particularly intriguing (especially as I am a Type 7 🙂).
Known as the Enthusiasts, Type 7s are celebrated for their high energy, optimism, and boundless curiosity. These traits make them naturally engaging and inspiring coaches.
However, they can also sneakily disrupt the coaching process if these are not kept in check.
In this post, we’ll dive into the unique challenges Type 7s face in coaching situations, and explore how they can leverage their natural zest effectively while avoiding potential unconscious biases.
The Highs and Lows of Type 7 Coaching
- The Skimming Surface Issue: Type 7s’ aversion to discomfort and negative emotions can lead them to skirt around deep issues that require facing unpleasant truths. In coaching, addressing and processing challenging emotions and situations is crucial.
Glossing over negative emotions and avoiding the core issue can prevent clients from achieving meaningful breakthroughs.
For Type 7 coaches, acknowledging this tendency and consciously steering conversations into more vulnerable territories is vital.
Learning to stay with their feelings and processing them, can be transformational for a Type 7 coach.
- The Scatter Focus Challenge: With minds constantly buzzing with ideas and possibilities, Type 7s can skim the surface of coaching topics instead of diving deep.
This can be exhilarating but also dizzying for clients who need to focus on specific issues. It might be hard for a client to keep up with the energy of this fast pace!
Type 7s can benefit from techniques that help anchor the coaching session’s focus, ensuring that each session is moving the client forward and they are making tangible progress.
- The Rush for Results: In their zest for life and quick results, Type 7s can push for premature solutions. Patience is a virtue that Type 7s must cultivate to align their pace with the client’s readiness and real-time needs.
Slowing down allows for reflective thought and reflection often precedes the most profound growth. (Type 7s can Integrate to Type 5 and consciously borrow healthy Type 5 behaviors for growth).
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Action Over Reflection: While Type 7s are great at motivating action, they might rush into “doing” without sufficient “reflecting.” Balancing these impulses involves structuring sessions that allocate time for thoughtful consideration before jumping into action plans.
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Structure Struggles: The Type 7’s love for flexibility can sometimes backfire if it leads to a lack of consistent structure, which is often necessary for effective coaching. Establishing a flexible yet clear framework for each session can help maintain a productive rhythm and sense of direction. I do this with a Coaching Progress tool that clients complete and send in before each session.
Coaching the Coaches: Type 7s on Receiving End
When being coached, Type 7s face their own unique set of challenges.
Their natural defensiveness against criticism, impatience with slow progress, and preference for positivity can make receiving deep, constructive feedback difficult.
For Type 7s to be coached effectively, it’s about being open to embracing vulnerability, feeling and staying with any negative emotions, and viewing coaching as an exploratory process, not just a solution-oriented one.
SLOW DOWN 🙂
This can make being on the receiving end of coaching transformative for a Type 7.
Turning Insight into Action
The key to enhancing a Type 7’s coaching brilliantly lies in balancing their intrinsic enthusiasm with an equal commitment to depth and structured exploration. By recognizing and adjusting for their natural biases, Type 7s can offer a coaching experience that is profound and inspiring.
This exploration serves as a reminder that self-awareness is a powerful tool for every coach’s personal and professional development and growth.
For Type 7 coaches, and indeed for all who use the Enneagram for self-discovery, embracing the full spectrum of your personality can lead to greater effectiveness and fulfillment in your coaching practice. It can lead to more breakthroughs for your clients too!
Type 7 coaches have the potential to turn their vibrant energy into a beacon of transformative change, deeply guiding their clients through the complexities of their inner and outer journeys, achieving lasting impact and growth.
Reach out if you’re a Type 7 and you would like more insights into your dominant personality type. I’d be happy to share them.
I invite you to consider giving yourself the gift of being and rediscover the profound impact it can have on your life.
Reconnect with your true nature. Embrace the power of being. Your journey awaits.