VOTE | Restore the 3 Cs

Here are important reasons to vote on November 3rd from the 9 points of view (and mine, too):

ONES
Restore competence at all levels of government, competence combined with a restorative and practical plan. In addition, restore integrity, something that has been sorely lacking for almost four years. Voting, especially now, is the right thing to do. It is also our right and our responsibility. So please vote!

TWOS
Restore compassion to our families, communities, nation and to the world. And please think of others as well as yourself as you wear your mask. It is helpful to you and to everyone else with whom you have direct or indirect contact. And please vote for the sake of everyone in the whole world!

THREES
Restore competence to our nation and how it functions. So many important things have been purposely dismantled in the last four years, destroying people’s lives, the environment and more. So please vote to restore competence and capability! Let’s get real results instead of “fake” results.

FOURS
Restore compassion and empathy for ourselves and for others. We are all deeply connected; what we do or don’t do impacts everyone else, like waves on the shore and ripples in the ocean. Please vote on behalf of yourself and everyone else.

FIVES
Restore competence and logic to our country and the world. Trust the science, not for everything, but certainly when it comes to areas where science has the answers. Only a non-rational person would not do so during this pandemic. Please vote!

SIXES
Restore credibility so we can trust each other and our future together. As we move forward, we will need a plan for how to restore competence, compassion and credibility. Please vote and make sure you have contingency plans for how to do so because those in authority are trying to make it difficult. And please be safe during these uncertain times.

SEVENS
There is a bigger plan for everything and you are part of the big, small and medium plan. There’s nothing that’s impossible if we do it together. Please vote.

EIGHTS
Restore everything; restore competence, compassion and credibility and also restore civility, accountability, fairness, and justice. Vote as if your life and the lives of those you care about are at stake. Vote!

NINES
Restore respect, listening to one another, allowing all voices to be heard. Nothing speaks louder than voting at times such as these. Please, please, vote!

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, the author of seven Enneagram-business books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs and training tools for business professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications and is past-president of the International Enneagram Association. Visit: TheEnneagramInBusiness.com | ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com

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What if Donald Trump is neither an Enneagram 8 nor a 3?

There is much debate and even argument about Donald Trump’s Enneagram type. I have joined the ranks of this conversation, even though I am not keen on typing public figures. Why? Because we don’t really know them, we only think we know how they present themselves. That leads me to Donald Trump and also why I think it might be important to understand his type. To understand is, in a way, to be able to predict behavior better, although Enneagram type is far less about behavior and far more about motivation and drive. I write this not because I am sure of anything, instead I write this to get the conversation going.

Last week, Peter O’Hanrahan and I were having dinner, just chatting about our lives and politics since we both follow what is occurring in the latter domain. We were talking about Trump and all of the chaos that is currently ensuing, and I said something that I have been wondering for a long while. Could Donald Trump be an Enneagram 7 and not an Enneagram 8 or 3.

Although I have written several blogs on Donald Trump as an Enneagram 8, in the back of my mind I have thought “Is this really accurate?” I thought he was an 8 with a 7 wing, but the more I have observed him visually, noted his speaking patterns, and borne witness to his behavioral patterns, the more I have pondered that he could be an Enneagram 7 with an 8 wing.

Here’s what got me thinking; Trump does the following:

He pumps up his power using his hands, almost like a pump lever
8s | don’t use their hands to power-up; they power-up through their whole body
3s | don’t ”power-up”; they breathe into their shoulders, neck, and head to feel and appear confident
7s | don’t demonstrate embodied power; mostly in their head, so they need to “pump up”

The lower part of his body is not embodied, particularly his legs
8s | almost always embodied, grounded from their feet up, with energy in their legs
3s | may or may not be embodied, but more typically vacate their chest area rather than their legs
7s | not generally embodied; legs often vacant of energy, as well as the heart area

He has a limited attention span in general
8s | may or may not have limited attention spans; varies with person and context
3s | get impatient when things are too slow but, in general, do not have a limited attention span
7s | continuous limited attention span; get easily distracted by external stimuli and internal thoughts

He doesn’t read and likes only high-level details through short bullet points or visual graphics
8s | will read at length if interested in a topic
3s | read because they want to know what they need to know in order to feel competent and appear “on top of things”
7s | might read, although not thoroughly or in-depth; can “blow-off” learning in-depth, preferring to skim the main points

He has a low frustration tolerance
8s | low to moderate frustration tolerance, so simply take what they want in order to reduce frustration
3s | moderate frustration tolerance; perceive obstacles as frustrating but also as problems to be solved
7s | low frustration tolerance under most circumstances

He reframes negative information
8s | blame as a first line of defense rather than reframe
3s | typically only reframe potential or real failure
7s | reframe chronically for a variety of reasons

He’s narcissistic
8s | not particularly narcissistic unless grandiose
3s | sometimes narcissistic, depending on the level of self-development; lower levels are more narcissistic
7s | narcissistic; narcissism goes with type 7

He’s non-empathic
8s | some are more emphatic than others; some highly empathic
3s | some are more emphatic than others; some highly empathic
7s | non-empathic unless quite high in self-mastery

He hates being told “no”
8s | don’t like being told “no,” but few people say this to them, and 8s will do what they want anyway
3s | don’t dislike “no” any more than other people dislike it
7s | hate the word “no” and get reactive when being told this

He speaks in incomplete thoughts or statements
8s | speak in short sentences with complete thoughts
3s | speak in longer sentences than 8s, almost always with complete thoughts
7s | speak in “word salad” format, not completing thoughts or sentences

He communicates via stream of consciousness
8s | speak with deliberation, rarely impulsively
3s | speak with even more deliberation than 8s, being highly conscious of how they come across
7s | usually in mind, out mouth with little self-censoring

He desires respect and to be taken seriously
8s | usually respected so don’t need to desire it; most often taken seriously
3s | seek respect, but for what they accomplish and typically get it
7s | dearly want to be taken seriously and perceived as “heavyweights” rather than possibly “lightweights”

Why does it matter if Trump is an 8, a 3, or a 7? From my perspective, it would suggest how he is likely to react in these stress-filled and challenging times. If Trump is an 8, he would go into deep denial until his defense of denial would no longer function. Then he would crash. If Trump is a 3, he would go into more and more activity to prove his value until the point of failure. Then he would “hit the wall” and crash. If Trump is a 7, he would spiral down and nothing could stop this until he totally devolved, taking almost everyone with him in the process.

So what do you think? As a note, all comments that are rational, even if impassioned, are welcome. Inflammatory comments and name-calling are not.

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, the author of seven Enneagram-business books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs and training tools for business professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications, and is past-president of the International Enneagram Association. Visit: TheEnneagramInBusiness.com | ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com

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Normally, I try to stay on the sidelines of political blogs, the exception being a situation that feels extraordinary. These are such times. The recent US presidential elections took many people by surprise and in shock, the ramifications of such a decision being enormous for people both inside and outside the US.

More than not, I think that many more people in the Enneagram community – and both inside and outside the US – were not supporters of Donald Trump, and he won. Were they all Hillary Clinton supporters? Some yes, of course, some yes by default, and others perhaps either did not vote or voted for a 3rd party or write-in candidate. And, there is vast, deep reaction to Trump’s victory; many people with whom I have spoken liken it to the feeling after 9-11: shock, disbelief, unrelenting sorrow, horrible anxiety, and intense anger. Those who did support Trump – and I do not personally know many, but I live in a big city, a California “bubble” – seem to be joyful and exuberant with some becoming nasty and aggressive.

It is the non-Trump supporters to whom this blog is addressed. What to do with these reactions, and how can the Enneagram help us move through, deal, heal and increase our resiliency as we move forward? Here, I am going to draw from one path on the Enneagram map to make some suggestions: Starting at type 3, then moving to type 9 and then, finally, shifting to type 6. This is the central triangle of the Enneagram; the movement is one we can all use, no matter what our core Enneagram type.

Type 3 | the start | being honest with yourself
Remember that you are not alone in your complex, intertwined and deep feelings
Type 3 represents “honesty,” or in other words, what do we need to be honest about, particularly with regard to our emotions and our current reality. In Western psychology, there are 4 primary feeling groups: mad, sad, glad and afraid. It is the mad, sad, and afraid to which I am referring in our forward movement. It is these feelings that are stirring inside, at different levels and different times and intertwined with one another; you are not alone. Almost everyone who did not support Trump is going through this.

Untangle, examine, experience, and accept your feelings as yours
Type 3 suggests that the path forward is to untangle these feelings, to look at them, experience them, and to find some sort of acceptance of them. I’ve asked people I know who are suffering in this ways the following question: Are you more mad, sad, or afraid right now? And if mad, what are you aware of that you are angry about? If sad, what are you so sad about? And if anxiety is more prominent for you right now, what are you feeling most anxious about?

Talk with multiple others if and when you feel OK doing so
You can answer these questions for yourself and/or you can talk with someone you trust and share your answers with them. These are a set of repeating questions you can ask daily, weekly, or hourly, because your responses will shift. They may even shift as you bring more focus to your feelings. For example, you may have thought you were primarily sad, but close by may be your anxiety and/or anger. Be clear, be specific, and be accepting of your answers. And remember that millions of others are going through what you are, maybe not exactly, but the process is similar. You are not alone. We don’t know how long these feelings will last or how they will change form because we have never been through anything quite like this.

Understand that you and others are all impacted by this, but differently so based on multiple factors
In addition, try to remember that everyone who is distressed may have different feelings and different aspects about what has occurred because of their own context. If you are a person of color, the election would have impacted you differently than if you are not, which isn’t to say white people don’t care deeply about what has occurred. If you are Muslim, of course your experience of this election will be impacted. If you are Jewish ¬ and especially if you have emotional links to the Holocaust, you will be affected differently and more deeply. A victim of sexual assault? A person who is directly or indirectly impacted personally by LGBT issues? Victim of bullies? Are you a “blue” person in a “blue” state, or are you a “blue” person in “red” state? Remember that many of us have multiple ways in which we were deeply impacted, and we are different in how we respond.

Give yourself time and space; this is a big deal that doesn’t shift quickly or easily
What’s important is that you give yourself time and space to process, and that we do not, for example, take our anger or anxieties or sadness out on one another, eating up kindred spirits at some level who are also hurting and dealing with this in their own way.

Type 9 | the middle | being awake
Remember and honor yourself throughout the process
Type 9 represents being awake to what is most important, which follows on from being honest with ourselves about what we are feeling and why (without judging ourselves). So whatever your experience has been as you go through this, acknowledge it as real for you and do not judge yourself for it in any negative way. Even if your feelings don’t make logical sense, that is in the nature of our emotional states. They have a logic of their own.

Allow yourself to engage in your own and new communities
Type 9 also represents community and being in community. It’s about being connected and engaging in mutual respect. You are not alone in your experience and sharing it with others, even people you don’t know very well can bring a bigger sense of support and this will likely bring some solace. Important to this is listening to others, sharing as much or as little as you want, and knowing when for both of you, talking more about what has occurred isn’t helping anymore. Respect what you and others need.

Be kind to yourself and others for a long time
If your process takes longer than you think it should or feel comfortable with, treat yourself with grace and kindness. Some people find themselves binge-eating comfort food, while others have lost their appetites. Trust your body right now. You will get back to a new normal on this. If you’re needing more sleep right now or feeling exhausted even with enough sleep, just accept that’s how it is right now. If you aren’t able to sleep, try to get some so your body doesn’t get wired from sleep deprivation. How long will this go on? The longer you are not kind to yourself, the longer it will go on.

Be alert to your core values and things that emerge in the political world that are not congruent
If you, I, and others numb ourselves to what is occurring within us and in the external world, we lose our core of consciousness. If we are unclear about or forget our core principles and values, then we lose touch with our inner being, our core consciousness against which we can measure what we will accept and that which is unacceptable. This leads us to “right action” which then leads us to the last step: courage.

Type 6 | the last | courage
True courage means knowing both what we should do and then having the courage to take this action. It is here where we face our remaining fears, face ourselves and act in faith, having the audacity to take action aligned with our convictions.

We are not fully at type 6 yet; most of us are likely too close to what has just occurred at type 3 and incrementally inching toward type 9. And some of us are further along. Wherever you are right now, movement forward will occur since this is a process, a cycle unfolding. There may also be movements backwards. And if we think of this as a process, this cycle may loop around 3-9-6 numerous times until the cycle is complete.

I know people who are taking action: organizing or participating in protests, writing articles and blogs, making donations to organizations that are positioned to combat what appears on our horizon, taking out subscriptions to newspapers to sustain our media, and keeping abreast of the latest news – as much as they can tolerate without getting discouraged. It will be in these small and bigger acts of courage that we will find and nourish our collective consciousness. And from here we will find our collective and individual resilience.

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, the author of six best-selling Enneagram-business books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs for professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications, and is past-president of the International Enneagram Association. Visit her website: TheEnneagramInBusiness.com. ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com

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Since August 2015, I have written four blogs about Donald Trump, not so much questioning what his type is – this due to the fact that for many years I have perceived him as a type 8 – but in order to predict what he might do in the future and what would be his motivation for doing so. These four blogs can be accessed on the links at the bottom of this blog.

In the last month, some Enneagram Facebook forums have been abuzz with strong opinions and even arguments – or at least what I read as arguments; I’ve just observed to some degree but not engaged – about Trump as an Enneagram type 8 or a 3.

I want to state that, from my perspective, trying to figure out whether he is an 8 or a 3 is not so useful by itself and not something to argue about since we don’t know him personally. So our take on Trump’s type is speculative. Type as a predictor of behavior, on the other hand, does matter when the stakes are so high such as in a presidential election.

That said, I started to wonder more about the type 8 versus type 3, since there was such strength of opinion on both sides. As a result, I went to a process I thought might shed a little more light on this.

I asked two people who are 8s and two who are 3s to answer this question: Do you think Donald Trump is an 8? (for the two 8s), or Do you think Donald Trump is a 3? (for the two 3s). The thinking behind this methodology is that we often recognize people of our own type more readily than we recognize people of other types. You may agree or disagree with this approach; perhaps two people are not enough to gain enough insight. But read on; I hope you find it interesting. All four people are typed correctly themselves, know the Enneagram well, and teach the Enneagram to others professionally.

From Lisa Alessi, an Enneagram 3 herself
If Trump were truly a 3, he would more than likely identify with successful political leaders, working hard to project an attractive image something more presidential in demeanor, which we have not seen. When 3s are feeling threatened, they usually go into overdrive to prove themselves, so you’d also expect him to try to prove his competency and be more prepared for the debates. Instead, we’ve seen more impulsive behavior in the form of retaliation, threats or oppression of his opponents or denial, not letting things roll off his shoulders, which are more typical reactive tendencies for 8s.

From Monirah Womack, an Enneagram 3 herself
Watching the last presidential debate confirmed for me once again that Trump is not part of the 3 tribe, my tribe. In my experience of the 3 patterns, we usually “color inside the lines,” aligning with rules, standards or processes in service of succeeding and being esteemed and admired for our accomplishments. Trump’s pattern seems to be that of rule-bender or rule-breaker — his “wait and see” remark about potentially not accepting the outcome of the election is clearly “coloring outside the lines,” from my 3 point of view. Unlike many 3s, his debate rhetoric sounded more like the exercise of power or control as a means to an end, rather than speaking of doing/goals/achieving. I was also struck by his lack of eye contact with the camera when he wasn’t speaking — it was as if there was a hood over his eyes. Most 3s seek eye contact as a means of connecting and winning others over to their point of view. When I take it all in, I don’t “read” Trump as an “other-referencing” character type; 2s, 3s, and 4s are all other-referencing, defining who they are in relation to how others perceive them.

From Jim Grant, an Enneagram 8 himself
Thoughts about Donald Trump:
Level of development
Red level of consciousness – opportunistic, power hungry, focused on impulsive self, egocentric, motivated by personal desires
Worldview and experience
Red, self-defensive, a bully, the way he is in life: “be what you are and do want you want regardless”
Degree of freedom in life experience
Narrow and specific (himself period!)
Scope of view
Insists only on his point of view, yours and mine don’t matter
Stage of identity
I want to be immortal, creating a permanent separate self
Worldview
– There are those that have and those that don’t – I have more than any of you
– Gratify impulses and senses immediately
– Fight without guilt or remorse
– World is seen as and experienced as: me and them with a very narrow view – mine!
– Self is synonymous with my will, ideas and wishes
– Follow rules only if it’s in my best interest
– Others are seen as barriers to getting what I want
– Limits are to be tested
– People and things out there are a source of blame for things not going the way I want
– I can manipulate the world
Language characteristics
– Speaks in concrete, direct, straight forward way, simple dichotomies
– Expresses feelings as angry, sad, happy
– Tends to polarize arguments and show prejudices
– Uses crass and lewd humour to taunt and tease on another’s weakness
– High emphasis unspeaking to his own views and low emphasis on listening to others’ views, especially if different
My vote – very low functioning unhealthy 8

From Lindy Amos, an Enneagram 8 herself
Trump is an 8 because:
Whether we like it or not, Trump cuts a powerful figure on the stage, filling up the space physically, energetically and with his combative verbal style. As Jonathon Norcoss states, “Trump has the ability [and I would add audacity] to convey his authority and expertise, while having little of either.”

Whilst many in the media accuse him of intentional intimidation, like many 8’s, however, he may genuinely be unaware of the power of his presence, (an alternative, of course, is that he is aware, and does not care – 8-like unhealthy behaviour at its worst).

Fashioning himself as a politically incorrect saviour holds appeal for him I propose, because in an 8-like manner, this justifies his recklessness (in word and deed) and his defensiveness. His hubris is communicated through his bluster, his denial and his refusal to take responsibility for his actions. When he is proven wrong, his reflex is to blame others, deny responsibility and rewrite history (a classic 8-like smokescreen).

He has the unique 8-like talent of speaking with such force, convinced his opinion about the world is the right one, and this, I believe, instills confidence in others (particularly those yearning for the traditional masculine heroic leader). He appears to operate from a black and white view of the world. Proposing simple answers to complex and nuanced problems, Trump favours domination as a means of attack, whereas wisdom, discretion, compassion and collaboration would be more appropriate.

I offer this commentary as an outsider who has watched both debates in full and have been following the press on this. I also offer this commentary with a bit of discomfort mostly because I think the best use of the Enneagram is to focus on how we can each identify and develop healthy ways of being in the world, so my hope is that the pre-election blog would have some balance in it. We wouldn’t want our audience to think that all 3s or 8s are like Donald Trump, or any public figure for that matter, (if you catch my drift).

Summary
As you can read, the 3s do not think Trump is a 3; the 8s are certain he is an 8. Food for thought!

Prior Trump Blogs
Donald Trump and the enneagram | what makes The Donald run?
Donald Trump and the enneagram | what would make The Donald stop?
Donald Trump | in lust we trust
What’s next with Trump | where grandiosity and paranoia intersect

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, the author of six best-selling Enneagram-business books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs for professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications, and is past-president of the International Enneagram Association. Visit her website: TheEnneagramInBusiness.com. ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com

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Although I know some people believe Trump might be an Enneagram Three rather than a type Eight, as my type Three friends and colleagues say, “No self-respecting Three – being an image type – would ever wear hair like that or have an orange yellow-face with large white circles around the eyes. We’d have it done better than that!”

What happens next with Trump? Will he win? Will he lose? Or, is something else on the horizon? A month ago and prior to either the Republican or Democratic conventions, I had an intuition. I mentioned to my neighbor and to my office staff that I thought it possible that Trump might drop out of the race. It was an intuition on my part, but all those to whom I mentioned this said, “But he is all about winning!” In response, I said, “Yes, but for Trump if he thinks he will lose, it is more important not to lose than to win. Watch the polls.”

Today in the news, there are rumors that this is possible, though the Trump campaign vehemently denies it. Here’s my thinking, unchanged from last month about why and how. If the polls show over time that he is losing ground, both in popular vote but even more important, in a path to winning the electoral college vote – in the US, each state gets a special number of votes based on their relative populations plus 2 votes just because it is a state – I believe he will quit the race, and here’s why.

Money
In my assessment, Trump can’t afford to finance his own campaign, even if he had the amount of money he claims. Most of his money is not liquid, so he would have to sell off everything. If the poll numbers keep showing him losing, he would be unlikely to even try to finance his losing campaign. It would be more than he likely has, and he would never get it back. Even though Trump is doing better with donations in the last month, he is having a difficult time getting funding from major outside donors. In addition, Clinton has accumulated a vast treasure chest for her campaign over the last six months, but not so Trump. The less he gets, the less he gets.

Ego
Trump does not seem to have any frustration tolerance for the idea that he would lose. So if it looks like he could or will lose, Trump will, I believe, find a way out before the election occurs. He’d rather be a “quitter” than a “loser.” And as an Eight, he really knows how to blame – or at least try to blame – others when things are not going his way. Blaming is the Eights’ defense mechanism; we all have our own by type.

So who will Trump blame? Several months ago, it might have been the media, always a target for public figures and politicians when things are not going their way. That strategy won’t work very well these days; not only is blaming the media overused, but Trump wouldn’t be able to blame his leaving the presidential race on the media alone.

Trump would blame the Republican party for not supporting him enough. He would blame the RNC (Republican National Committee); he would blame big Republican donors; he would blame Paul Ryan, Speaker for the House of Representatives, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, and John McCain, just because he could. In other words, Trump would frame this not as “quitting,” and not as “losing,” but as “winning” an honorable battle against establishment politicians. Trump would hold onto his self-perception of being honest and noble, the Republicans would have no presidential candidate, chaos would ensue, and Trump would take most of his supporters with him, somewhere! His own cable TV channel, perhaps? New product endorsements? A third-party candidate?

Grandiosity and paranoia
Helen Palmer, from whom I learned the Enneagram years ago, told me something that stuck with me all these years. Helen, an intuitive and a very psychologically savvy person, said this: “With Enneagram Eights, if they are low functioning, their grandiosity is matched by an equal does of paranoia. The more grandiose, the more paranoid; the more paranoid, the more grandiose.”

I think we can expect more grandiosity and more paranoia from Donald Trump in the coming weeks and months. After that, perhaps my prediction will come true.

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, the author of six best-selling Enneagram-business books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs for professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications, and is past-president of the International Enneagram Association. Visit her website: TheEnneagramInBusiness.com. ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com

The post What’s next with Trump | where grandiosity and paranoia intersect appeared first on The Enneagram in Business.

Donald Trump, in my view, is an Enneagram type Eight, a person who perceives him- or herself as a super hero, larger than life, who intimidates enemies – and who perceives the world as one in which people are either for me or against me – with their physical presence, threats, and bullying if needed. At least, low functioning, low self-mastery Eights do this. More developed Eights do not.

The emotional habit – called “passion” in Enneagram terms – of Eights is lust. And lust is defined as the excessive and fervent desire for satisfaction in a variety of forms such as work, food, pleasure and more as a way of avoiding and denying their feelings and vulnerabilities.

Lust is a complex word that has a sexual connotation. It is a body-based reaction – and Eights are an Enneagram type formed in the Body Center of Intelligence; lust is an emotion or feeling of intense desire in the body that can take forms such as the lust for sex, lust for expensive objects (extravagance) or the lust for power. This sounds very much like Donald Trump.

Of the three versions or subtypes of type Eight – self-preserving, social and one-to-one, which is also called “sexual” – Donald Trump is most likely a “sexual” subtype Eight. The “sexual” subtype Eight is called ”possession,” and these Eights are the most rebellious and emotional of the Eights, enjoying the challenging and expressing of values that differ from the norm. Their lust is also for possessing their environment, possessing people, being the center of attention, and exerting their power to provoke or seduce. And this kind of lust is often confused – in the Eight’s mind and in the other person(s) – with love.

The above information is intended to set the stage for my premise that Trump’s appeal, as well as the revulsion to it, stems from his sexualization of the Republican race for the presidential nomination. In doing so, Trump is simultaneously unleashing unrepentant power and aggression; all three of these areas – sex, power, and aggression – reside in the individual and group level unconscious. Is he doing this on purpose? I believe so. Does it come to him naturally? Yes!

Here are some examples of how Trump does this in relation to women by sexualizing them

About Hillary Clinton | “…she got schlonged, she lost, I mean she lost.”
Here, Trump was referring to Clinton’s loss to Obama in 2008, and he uses the word “schlonged.” Technically, “schlong” is a Yiddish word (a noun) for the male sexual anatomy; “schlonged” is the verb version of “schlong.” In a sense, this is more graphic and demeaning than merely using the “F” word as a verb.

About Hillary Clinton | “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?”
This is a clear reference to the Monica Lewinksy scandal, among other elements of Bill Clinton’s behavior.

About Carly Fiorina | “Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that? The face of our next president?”
While not as explicitly sexual as the Clinton quotes, Trump’s comment about how he perceives Fiorina’s beauty (or lack thereof) is akin to “Who would want to have her?” with the word have meaning something in the sexual arena.

About Megyn Kelly | “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
The comment made by Trump the day after the first Republican debate, when Kelly grilled him (and other candidates) hard; a clear sexual reference to a woman’s menstrual cycle.

About Princess Diana | “I could have [nailed Diana].”
Trump would go on Howard Stern’s radio show (Stern, a master of the outrageous), and rate different women’s beauty saying who he could have slept with. Several days after Diana’s death, he said the above quote in response to a question from Stern.

About Arianna Huffington | “…unattractive inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man; he made a good decision.”
An obvious remark to make Arianna Huffington appear so unappealing to her husband that it was her fault her husband left her for a man.

About Ivanka Trump, his daughter | “Yeah, she really is something, and what a beauty. If I weren’t happily married and, ya [sic] know, her father….”
This quote violates all rules of incest taboos.

In relationship to men, Trump tries to emasculate them and hyper-masculinize himself

About Marco Rubio | “Little Marco;” “Lightweight Rubio;” “Little mouth on him;” “I’ve never seen a human being sweat like he sweats;” “Really big ears;” ”Choker”
Most if not all of these comments go beyond mere physicality and are intended to create a picture of Rubio as a boy, not a man and certainly not a manly-man. “Choker” is a derogatory term used for athletes who lose their nerve, and, therefore, lose the game as well as their masculinity.

About himself | “Look at those hands, are they small hands?” “And, he [Marco Rubio] referred to my hands – ‘if they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee.”
Trump made this remark at a televised debate in response to a comment made by Marco Rubio at a rally suggesting that Trump’s small hands were indicative of a small male anatomical part. Here Trump not only defends his manhood, he refers to its size.

What Trump says about groups that sexualizes them

About Mexicans | “When Mexico sends us its people, they’re not sending their best….They’re rapists.”
Trump made this comment when he announced his candidacy, using derogatory and categorical terms to denounce illegal immigrants from Mexico, but several days later, he broadened the scope of this insult to refer to people coming from all over South and Latin America.

What this is all about, at the level of the individual and group unconscious
Here I am referring to the primitive, taboo aspects of the human psyche at an individual and group level. This level of the unconscious is where social taboo aspects reside: unbridled sex, power, and aggression. And this is a key aspect of what Donald Trump is tapping into at his rallies and debate performances. He revs people up, tapping into the individual and group level Id, and he knows how to work people into a feverish state of excitement, passion, anger and oddly, a sense of community.

Trump, aggression and violence
In a review of Donald Trump rallies and other related events, there is a long list of ritually approved violence toward others:
October 14, 2015 | Trump protestors shoved and spit on by attendees.
October 23, 2015 | A protestor knocked down and kicked by attendees.
November 21, 2015 | A protestor is kicked, punched and choked by attendees.
December 3, 2015 | A protestor is struck by a security guard.
December 11, 2015 | Protestors are forcibly ejected from a fundraiser.
December 14, 2015 | Attendees yell “Sieg Heil” and “light the m…erfu..er on fire” at a protestor.
February 29, 2016 | A photographer is slammed to the ground by a Secret Service agent.
March 1, 2016 | A protestor is surrounded and shoved by a number of rally attendees.

Often, but not always, the protestors are people of color: Latino, Black or individuals who appear to be of Middle Eastern descent. What does Trump actually do? He activates and rallies the underlying aggression of the crowd, calling for and giving the permission for them to become aggressive and violent: “Get the hell out,” Trump yells at one protestor from the podium. About another protestor, he says, “You know what they used to do to guys like that? He’d go out in a stretcher.” Trump adds, “I’d like to punch him in the face.”

Trump stimulates violence wherever he can; he and his audience thrive on it. For example, he talks about doing even more violent things than waterboarding when interrogating persons who might (or might not) know something of interest to the US intelligence community, even though waterboarding has not been proven to obtain accurate, useful information and is outlawed internationally. Trump talks, with no apparent remorse, about intentionally killing the families of terrorists, including women and children, because, he suggests, they likely knew something about the attack. A curious question is this: Wouldn’t we want to interrogate rather than kill people who might know something?

Trump and power
Trump, like all Eights, has a finely tuned instinct for power and influence – who has it, how to get more of it, how to use it, where he stands vis-à-vis others, and more. Trump’s way of understanding power is extremely hierarchical, and Trump knows how to use his power and power brand to establish himself as the head of the power triangle, the name on the tallest building literally and metaphorically. It is as if he is trying to establish a new social order with his name at the top.

In lust we trust
As mentioned earlier, lust is often mistaken for love, and Trump also plays this card. In his rallies or during his victory speeches, he often claims, “I love you ___[fill in the blank]” or “We love you ___[fill in the blank.]” Trump goes beyond normal politicians, who often say, ”I love you Kansas” or the name of a state where they have claimed victory. Trump will disparage Mexicans and then say, “I love Mexicans.” Or he will refer to people without a high school education as “the poorly educated” who voted for him and then say, “I love the poorly educated.” Trump claims now to love just about everyone, except when he doesn’t. Trump takes his audience from lust to love in one short breath, one short or incomplete sentence. And he does it well.

Other Trump blogs
August 19, 2015 | Donald Trump and the enneagram | what makes The Donald run?
August 24, 2015 | Donald Trump and the enneagram | what would make The Donald stop?

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, the author of five best-selling Enneagram-business books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs for professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications, and is past-president of the International Enneagram Association. Visit her website: TheEnneagramInBusiness.com. ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com

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My last blog, “What makes The Donald run,” has received so many “shares” and comments on Facebook that I’ve decided on what might make The Donald stop based on information and observations of moderately low to very low-functioning 8s. Here’s the simple answer to that question, “What would make the Donald stop?” “Not much!”

In other words, Donald Trump is on a roll or has a certain self-propelling momentum that by himself, he will not stop based on sweet reason, emotional remorse, or environment blockages. So what then could stop The Donald?

Again, let me describe Enneagram 8s, particularly as it relates to Donald Trump.

Eights pursue the truth and justice, like to keep situations under control, want to make important things happen, and try to hide their vulnerability.
Strengths | direct | strategic | protective | big action oriented
Development | controlling | demanding | disdain weakness | intimidating

Description of low self-mastery 8s (Lapid-Bogda) | the bully
Direct to the point of cruelty, with floods of anger and destructive punitive behavior | power oriented in most circumstances and at whatever cost | deteriorates into anti-social or violent behavior because they cannot contain or control their explosive anger

Unhealthy Level 8 (Riso and Hudson) | megalomaniacal terrorizing
Desperate to protect themselves and so fearful of retaliation, they begin to attack potential rivals before they can threaten them, respecting no boundaries and overreaching themselves, with delusions of invulnerability

Possible Trump stopper # 1 | health issues
Trump could fall ill and no longer be able to run for president. I want to be clear that I do not in any way wish him ill health. That said, most 8s run themselves into the ground, going into serious denial that anything related to their physical health is occurring or can stop them. Without enough sleep, exercise or healthy eating, ¬most 8s eventually get sick, sometimes life-threateningly so, and their denial of their own physical limitations often has them seeing a doctor when it is too little too late. My experience with 8s is that most of them get insufficient sleep because they stay up very late when they can have total alone time. However, 8s get up in the morning at the same hour as others who work, and over time, they can become chronically sleep deprived. Add to this that the excessiveness with 8s may manifest as over- or under-eating or irregular exercise – for example, exercising intensely for a few weeks, then becoming an over-working couch potato at others. Again, no wishes for Trump to experience health issues; I’m just describing the 8’s tendencies that could severely limit his forward momentum. Health issues could be the big stopper.

Possible Trump stopper # 2 | paranoia
Helen Palmer, Enneagram author and teacher as well as my good friend and remarkable colleague, once told me this: 8s who are grandiose – and not all 8s are grandiose – have an equal level of paranoia. Given that Donald Trump appears, at least to me, highly grandiose, he is likely equally paranoid. If this is accurate, his disaster rhetoric may actually be a reflection of his real beliefs, ones that arise from his paranoia. And the more he bullies other individuals and groups, attributing to them malevolent motives (which might in fact be his motives projected onto others), his paranoia may actually create his future reality. People he attacks, as well as group and individuals who perceive him as a danger to them or to the Republican party, may start plotting how to create his political demise. This may have already begun. They will be out to get him, thereby increasing his paranoia.

Paranoid individuals do not perceive themselves as paranoid, yet their behavioral moves are defensive ones, even if these appear to be offensive measures. According to PsychCentral, a person with excessive suspiciousness (paranoia) can exhibit aberrant behavior in “two or more of the following areas: cognition; affect; interpersonal functioning; or impulse control.”

If and when The Donald’s paranoia – and this assumes Palmer is correct, although we’ve already seen expressions of paranoia in his attack rhetoric – increases and his erratic or impulsive behavior accelerates, he is likely to become so extreme in his views and verbal expression that even those who support him may be taken aback. And if and when he loses support, he might well also attack those who currently support him. To say this in type 8 language, those who currently “have his back” will no longer do so. And without support, The Donald, can no longer run for long.

Possible Trump stopper # 3 | resources
Resources come in a variety of forms: money, time, energy, support, and in the case of running for president, average polling number percentage. Average polling number percentage – the candidates standing in an average of all key public polling – is key to free media coverage because higher polling candidates get a free platform in presidential primary debates.

It’s not clear how much money Trump actually has or how much of his fortune he is willing to spend on his run for the presidency. Likely, he has the time, and thus far, he seems to be enjoying his run. His energy level seems to be high enough at this point, although he could run out of steam after a while. That is to be seen.

But, if his polling numbers – his average level of support among Republicans, which is currently at 25% – drop below the percentage required to entitle him to be on the stage at Republican primary debates, Trump will have to pay for much of his media exposure. And this is very expensive. Trump says he is a shrewd businessman, but we shall see if he really has to spend his own money on media coverage, which is extraordinarily expensive.

Possible Trump stopper # 4 | his children
Although 8s like to show and amp up their “bigness” as a way of hiding their vulnerability, most 8s have an emotional soft spot for their children. I don’t know Trump’s real relationship with his children, yet he seems close enough publically with his two older sons and his daughter, Ivanka. All three of them, in some way, are in business with him and appear to appreciate their father’s business savvy. It is rare to hear or read anything negative about Trump from these three adult children.

But here’s what could cause Trump to stop in his tracks if he goes too far in his anti-everyone and everything rhetoric. Thus far, Trump has not made too many egregious comments about people who are Jewish, though he has made some disguised remarks, known as “micro-aggressions.”

Here’s one about Jon Stewart, the now-retired host of a popular comedy show that often carries more accurate and timely news than most TV news programs. When someone suggested that Trump needed to be careful of a presidential run because Jon Stewart would decimate him, Trump tweeted that he was “much smarter than Jonathon Leibowitz – I mean Jon Stewart.”

Referring to Stewart as “Leibowitz” may seem odd or “off,” but if you are Jewish or sensitive to these “micro-aggressions,” it is code for referring to Stewart as being Jewish. But why would Trump say this, except to call out something about Stewart as a way to diminish Stewart and elevate Trump? Here are some possible reasons Trump made such a comment: (a) to call out Stewart’s Jewishness, as if this is a negative in some way, (b) to call out Stewart’s having changed his name, thereby implying Stewart is fake or dishonest or something not good, or (c) to imply that Stewart is Jewish and by stereotypical implication, smart, Trump is smarter?

But here’s the rub. Trump’s daughter Ivanka is Jewish, having converted in 2009 before she married her husband Jared Kushner, in an Orthodox Jewish ceremony. Conversion to Judaism requires a deliberate decision and a rigorous process of study. Best guess is they plan to raise their children and any future children in the Jewish faith.

Should Donald Trump cross the anti-Semitic line too many times – that is, too many veiled ambiguous or offensive comments – it will become personal for Trump because it will be highly personal for Ivanka and her family. 8s usually have a special soft and tender spot for their children, a place where their vulnerability is most often experienced. And fathers often have a soft spot for daughters, generally speaking. Ivanka would not be able to ignore her father’s Jewish comments for very long.

Could and would Ivanka bring The Donald down on this? Publically, likely she would not. But Jewish groups and other groups offended by The Donald would come out against him. Privately, I would put my money on Ivanka’s being quite stern with her father. The love for a father is rarely as great as a mother’s love for her children.

Ivanka’s pushback on her father would be unlikely to stop The Donald run by itself. However, were Trump to reveal either blatant or a series of “micro-aggressions” against people who are Jewish, there are countless organizations across the country, Jewish and otherwise, that would launch a full-throttle campaign against a Trump candidacy. Trump would have a big problem from inside his insular world as well as from the external environment.

Conclusion
Trump, at this point, cannot easily be stopped. However, the first two stoppers above – health issues and paranoia – are likely to be the most likely factors to stop Trump. And if the other two stoppers – resources and his children – followed soon after, the rest of us would be, in Trump’s own vocabulary, “WINNER!”

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, the author of four best-selling Enneagram-business books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs for professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications, and is past-president of the International Enneagram Association. Visit her website: The Enneagram in Business.com. ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com

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When someone suggested I write a timely blog on Donald Trump, my first thought was that his Enneagram type was so obvious that there was no reason to write one. But, then again, I reflected on two things: (1) some people, for some reason that I don’t understand except for the idea that he has been successful, think Donald Trump is an Enneagram 3, not an Enneagram 8, for which he is almost the poster child, and (2) perhaps the Enneagram can shed some light on what makes Donald run and as an 8, what he is likely to do next.

First, let me describe Enneagram 8s, particularly as it relates to Donald Trump.

Eights pursue the truth and justice, like to keep situations under control, want to make important things happen, and try to hide their vulnerability.
Strengths | direct | strategic | protective | big action oriented
Development | controlling | demanding | disdain weakness | intimidating

The above describes Donald Trump in a general way. But not all 8s are exactly like Donald Trump, partly due to what is called “Levels of Development” (Riso and Hudson) or what I refer to as “Levels of Self-Mastery” (Lapid-Bogda). In other words, think of a line with individuals of the same type being at different places on the line from very low functioning to moderate (average) functioning to high functioning. Trump, in my view, is a low functioning 8, and here are two descriptions of that kind of 8, the place at which Trump appears to be functioning or deteriorating into if he is not there already.

Description of low self-mastery 8s (Lapid-Bogda) | the bully
Direct to the point of cruelty, with floods of anger and destructive punitive behavior | power oriented in most circumstances and at whatever cost | deteriorates into anti-social or violent behavior because they cannot contain or control their explosive anger

Unhealthy Level 8 (Riso and Hudson) | megalomaniacal terrorizing
Desperate to protect themselves and so fearful of retaliation, they begin to attack potential rivals before they can threaten them, respecting no boundaries and overreaching themselves, with delusions of invulnerability

What Trump has done recently
Trump has done many unbelievable things in the recent past. He has called immigrants from Mexico rapists, challenged John McCain’s heroism as a POW precisely because McCain was captured, made numerous derogatory comments about women, has relentlessly questioned president Obama’s citizenship (and has a history of anti-Black rhetoric and behavior), and dismisses his opponents as “losers” or “weak” which, of course, casts Trump himself as a winner and as strong. And Trump gets away with it. Low functioning 8s can be blustery (and do not feel remorse for what they say; hence, no apology) and relentlessly aggressive, although they prefer to decimate their opponents with one quick and big action.

From his perspective, I believe, Trump is simply telling the truth (as he sees it), often pushing back on criticism that he receives by labeling those who critique him as “political correctness” police. And every time he makes what would be career-limiting and/or career-deadening comments if made by his Republican rivals, Trump defends himself, like most 8s, by going on the offense, often using “political correctness” as his sword. And he gets away with it.

What makes Donald run?
Donald aside, what are the common key motivators for most people who are highly, perhaps exceedingly, ambitious: power, money, and/or fame? Trump appears to have all three of these already, though a case could be made that as an Enneagram 8, Trump likely believes that “you can never have enough of a good thing.” However, I believe there is a 4th motivator, one I have observed in many Enneagram 8s who have not engaged in enough self-development. They want respect, legitimization, recognition for being someone who is worthy of gravitas which they like to presume that they have, though their kind of gravitas is really more like “bigness” and is often a cover for their intrinsic sense of smallness.

His presidential run may have started initially as a blustery bid for media attention (or maybe it was real all the time), but it seems to have morphed into full-on warfare for recognition for him as a person to be respected and taken seriously. Eights, more than any other Enneagram type, like and seek challenges – the bigger the better – and when challenged, they come back full throttle as long as they have the internal and external resources to do so. As a result, I predict that The Donald will keep on running for president until he can no longer do so, and the more attempts that arise to stop him, the more grandiose and aggressive he will become. He will rise, in some way, emboldened by the challenge.

Why The Donald has traction
Why does he have any traction at all? My guess is that he is playing “establishment outsider,” even though he is literally part of the establishment by almost any standard. And Trump’s taking on of those in power resonates with what is remaining of a small sliver of the American electorate, Trump voters. To be realistic, few Blacks will vote for him, about the same percentage of Hispanics will support him, Democrats never will, the under-30 age group doesn’t see that he has much to offer them (and they are fairly progressive in their social values), most women are deeply offended by his remarks, those of Asian descent are unlikely to see him as someone admirable, and it is doubtful those who are part of the LGBT community will align with anything The Donald stands for.

This leaves a narrow band of the electorate I will call “alienated white heterosexual male” voters who are angry and have been since the women’s movement in the 1970s and then became even more so when the economy tanked and they could no longer find the kinds of jobs they were used to having. In a sense, they feel like victims of the system who are looking for someone to blame. Trump can be a bully, but he is the perfect protector for this group of voters (“alienated white males”) because he can bully everyone Trump voters feel bullied by. I want to be really clear that there are many white males who are deeply offended by Trump; they don’t feel alienated, don’t perceive themselves as victims, and certainly would never hang on the coattails of someone like The Donald to protect and defend them.

One commentator stated that he thinks Trump represents the “Id” (the unconscious) of America, and perhaps this is true. If accurate, it would be the “Id” of a certain sliver of white males. But Trump loves and feeds off them and their alienation, his grandiosity growing with each step he takes onto the larger world stage.

We are too wise to elect Trump our next president. But if he wins the Republican nomination, and he could, especially since he has said (and perhaps this is bravado) he will fund his own campaign to the tune of $1 billion, the American 2-party system could be in jeopardy. The Republican party could splinter so badly, there would be nothing left at its core. With that scenario, Trump could march triumphantly back to his media megalomania, leaving many bodies and a whole political party dead on the side of the road. Low-functioning 8s can do this with no remorse for the bodies on the side of the road or any institution they blow up; high functioning 8s would not. The Donald would still be the “winner” and he would call the rest of us one of his favorite words: “LOSER!”

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, the author of four best-selling Enneagram-business books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs for professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications, and is past-president of the International Enneagram Association. Visit her website: The Enneagram in Business.com. ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com

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Right after Bridgegate broke, I wrote a blog about Chris Christie as a type Eight leader, describing how it was highly unlikely that he did not know about the traffic problems caused by the lane closures on the George Washington bridge between New York and New Jersey and even more unlikely that he didn’t know about them right after they occurred. My reasoning, which appears to be more true than I had hoped, was that “no one in his or her right mind who works for an Eight leader would be so foolish as to engage in such visible, retributive, and high-profile action without at least the tacit consent of the Eight leader. To do so and risk the career of the Eight leader would be beyond plausibility.”

Thus far, my predictions based on the Enneagram appear accurate. It is becoming more likely that Christie was not telling the whole truth when he said he only learned of the problems from the media. Now that the New Jersey congressional inquiry is underway as well as a federal government investigation, subpoenas have been issued, documents have been requested (demanded) from key people, fees for defense lawyers are skyrocketing, and the penalty for non-compliance or destroying evidence comes with jail time, people close to Christie are breaking rank. The person who implemented the lane closures (David Wildstein) has now implicated Christie, saying he has evidence that Christie knew about this as it was happening. All this calls Christie’s public remarks about what he knew and when he knew it into question.

Will Christie ever become President of the United States if what Wildstein says is true? Americans don’t like blatant dishonesty in politicians, especially those whose popularity is based on their perceived honesty, and there is also the question about whether he will last out his tenure as governor of New Jersey. All this is to be seen in the coming months.

What I am curious about now is what moves Christie will make in the next days, weeks and months. In pondering this, what comes to mind is how Christie’s type Eight leadership style intersects with the political games that politicians play. As a note, I was a political science major as an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, and as an OD consultant who works with leaders, often in the context of organizational power dynamics, I try to help organizations create power and influence systems that are productive and transparent.

Some politicians play out power maneuvers according to the game of checkers; others play power chess. What is the difference between power chess and power checkers, and which is Christie playing? The answer might give insight into his next moves.

Although both board games compete with pieces that can be moved on the board with the objective of winning, chess and checkers are very different. With checkers, the object is to remove all of the opponent’s pieces from the game; in chess, the objective is to corner the opponent and take the king. In checkers, each piece is exactly the same in terms of value and rules of movement, while in chess, there are many different pieces that vary in terms of their value and range of movement. Chess is far more complex than checkers; chess requires the player to keep five or more steps ahead of the game and requires complex strategy. In this sense, chess is really a game of strategy, executed with short and medium term tactics. Checkers is more in the here and now; players move what’s right in front of them. It is more a game of short and medium term tactics. Checkers is also simpler and faster than chess, with every piece trying to save itself from being removed. With chess, it’s a mind game, a thinking person’s game. A chess game between two skilled players can take hours, even days. With checkers, it’s an instinctual game that can be over quite quickly.

In terms of power playing, think of Barack Obama as a master chess player. At the end of each sequence of events, whether it be the Democratic primary or the election against John McCain or Mitt Romney, Obama always comes out the winner. Even when he misses a particular move – for example, the initial debates with Romney – he pulls out a win in the long run. This is more than continuous good luck; it is the result of a strategic mind thinking biggest picture, complex strategy and multiple moves. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton played chess; John McCain played checkers. In politics, when a chess player plays against a checkers player, the chess player almost always wins for a number of reasons: chess players have a long term perspective, a bigger perspective, and more moves available to them. They focus on strategy and its execution, not tactics. As a result, chess players win the big game, although not necessarily on individual plays or moves.

So what type of player is Chris Christie, chess or checkers? I’ve known some Enneagram Eights who were master chess players, finely tuned; as Bobby Fisher, one of the all-time chess greats described it, “Winning in this game is all a matter of understanding how to capitalize on the strengths of each piece and timing their moves just right.”

Robert, for example, was one of three top senior leaders at an international law firm – the other two included a Seven and a Three – yet Robert was the most respected and vetted (authorized by the lawyers below him), and he both knew and liked it this way. Robert played the long game, choosing his actions wisely, rather than acting on his impulse to take action constantly (which more often goes with Enneagram Eights). He was able to turn the law firm’s culture from one in which each lawyer was doing his or her own thing to more of a collective unit, with each lawyer taking responsibility for the whole firm. And when he wanted to leave the firm, Robert made this move when he wanted, at a time of his own choosing.

I’ve also known Eight leaders who played checkers, thinking they were strategic but actually making moves in only one direction: the accumulation of territory and to gain a sense of their own bigness. Diane ran a non-profit organization and for the first year, her board and others thought she was a strong, upright, and good leader. As she brought more of her friends onto the board in key positions, her power solidified, but her behavior became more self-serving. As she tried to accumulate more and more power and territory, she was eventually told NO, that what she wanted was not in the best interests of the organization. Because she was playing checkers – thinking she had all her pieces lined up to support her – she made a tactical move and called what she thought was their bluff. “If you don’t give me this, I will resign!” The board, even with all her supporters there, said “Fine; go.”

In checkers, because each piece has equal value, there is a mentality of “every player for him- or herself” as they attempt to take out as many opponents as possible on their way to the other side. In chess, different players or pieces play different roles: some protect other pieces, some attack, and others are martyrs for the cause toward a common goal of capturing the opponent’s king. In other words, the pieces or players are in the game for the whole team, not just to save themselves.

Christie, in my view has been playing checkers while thinking he is playing chess. This can lead to serious problems because it creates a major confusion between strategy and tactics. The press conference in which he said that he had no knowledge or involvement in Bridgegate was a tactical move that he may have thought was a strategic one in the sense of sending the message to others involved that they were to in no way implicate him. The problem is that this required every other player to “hold the line” and keep quiet. However, the other players (in this case, his former deputy press secretary, Wildstein, and others to emerge) are now in a game where they must save themselves or possibly go to jail for either their initial acts (closing the bridge lanes, covering up a crime, obstruction of justice, or contempt of court). The checker pieces appear to be tumbling off the board and Christie may tumble with them.

If I am correct (and this is an if) that Christie is an Enneagram Eight and is playing checkers but thinking he is playing chess, if he is guilty of any wrongdoing he will end up standing alone, with no protection from outside. If the various problems in which he is possibly intertwined turn out to unravel on him, it will be every person for him- or herself, as Christie amps up his large, fast, and furious responses, becomes angrier and angrier from what he perceives as betrayal and lack of loyalty, all classic Eight qualities when they don’t know what else to do. In checkers, there are limited moves, and Christie will know this. It has the potential to be a public and humiliating downfall that will be sad to observe and from which political recovery will be near impossible.

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I have always liked Chris Christie, or at least I had liked him until the recent Bridgegate scandal, in which many of Christie’s direct staff and appointees in various roles, appear to have closed down two of the three lanes on the busiest bridge in the United States – the one that commuters between New York and New Jersey rely on – for no apparent reason. A series of published emails reveal the lane closures appear to have been done as some sort of political payback, but payback for what is not clear. It was also the first day of school, took place during 9/11 memorial services, and an elderly woman died of a heart attack on the bridge. Medical services were delayed due to traffic; would she have lived if the ambulance had gotten to her earlier has not been determined.

All this is not good for Chris Christie, although there is nothing currently linking him directly to the bridge lane closures. Multiple governmental investigations – both state and federal – are currently underway, so more about Christie’s involvement and the real motivation for the closures, which lasted for four days, will be revealed.

The above is offered as context, but what this blog is really about is Christie’s role and how Christie, a type Eight leader, may have gotten himself and the rest of us into this fiasco.

Why is Chris Christie likely an Enneagram Eight? He is bold and brash, honest and direct, commanding and dominating. He aggressively pushes against ideas, rules, and expectations that don’t suit him and is more than willing to take on other people when he chooses to do so. In addition, Eight leaders like Christie have these strengths: direct, self-confident, authoritative, highly strategic, high energy, protective of those under the wings, embrace the big challenge and moving projects forward, and they support the success of others that are part of their team. Fundamentally, they believe their job as a leader is to move their organizations forward by leading decisively, getting capable and reliable people in the right jobs, and empowering competent people to take action. Moreover, Eight leaders hate being blindsided or not being told the truth and prefer to macro manage the big picture than to micromanage the details. The operations or tactics they leave to others they trust, but they are always involved in the strategy.

This is what makes it hard to believe that Christie didn’t know about the strategy involved in Bridgegate. Perhaps he didn’t know the details, but no one in his or her right mind who works for an Eight leader would be so foolish as to engage in such visible, retributive, and high-profile action without at least the tacit consent of the Eight leader. To do so and risk the career of the Eight leader would be beyond plausibility. There were multiple people who worked for Christie who were clearly involved in the planning and execution of Bridgegate, based on the public email paper trail. Several of them had worked with Christie for years. They had to have known that they couldn’t embark on such an endeavor if it were not okay with him.

In a news conference Christie held after the news broke, he spoke of feeling saddened and betrayed by those who worked for him and were central to the scandal. Oddly unmentioned were the people of New Jersey and New York whose lives were inconvenienced (at best) or put in jeopardy (at worst). What was unclear was if he was upset because his subordinates actually engaged in Bridgegate or because they hadn’t informed him of what they had done, either before (possible), while it was happening (highly unlikely), or after it occurred (even more unlikely).

Time will tell more of the story, but probably not all of it. What is really so sad is that Christie has many positive qualities, yet it appears that his type-based blind spots may be his undoing. Eights don’t feel above the rule of law, as many politicos do when power goes to their head. They do think that rules they disagree with are meant to be broken, that they can rewrite the rules if they want to, and that, in many ways, they are bigger than the rules. They often spread into all the territory they want to be in charge of, whether or not they are actually vetted or authorized to do so. Eights often say they believe that they were born to lead, with a given right to pretty much do what they want. And when Eights become very powerful and want more (a way of lusting over power and territory), and if they haven’t done enough psychological work, they can become quite grandiose. And when the grandiosity seems to fail them, they can dip into exonerating paranoia (as in, “they are out to get me; I did nothing wrong here.”)

The picture of Christie on the Time magazine cover above reads, ”Chris Christie is the master of disaster.” This was a compliment, referring to his heroic stance in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Now it appears he may have made his own unnatural disaster. I hope that the truth comes out, that his worst mistake was being too hands-off and trusting people too much. Perhaps then, he can also master this disaster.

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