The Enneagram and Leadership for Entrepreneurs: Unlocking Your Potential
Written by: Abby Martinez
When I first started building my business, I carried this low-key fear that I was doing it all wrong.
I had no shortage of ideas—big, exciting, “this could change everything” ideas. I’d chase one full-speed ahead… until a new one popped into my head and suddenly felt even better. I wasn’t lazy—I was energized. I wasn’t unfocused—I was multi-passionate. But back then? It just felt like I couldn’t commit. Like I was flaky. Like maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a “serious” business owner.
Then I discovered the Enneagram.
Learning I was a Type 7 felt like a homecoming. For the first time, I had language for why I was wired the way I was. I realized my gift wasn’t in sticking to just one thing—it was in vision casting, big-picture thinking, and seeing possibilities where others saw problems. The Enneagram didn’t just give me insight—it gave me permission. And that changed everything about how I showed up as a leader.
Today, I run Well Balanced Business, an agency that supports other visionary entrepreneurs with operations through virtual assistant and online business management services. We help founders step out of the weeds so they can step into the work that lights them up. And behind the systems and structure we provide, the foundation is always the same: self-awareness first.
Because in entrepreneurship, how you lead is deeply personal. And understanding your Enneagram type is one of the most powerful tools I’ve found to help business owners lead with clarity, confidence, and alignment.
Why Self-Awareness is Your Greatest Business Strategy
Most people start businesses because they have a skill or a passion. But scaling a business? That requires knowing yourself. The Enneagram is more than just a personality quiz—it’s a roadmap for understanding your core motivations, triggers, fears, and gifts. It helps you recognize the patterns that shape your choices, your relationships, and yes—your leadership style.
Here’s the truth: you don’t need to lead like anyone else. You need to lead like you.
When entrepreneurs understand their Enneagram type, they stop wasting energy trying to be someone they’re not. Instead, they start making aligned decisions, building support systems that fit how they work best, and communicating more effectively with their team and clients. That’s when businesses start to flow instead of grind.
The Nine Types Through a Leadership Lens
Here’s a quick overview of how each Enneagram type tends to show up in business and leadership:
Type 1 – The Perfectionist: Precise, principled, and organized. Leads with integrity but can struggle with delegation and perfection paralysis.
Type 2 – The Helper: Compassionate, generous, and people-focused. Excellent at building client relationships but may neglect their own needs.
Type 3 – The Achiever: Driven, efficient, and confident. Natural at visibility and goal-setting but may tie worth to success.
Type 4 – The Individualist: Deep, creative, and purpose-led. Visionary but can struggle with consistency and emotional overwhelm.
Type 5 – The Investigator: Insightful, analytical, and thoughtful. Thrives in research and strategy but may resist collaboration or visibility.
Type 6 – The Loyalist: Reliable, prepared, and strategic. Strong at contingency planning but may overthink or seek constant reassurance.
Type 7 – The Enthusiast: Visionary, energetic, and innovative. Loves to ideate but needs support to stay grounded and follow through.
Type 8 – The Challenger: Bold, direct, and empowering. Excellent in leadership but may need to soften approach and build trust.
Type 9 – The Peacemaker: Easygoing, diplomatic, and inclusive. Brings harmony to teams but may avoid conflict or decisions.
From Self-Awareness to Aligned Leadership
Whether you're just getting started or you’re a few years in and feeling stuck in the day-to-day, the Enneagram can guide you into a deeper, more sustainable kind of leadership.
Here’s how to use it to your advantage:
1. Audit Your Leadership Patterns
Ask yourself: how does my type influence how I make decisions, delegate tasks, handle stress, and lead my team? Awareness is the first step to intentional growth.
2. Align with Your Strengths (and Hire for Your Gaps)
One of the most freeing things you can do is stop trying to be good at everything. Instead, lean into your strengths. If you’re a Type 4 who thrives in creative direction but struggles with systems, bring in someone who loves the backend (hello, that’s us at Well Balanced Business!).
3. Understand Your Growth Path
Each Enneagram type has specific growth edges. Type 3s may need to slow down and define success on their own terms. Type 6s may need to build trust in their inner knowing. The more you understand your type’s growth path, the more intentional your leadership becomes.
4. Lead Your Team (and Yourself) Better
If you lead a team, knowing your own type—and theirs—can help reduce conflict, improve communication, and create a culture of mutual respect and support. It's not about labeling, it's about understanding.
The Power of Leading as You Are
The biggest myth in entrepreneurship? That you need to fit a certain mold to be successful.
The Enneagram reminds us that leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s personal. Messy. Evolving. But when you know who you are, how you’re wired, and what drives you—you stop building a business based on shoulds and start building one based on what’s true for you.
That’s when everything starts to click.
At Well Balanced Business, we believe in building systems that fit you, not the other way around. And that starts with knowing who you are at your core.
So tell me—what’s your Enneagram type? And how is it shaping the way you lead?
Meet Abby Martinez
Abby Martinez is the founder of Well Balanced Business, an agency offering Virtual Assistant and Online Business Management services for creative entrepreneurs who are ready to scale with less chaos and more clarity. A certified executive and leadership coach, Abby blends business strategy with self-awareness work to help founders lead themselves and their teams with purpose. When she’s not building systems or mentoring her team, you’ll find her paddleboarding, coaching women in leadership, or brainstorming her next big idea (true to her Enneagram 7 nature).
Website: https://www.wellbalancedbusiness.com
Follow: https://www.instagram.com/well.balanced.business/
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