204. Enneagram Type 4: Striving to Feel Unique - How It Shows Up at Work

2025-11-24

In this episode of Enneagram at Work, we're continuing the 9 Types Overview Series with a deep dive into Enneagram Type 4: Striving to Feel Unique, often called The Individualist or, in the Awareness to Action framework, The Visionary.This episode explores how Type 4s bring creativity, emotional depth, and originality into the workplace, and how their search for meaning and authenticity shapes their leadership, communication, and team dynamics. You’ll learn how this type adds emotional depth and richness to teams, where they c...

In this episode of Enneagram at Work, we're continuing the 9 Types Overview Series with a deep dive into Enneagram Type 4: Striving to Feel Unique, often called The Individualist or, in the Awareness to Action framework, The Visionary.

This episode explores how Type 4s bring creativity, emotional depth, and originality into the workplace, and how their search for meaning and authenticity shapes their leadership, communication, and team dynamics. You’ll learn how this type adds emotional depth and richness to teams, where they can get stuck, and how to better collaborate with people driven by purpose and identity.

What You’ll Learn:

The core motivation or "root logic" behind Type 4’s drive to feel unique
Why Type 4s are often the emotional and creative heartbeat of a team
How strengths like depth, empathy, and originality can become overused
How Type 4s approach work, purpose, and self-expression
How the 3 instinctual biases create different expressions of Type 4 energy
Growth practices using their arrows to Type 1 and Type 2
How to give and receive feedback in a way that feels safe and meaningful

Try This at Work:

If you’re a Type 4: Practice grounding your ideas in structure. Ask, “What’s the smallest step I can take today?”
If you work with a Type 4: Invite their perspective. Ask what something means to them, not just what they think about it.

For Teams & Leaders:

Type 4s bring heart, storytelling, and emotional intelligence to teams. They help organizations connect to purpose, humanity, and meaning. But they can also feel misunderstood, left out, or undervalued if their emotional world isn’t acknowledged.

Teams that work well with Type 4s make room for both performance and meaning, honoring feelings without letting them derail progress.

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🗓️ Book an Enneagram Workshop for your team retreat at work:
https://www.enneagrammba.com/enneagram-team-workshops

✏️ Get an overview of all nine types inside the Understanding People at Work Cheat Sheet
https://www.enneagrammba.com/cheatsheet

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