Regis Cebu Leadership Leader Dovie Sainz - Enneagram

Regis Cebu Leadership

Leader Dovie M. Sainz

Enneagram

Based on the 2 enneagram tests that I took from different sites, I am a Type 9 with wing 8. Type Nines are The Peacemakers. This is the description found in www.eclecticenergies.com:

       "People of this personality type essentially feel a need for peace and harmony. They tend to avoid conflict at all costs, whether it be internal or interpersonal. As the potential for conflict in life is virtually ubiquitous, the Nine's desire to avoid it generally results in some degree of withdrawal from life, and many Nines are, in fact, introverted..." 

I am not surprised with the result instead I am more surprised that both sites had the same result. I was secretly hoping that there would be a difference so I can make a choice on what to report in class. After much thinking and reflecting, I realized that I am indeed a peacemaker. I have been the one among my sisters who would go out of the way to patch things up. When I sense a confrontation coming, I would be the first one to try to "lighten" the situation. I rarely show anger and I just keep calm most of the time.

My choice to go to Iloilo City a few years after I got married is one example of how I try to avoid situations that would cause confrontations.  My parents and my husband then were not the best of relatives. My husband wanted me to take care of our family while my parents wanted me to use my education and have a career.

I had many choices after college. There were only a few of us who graduated and most multinational companies based in Manila were offering us signing bonuses to join them. However, I did not want to stay in Manila so I returned to Cebu to teach and get married.

Most of the fights I had with my husband in the early years of my marriage were due to my tendency to please my parents more than understanding him. I knew he felt isolated and insecure most of the time but I felt I also had to be a good daughter because my parents really raised us up well. It also did not help that we were living with them in one house.

After several years of this unhealthy situation, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to Iloilo City and raise our two small boys there with no close relatives around. My husband and I had full control of our lives, finances and home. I found peace and harmony there because I literally ran away from Cebu City.

I was also very non-confrontational with my husband. Maybe it helped that I knew it was my choice to marry him and to live in another city. Whenever we fought, I would be the first to keep quiet and later apologize.  Fortunately, he never hurt me physically.  Saying "sorry" also seems very easy to me and I usually mean it. I do not like to make uncomfortable situations last longer than they should.

What caught me off guard about the enneagram type 9 description is that we are "not fully involved, as if to insulate themselves from threats to their peace of mind." This is spot on. I sometimes tend to take situations lightly even when serious thinking is called for. This is so clear in how I deal with situations at home and at work.

I remembered a time when my son came up to me in National Bookstore with blood in his eye and crying. I just wiped the blood, checked which part of his eye was wounded and when I saw that it was only on his eyebrow, I calmly told my husband to bring us to the emergency room to have it dressed. My son went to me after and said, "Mom, you said that you will only panic if you see blood. How come you did not panic?"

There was also a time when the water pipe burst at the hospital and the whole 4^th floor was flooded. I was not there so when our chief nurse called, my first question was about the patients. Was there anybody hurt? None. Are there people fixing it already? Yes. Are the equipment on the third floor and the laboratory safe? Yes. So I figured there was no need for me to get there immediately. Actually, I was in denial mode and was just scared to go to the hospital then.

Sickness and death are also stuffs I want to avoid. I do not like hearing people's problems especially when there is nothing that anyone can do to heal them. I usually become numb when I hear about terminal diseases and death. I try to place myself far from that situation. Most of the time, I pray and say that whatever happens is part of God's plan.

Nines are also very optimistic according to the sites. We tend to trust people and when things go not according to plan, we rely on our faith. I really believe that everything happens for a reason. There are no accidents. Everything in my life has a purpose and it is up to me to discern the meaning. I think this is also because of my deep faith and trust in God. I have seen so many miracles in my life to know that God has a plan for all of us.

There was also a description of Nines at the eclecticenergies site that stated, "They frequently feel most at home in nature and generally make warm and attentive parents." I want to believe that this is true. It would really make all my sacrifices and patience worthwhile if my two sons will one day tell me this is true about me. Knowing this though makes it easier to be a good parent. I do not need to change. I just have to improve.

Nines do not like change. However, when change occurs, Nines generally tend to adapt well. This means we are resilient. Where I currently work, change is always on our agenda. We are a new hospital and everything that we do may or may not be the right protocol so we are constantly monitoring our key performance indices. We also have to be active in changing policies that are not working before these policies become the standard operating procedures. 

This is where I think I will have difficulty most because I like to have everything in order as soon as possible. I want to organize fast and just let day-to-day operations run efficiently immediately. I do not know if I will be able to keep up with my work and at the same time plan for the changes that we will be implementing next year. Knowing this, I will try to focus on my priorities and keep my eyes on the goal.

The description also said that type Nines do not give credits to themselves in general. We are just too accepting, trusting and self-effacing. I think this is more of a weakness than strength. Being a peacemaker does not mean we should be always agreeable and complacent. Unfortunately, I think I am like this most of the time. I do not like confrontations so therefore, I let others have their way especially when it does not hurt anyone or kill me.

Being an enneagram type nine with an eight wing, I agree that I am a referee.  This makes sense because in order to have peace of mind, I want everyone to be happy and at peace with each other.

I am glad we were introduced to this kind of personality test. Although it is not right to be labeled and have limitations because of this, I think the enneagram can help us in our quest for change. I will try to take it after I graduate and see if I have changed for the better.