Type 6 · Head center
What is Enneagram Type 6 (Loyalist)?
The Skeptic
Looks for trust and often anticipates what can go wrong. Sometimes they keep looking for guarantees before deciding.
By Hermano Reis. This profile presents Enneagram ideas for reflection. Type names do not name a profession. How to read the result, and its limits.
Basic fear
Not having support and guidance.
Basic desire
To find support and safety.
Inner message
You’re on a good path if you do what’s expected of you.
A question to sit with
Courage. Relaxing and living in the present.
Personality
They look for firm ground in a world they read as dangerous and unreliable. They turn to people and systems for orientation and, at the same time, distrust authority. They don’t like too many options. They feel safer with rules and routines. Strong at procedures, analysis, and investigation. The mind chatters with scenarios. They can be the most faithful — or test the bond until it tires.
Focus of attention. Attention on threats, ambiguity, and the group’s loyalty. Projects thoughts onto others and rehearses the worst in order to prepare.
Strengths
- Responsibility and cooperation
- Strategic thinking
- A sharp mind
- Perseverance
- Anticipating problems
- Loyalty to the team
What to develop
- Chronic worry
- Aversion to ambiguity
- Analysis paralysis
- Too much caution or too much risk
- Submission or extreme distrust
Motivators
- Clear roles and rules
- A reliable team
- Anticipating problems
- Authority that has earned trust
Vocations
- Law, audit, risk
- Security and operations
- Social research and critique
- Crisis work and compliance
Warning sign
Anxiety becomes a last name. Either they submit too much, or they challenge too much. Decision freezes while the mind runs disasters.
Neighbor types: the wings
In the Enneagram, traits from the neighboring types can fill out this description. Compare what you recognize in each.
Arrows
The arrows describe relations between types in this teaching. They are used to look at reactions in growth and in stress. See the map
Things to try
- Tell intuition apart from projection.
- Act for a day as a person of faith would act.
- Notice the power given to others and take authority back.
- Taste successes instead of only hunting the next hole.
- Check fears with real people.
Questions about type 6
What is Enneagram Type 6?
Type 6, the Loyalist, organizes around support and safety. Responsible and strategic, they anticipate what can go wrong and may swing between caution and counterphobic courage.
What does Type 6 fear and want?
The common fear is not having support and guidance. The desire is to find support and safety. Healing, in this teaching, is relaxing and living in the present.
What is a Type 6 wing?
A 6w5 (Defender) looks for safety in knowledge systems and can be more solitary. A 6w7 (Buddy) is more social and uses humor and movement to ease anxiety.
Notes on leadership
A leader’s job is to solve problems by creating a room where each person feels part of the solution.
Imagines the outcome of actions and sometimes sees the downside first. Looks for safety. In a crisis, wants to solve it now. Strong in law, critique, and the social sciences.