Accurately identifying your Enneagram type really does matter, and here’s why. Mistyped people pay attention, although unintentionally, to the wrong things (or misinterpret why they do something) and subsequently pursue a development path that isn’t going to support their growth and transformation. Mistyped people also misunderstand or misinterpret their own impact on others, making it challenging to truly understand and improve human interactions using the insights of the Enneagram.

There are many reasons that contribute to the challenge, but also the beauty, of accurate typing. One of these factors involves overlays on our type. The two overlays that occur most frequently are country (culture) overlays and family overlays. Not every country has a clear Enneagram type, and Enneagram teachers may disagree about the type of a certain country. My assessments come from two sources: my personally having visited the countries multiple times and from discussions with Enneagram professionals who live and work in those countries.

Country: Finland

I’ve traveled there multiple times for business and pleasure, and because there has been a robust Enneagram community there for decades, and the conclusion from us all is pretty much the same: Finland is a Five culture. The average newspaper reading time per person is 4+ hours per day, and this statistic includes those too young to read. The literacy rate is astounding. The newscasters are well-educated and actually report the news in a factual way.

People from outside Finland often note or even complain that on the streets and in hallways, Finnish people don’t look at you or smile. From the Five perspective, doing so would be invasive of another’s space, but it would also invite a potentially unwelcome conversation.

In addition, many people from Helsinki have cottages that have been passed down through generations, but these cottages are acres away from any other cottage. The idea of a vacation is a retreat unto oneself! Even the most outgoing Finns like their alone time and to self-reflect, no matter what their type.

A person raised in a type Five country or by parents who adhere to the customs of that country, even if they no longer reside there, may have a type Five overlay on their own type that needs to be explored and understood so their actual type can be identified.

Family overlays

Not every family has a strong family overlay, but those that do have had one person in the family system, usually a person in a position of perceived authority, who has had a pervasive influence on all the children in that family, not just one child. That person could be a mother, father, grandparent, uncle, aunt, or even the eldest sibling. If the family overlay is type Five, the children will tend to be “cooler” than “warmer,” more reserved than outgoing, more private than self-disclosing, and also more intellectually oriented in general.

About Ginger

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, author of nine Enneagram books including The Art of Typing, 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. TheEnneagramInBusiness.com | ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com