Many Enneagram practitioners develop a high level of insight, skill, and personal mastery. We become excellent at guiding others, diagnosing patterns, and applying transformational tools. But one crucial element is often overlooked in the pursuit of mastery. Without ethical grounding, even the most refined expertise can become disconnected from the very purpose it was meant to serve.
We all know examples from both inside and outside the Enneagram field. A teacher who demands authority rather than serving the community. A business owner who is outsmarting the system. The professor who is misusing others' intellectual properties. A coach who interprets Enneagram types without consent or context. A leader who tells people about their Enneagram type, without supporting them in finding their type through self-awareness. These are not failures of knowledge. They are failures of ethics.
In the Enneagram world, we often speak of inner work, intention, and presence. But ethics is the practice of living those values in relationship with others. It is not just about avoiding harm. It is about actively choosing integrity. The more skills we develop, the greater our responsibility becomes. As influence grows, so must humility.
By understanding our Blind Enneagram Type, we can discover hidden qualities that can help us grow in our primary type. And being blind to Enneagram Type 1 might create a lack of inner guidance that can support us in navigating our primary Enneagram type.
Ethical maturity means expanding beyond type. It means asking: What do I serve? What do I protect? What am I unwilling to see? These questions are uncomfortable, but they are essential. Because the point of Enneagram work is not to become more impressive. It is to become more human.
The full blogpost is about Enneagram Type 5 with Blind Enneagram Type 1. Click here to read more about Enneagram Type 5.
Click here to read about all 8 Enneagram Types with Blind Enneagram Type 1.
