My recent blog, “What does it mean to be an Enneagram ‘expert’ or ’master’?” has received such high engagement on social media and from all over the world, that I wanted to share many of the comments with everyone, no The post What people said about Enneagram ‘Masters’ and ‘Experts’ appeared first on The Enneagram in Business.
My recent blog, “What does it mean to be an Enneagram ‘expert’ or ’master’?” has received such high engagement on social media and from all over the world, that I wanted to share many of the comments with everyone, no names or signifiers included. These thoughtful comments made me pause and think each time I read them and hope they do the same for you.
And if you read to the end, one comment plus my insights about this may even take you further. And thanks to everyone who took the time to read the blog and to also comment on it.
Enneagram ‘Masters’ and ‘Experts’ Comments
“It seems to me that the Enneagram world is at a critical point in its development as more and more people set themselves up as instant experts with dollar signs in their eyes instead of hearts full of compassion for the inner struggles and suffering of others.”
“I got Claudio Naranjo’s enneagram directly on the SAT program. He never defined himself as a teacher or an expert. Just their talking and understanding people deeply was a form of transmission by direct contact, by experience. I’ve been working with the enneagram for 15 years to apply it to organizations and companies…and I really consider myself fresh on the porch to the real depth of this millennial and sacred tool.”
“What you highlight has been one of the reasons my gut has not allowed me to apply for accreditation … as of yet. A voice has continued to say at some point yes, but not just yet. Not seeking to be an expert….just authentic.”
“I can think of a well-known Enneagram teacher (not one of the most well-known) whose Enneagram organization once had an email sent out, written by someone else but associated with the organization, extolling him as the world’s leading Enneagram teacher. It was ridiculous and should have been embarrassing, but it was unfortunately in keeping with that teacher’s grand view of himself.”
“Though I’ve lived and breathed Enneagram for at least 35 years, am grateful to have studied with Don and Russ together, and teach inspiring and helpful workshops, I am forever humbled by realizing that knowing the Enneagram doesn’t get you out of being human! You still catch yourself in your stuff. I also have issues with this Master title in the Reiki world.”
“The words ‘Expert’ and ‘Master’ belongs to the business world. Calling oneself ‘Expert’ or ‘Master’ in the Enneagram world shows that the Ego is in charge.”
“Funny feeling when you meet and so-called expert that has only done one course”
“Plato, in his Seventh Letter, listed five stages of knowledge: the name, the definition, the image, the theory (true myth), and “the thing-in-itself.” The last, he said, cannot be taught but comes like a bolt of lightning. There are lots of people who can play around with theorizing but, so far as I know, the only master since Gurdjieff has been Oscar Ichazo.”
“When one is habitually embracing their expertise as an object, and what I mean by ‘object’ here includes the Jungian concept of the Persona or the mask we wear as that ‘expert,’ and we do not do the inquiry work of traversing the whole enneagram beyond a conceptual configuration, beyond merely knowing ABOUT, can we then really inhabit and go into the enneagram in a deeper way, which would be more akin to mastery? It seems that mastery entails inquiry into all aspects of the enneagram as it lives within the inquirer, beyond type. It also seems that one’s own narcissistic shell would need to be inquired into in a consistent and ongoing way. Then humility naturally arises. I would think mastery in the enneagram, since it is a spiritual undertaking at the core, would have such a pattern.”
“’Expert’ is for selling something in this world dominated by New Age. The term ‘Master’ is only appropriate for people like Krishnamurti, Gurdjieff, Steiner, Jung and so on. We must also consider the word ‘Teacher’, a sort of half way.”
“It’s very important in this time where business gurus (who all copy each other) teach that claiming to be an expert is essential for one’s marketing and personal branding—even when someone is still in a (beginner’s) course. In the same trainings, they also teach that copying the work of the successful is a good practice. So, this is far less innocent than it might seem at first glance.”
“I think that if the enneagram teachers truly are experts, then it is not Ego to state as such, it’s simply stating the truth. I would hope those teaching are experts. I have been wondering what strategies the experts use to ensure their Ego is not out of control ? It’s such an opportunistic entity and I could see how the experts in their field could potentially have a great deal of Ego directing the show behind the scenes, if they are not constantly vigilant, simply because of the nature of being in the limelight and being seen as experts in their field.”
“The more I learn about the Enneagram, the more I am aware of how dynamic and vast this framework is.”
“The day I say that I am an Enneagram expert is the day I know my Enneagram knowledge has stopped developing. And that’s not something I want in my life.”
And one more idea to ponder
One comment provided a perspective based on the “Dunning-Kruger Effect” (1999), …”a type of cognitive bias where people with little expertise or ability assume they have superior expertise or ability. This overestimation occurs as a result of the fact that they don’t have enough knowledge to know they don’t have enough knowledge.” In other words, they don’t know what they don’t know. In the Dunning-Kruger model, they are at Stage 1 of their 4 stages: Unconscious Incompetence.
I think the “Dunning-Kruger Effect” adds some insight into why some of this is occurring in the Enneagram community, as well as elsewhere. But what about people who are not particularly new to the Enneagram and still call themselves “Expert” or “Master?”
About Ginger
Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, author of nine Enneagram books, 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
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