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Enneagram Type 2 Careers

Best jobs for Enneagram Type 2 and career growth advice illustration of the helper type two

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Enneagram Type 2s lend themselves well to being excellent employees. Their compassion and high levels of caring for others is a highly desirable quality in the work space when working in teams. Equally, their relatively high levels of emotional intelligence allows them to better gauge the interpersonal dynamics within the team and navigate them in a way as to avoid conflict and be supportive of others. However, not all role/careers will be the right fit for their personality type. Here we outline the best careers paths for Type 2s by breaking it down into crucial factors in a working environment.

  • Organizational Culture
  • Teamwork
  • Managerial Style
  • Recommended Careers for Type 2

Organizational Culture

What organizational cultures are best suited to Enneagram Type 2 careers?

Type Twos work well in an organizational culture that is team-oriented and allows for lots of group collaboration. Twos will play well by the rules and will do what's best for others or the group at large, putting less emphasis on what they personally can get out of a project. Type Twos thrive from positive feedback about their support and a culture that encourages this behavior will be ideal. The Type Two's altruistic nature means that the organizational culture that best suits them is one of selflessness - not just in the employer's mission statement and goals, but also in the way the people act within the organization.

dim lightbulb

Enneagram Type 2s thrive from positive feedback about their support, and a culture that encourages this behavior will be ideal.

Type Twos can work in both a formal organizational culture and an informal one. However, in an informal environment, the work cannot be one of sleaze or recklessness as Twos will be uncomfortable due to their principled nature. Twos will also likely not enjoy a culture that is dog-eat-dog or all out for yourself as this clashes with their inner nature. The exception to this is if they have a three-wing which gives them the individual achievement strike to balance against the insecurity.

Overall, Type Twos will want to look for career paths that take them to team-oriented and collaborative work environments where they are continually praised for their efforts and help towards others.

Teamwork

How does an Enneagram Type 2 work by themselves and with others?

Type Twos are often very desirable employees for team-oriented work. They are happy to work in a team and are almost always very useful in that environment by caring for the needs of others. Through their acute sense of the interpersonal relationships, Type Twos can expertly navigate a group project and help others feel secure and to achieve their best. However, Type Twos work less well when tasked to do something independently as they are no longer playing to their strengths. In these situations, they can't rely on praise from others and their natural proclivity of helping others so this can cause attrition for Type Twos. On the other hand, is the independent project is related to a larger whole, and their is communication between the parts, and the Two is praised for their efforts, then Type Twos can work well in these situations.

How Type Twos navigate group dynamics

Through their acute sense of the interpersonal relationships, Type Twos can expertly navigate a group project and help others feel secure and to achieve their best.

Another important metric is what the task itself is. Type Twos are naturally altruistic so a project designed for pure profit will be unlikely to engage them or inspire them effectively. Instead, Type Twos are better suited to roles where they feel they are doing some good for the world and others in general.

Managerial Style

How to best manage a Type 2 and how they manage others

Managing a Type 2

Type Twos can work well under both transformational and transactional management. The potential for excellence or insecurity will come on what the employer's overarching goal is and how the Type Two fits into that whole. Type Twos typically enjoy helping others and feeling that they are spreading some good in the world, promoting this behaviour is how to make an Enneagram Type 2 feel valued in the workplace. Transformational management will work when the Type Two respects their leader and they in turn appraise the Type Two regularly. Likewise, transactional leadership will work well in situations where the Type Two is in their element utilizing their natural proclivities of team-orientation and altruism.

blue star

Type Twos will likely struggle with environments that result in consistent levels of conflict and individually-led project management.

A Type 2 manager

A Type Two Manager will be exceedingly compassionate and friendly to their team members. They will show a mixture of transactional and transformational leadership. Type Two managers will be principled and ask much from their team members, especially in the realms of being helpful to each other. They will demand cooperation and will not tolerate selfishness. However, their overt nature for compassion and caring, can leave them to be taken advantage of by particularly scrupulous and cunning team members by using the Type Twos kindness to their personal advantage. Type Twos are particularly suited for middle-management roles as a result of keeping teams together, but wanting to avoid the major conflicts that are present at upper levels of management.

Data: Most Popular Enneagram Type 2 Career Sector

Which job sector are Enneagram Type 2s most and least likely to be in?

Figure 1: Most popular employment sector for Enneagram Type 2 careers

Results from our self-report survey on Enneagram Type 2 career choices. By surveying Type 2s in existing jobs we gain a suggestion of which careers this type is most suited to.

career choices

What this chart shows

The most popular career sector for Type 2s from our survey was 'Finance - Other'. When we compare this to how all types responded, we see there is a higher than average proportion of Type 2s in sectors such as 'Finance - Other', 'Education', 'Manufacturing', and 'Retail' for example. There is a lower than average proportion of Type 2s in sectors such as 'Construction/Engineering', 'Automotive/Aerospace', and 'Technology - Services' for example.

Notes:
  • 1. n=27985
  • 2. Population: all
  • 3. Live dataset last updated:

Recommended Careers for Type 2

What careers suit an Enneagram Type 2?

So far we've broken down the structures and environments that suit Type Twos, but you may be thinking 'what kind of job should the Enneagram Type 2 do?'. Well, there are certain careers that are better suited to the traits and behaviors of Type 2s. Here we will list the best careers for a Type 2 along with the jobs you should avoid.

Top 10 Enneagram Type 2 careers

Careers to seek
  • Counselor
  • Social Worker
  • Nurse
  • Aid Worker
  • Paramedic
  • Life Coach
  • Careers Adviser
  • Teacher
  • Veterinarian
  • Psychologist

10 worst Enneagram Type 2 careers

Careers to avoid
  • Banker
  • Law Enforcement
  • Soldier
  • Web Developer
  • Management Consultant
  • Actuary
  • Engineer
  • Corporate Marketing
  • Security
  • Accountant

 

letter i in grey circle for information point

Note: These career role recommendations are based on what is the best fit for a Type Two. However, this does not mean that a career in the private sector working as a web developer would not work for you. That will depend on the managerial style, other team members and the company values.

 

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Chloe Yarwood, MSc

University of Chichester, Advanced Applied Psychology

Chloe Yarwood, MSc in Advanced Applied Psychology from University of Chichester. Specialist in personality type theory and developing valid personality questionnaires.