Today’s episode is another conversation with Khara Croswaite Brindle. She is a financial therapist, an educator, an author, a clinician, and an entrepreneur who has her hands in all sorts of things. Much as I did, Khara became interested in the Enneagram primarily as a personal development tool and then found it was also very helpful in working with clients.
One of her books, co-authored with Hannah DeGroot, is Your Enneagram and Money. An aspect of the Enneagram that they include in the book is the subtypes or variations within the nine types. There are three different subtypes per type: self-preservation instinct, social instinct, and one-to-one instinct. Within the nine types, these three subtypes all show up slightly differently.
Self-preservation is very focused inward, a need to make sure one’s needs are met. These folks, in a social situation that’s unfamiliar, might be scanning the room to figure out where the exits are, where should they sit, where is the food, and whether there are familiar faces to connect with.
The social person will be looking for familiar faces to find who they might want to sit with, who they can connect with. Their biggest stress might be not wanting to sit by themselves.
The one-to-one person will look, not only for a familiar face, but someone who energetically interests them. They might put all their focus on that one person, bypassing a lot of people to get to the one they really want to talk to.
Their research for the book included video interviews with people telling their money stories based around a set of questions the interviewers asked. Khara emphasized that they wanted to write the book for people who felt they weren’t earning enough money to live the life they wanted to have. Many of the interviews were with therapists, teachers, and employees of nonprofits.
A common question in response to the book is, “Which Enneagram types are good with money and which ones are not?” The answer, of course, is that it isn’t that simple, especially if you factor in the subtypes. Some who tend to “do money well” might be eights, who like to be in control; threes, who tend toward workaholism; fives, who want to be knowledgeable; sixes, who are anxious and might be hypervigilant; and ones.
Those who might be on the other end of the spectrum could be twos, who as helpers may enable people or give excessively; fours, who might either love or avoid money; and sevens, who tend to focus on the present rather than the future. Nines blend so much with others that their behavior around money may be more a reflection of who they partner with than their own goals.
Khara emphasizes the importance of not over-generalizing or stereotyping (either for yourself or when working with clients) when it comes to Enneagram types and money behavior. It’s important to have an open mind, be curious, and explore what information helps give us insight and empathy and help us connect with others.
Check out The Financial Therapy Podcast by Rick Kahler concerning this topic.