What is the Enneagram 3w2 personality type? What are its key traits, strengths, weaknesses and fears? We’ll answer these questions in this article.
This is one of the 18 Enneagram Wing Types, which don’t exhibit traits of just one profile, but blend two adjacent ones. The 3w2 is a blend of the Enneagram 3 and the Enneagram 2, which are both Heart types.
We’ll start by talking about how this profile is composed of 3 and 2, then talk about its core traits. We’ll round off with a field manual for the Enneagram 3w2: a summary of its core strengths, weaknesses, fears and desires.
What is the Enneagram 3w2 Type?
First, let’s clarify what the Enneagram 3w2 is. It means an Enneagram 3 with a 2 Wing. It helps if you understand the 9 Enneagram Profiles in some depth.
If you have a 3w2 personality, it means you’re predominantly an Enneagram 3, but exhibit some traits from the adjacent profile, number 2. It’s also possible to be a pure 3, or a 3w4.
If you want an approximation of what a 3w2 looks like, take the core 3 and 2 traits and blend them together, with 3 dominating. If you know somebody who is primarily a 3 but has significant traits of 2, they might well be a 3w2.
The folks at personalitydata.org found that only 6.8% of Enneagram 3s exhibit a 2 wing: a minimal amount. 91% are pure 3s, while the other wing type, 3w4, makes up the remaining 2.8%.
Remember, the 3w2 is predominantly a 3 but shows significant 2 traits.
3s (Achievers) are industrious, goal-oriented and driven, while 2s (Helpers) are empathetic, caring, and desire to be loved and appreciated,
The 3w2 is predominantly a 3, so are strivers and highly self-motivated, but the 2 wing means they exhibit some of the core Helper traits. This gives the 3w2 an empathetic, caring bend. They tend to excel at caring for others and measure their self-worth according to how others perceive them, more than a typical 3 does.
In a nutshell, the 3w2 is highly motivated by targets and externals yet also cares for others and seeks acceptance.
For your information, I refer to personality types as “it” because they’re abstract profiles derived from real-world data, detached from any one person. Though the Enneagram possess huge explanatory power, nobody is a cookie-cutter 3w2.
The Core Traits
The Enneagram 3w2 Type is called the Charmer because it is charismatic, purpose-driven, and cares for the group. Its basic desire is to achieve its goals while being loved and accepted.
The 3w2 is more caring, people-focused and empathetic than a typical 3, thanks to its 2 wing.
Thanks to the 2 influence, it adds altruism to this ambitious goal-orientation. Rather than striving and achieving for its own sake, it desires to make a difference in the world. It looks outwards to the needs of others, figures out how it can best serve them, and then channels its efforts to that end.
The combination of altruism and achievement strikes me as a particularly beautiful and powerful force. I believe we’re subtly educated to strive for achievement and to build our personal castle while being selfish and indifferent to the needs of others. This is a win-lose mentality; the 3w2 takes the win-win approach. This is positive and refreshing.
As you’d expect with its 2 influence, the 3w2 version is people-oriented, empathetic and sociable, and excels at building quality connections with people. It tends to base its decisions on emotions rather than logic and reason.
As with all Enneagram Profiles, there are downsides to the 3w2. For one thing, since its primary drive is to achieve goals while helping others to improve their lives, it fears rejection. This can lead to acquiescence and sensitivity to criticism. Interpersonal tension and conflicting views are intolerable.
The 3w2 also doesn’t want to be perceived as unhelpful or useless. It needs to be recognised as both successful and altruistic. As a result, it can wind up helping when it’s not desired, trying to solve problems that don’t exist or trying to change people when they don’t want to or aren’t ready. It’s prone to seek validation to assuage self-doubt and compensate for a lack of self-worth. It can get lost in trying to achieve and move the needle for others, forgetting about its own needs.
Whether we have a 3w2 personality or not, we can learn from its successes and struggles. It’s a universal fact that if our prime directive is to achieve our goals and help others, we can forget about ourselves and subsequently make it impossible for ourselves to do so. We tend to think that serving oneself and serving others as polar opposites, when in reality they’re symbiotic.
The best professions for a Charmer are those that combine achievement with altruism, such as actors, performers and entrepreneurs.
The Enneagram 3w2 Field Manual
The core fear of the 3w2 is to feel unable to get things done and to feel abandoned, alone, and unworthy of love.
Its core drives are to pursue and achieve goals, and receive love, affection and acceptance from others.
The strengths of the 3w2 are its industriousness and proactiveness, and the fact it directs these traits towards causes that uplift others.
Its weaknesses are its need for love and recognition, and its oft-excessive focus on others.
The 3w2 is at its best when successfully moving the needle for altruistic, people-centred causes.
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The post The Enneagram 3w2 Type first appeared on Deep Psychology.
The post The Enneagram 3w2 Type appeared first on Deep Psychology.
