Enneagram Type 6

The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious. The Loyalist, Tenacious Guardians Of Their Values, Will Fight For Safety And Consistency. Friendly And Earnest. 

Sixes are reliable, faithful and committed. They like to stick to relationships and ideas that make them feel safe against a potentially dangerous world. Sixes are kind and careful, amazing at preparing against potential problems. They are steady, methodical troubleshooters and devil’s advocates.

While Sixes are good at making projects practical and feasible, they tend to get stuck in catastrophizing-mode and worrying about the future.

Sixes are often called Loyalists. They get their name from the fact that they are the most reliable, faithful and, you guessed it, loyal of all types. They are dependable, steadfast, kind and graced with a witty sense of humor. Sixes are the guardian angels and careful sceptics of this world, always prepared and always thinking ahead. They care about the common good and often see what the rest of us are blind to.

Sixes are very capable and competent. They put a lot of work into honing their skills. They work hard and take their time doing things the right way. Despite their worries about potential disasters, they are actually very courageous and competent when in a crisis. On the flipside, Sixes initially find it hard to trust people and can’t get out of their head, thinking about what could go wrong at any second.

Enneagram type 6, The charming and indecipherable loyalist, the one who is steadfast with earnest gestures. The one that explores both extremes looking for what’s safe, and undeniably desires a faithful relationship to feel supported and accompanied.

The loyal, faithful believer and the skeptical one. Yes, Enneagram 6s are kind of an embodied contradiction. With a sharpened analytical sense, they scan over people and the environment to detect any possible threats. People’s inconsistencies are clear red flags Type 6s don’t miss. Even written and proven things—such as the ones explained here—need to win their trust. That’s intimately attached to Sixes’ steady loyalty and their values. This analytical sense can also make them very anxious and lead them at times to self-sabotage. As the Loyalist only trusts their own resources, they experience less anxiety and tension. This allows them to navigate life more smoothly, and they can take their loyalty and charm to the highest level.

Although having a middle ground can work well for the rest of the types, Sixes are different. They try to fit in a certain fixed position, but their willingness to find out the truth, what’s right and safe, gets them bouncing from place to place, causing them to lose their well-known steadiness. They feel they have the right to doubt everything; nothing can control them unless they allow it. In other words, the Loyalist is like Hannah Montana: they get the best of both worlds, going back and forth between two poles, afraid to stay in the wrong place. The self-image they have is both weak and strong, capable and powerless, passive and aggressive, and so on.

We have named personality type Six The Loyalist because, of all the personality types, Sixes are the most loyal to their friends and to their beliefs. They will “go down with the ship” and hang on to relationships of all kinds far longer than most other types. Sixes are also loyal to ideas, systems, and beliefs—even to the belief that all ideas or authorities should be questioned or defied. Indeed, not all Sixes go along with the “status quo”: their beliefs may be rebellious and anti-authoritarian, even revolutionary. In any case, they will typically fight for their beliefs more fiercely than they will fight for themselves, and they will defend their community or family more tenaciously than they will defend themselves.

 The reason Sixes are so loyal to others is that they do not want to be abandoned and left without support—their Basic Fear. Thus, the central issue for type Six is a failure of self-confidence. Sixes come to believe that they do not possess the internal resources to handle life’s challenges and vagaries alone, and so increasingly rely on structures, allies, beliefs, and supports outside themselves for guidance to survive. If suitable structures do not exist, they will help create and maintain them. Sixes are the primary type in the Thinking Center, meaning that they have the most trouble contacting their own inner guidance. As a result, they do not have confidence in their own minds and judgments.

This does not mean that they do not think. On the contrary, they think—and worry—a lot! They also tend to fear making important decisions, although at the same time, they resist having anyone else make decisions for them. They want to avoid being controlled, but are also afraid of taking responsibility in a way that might put them “in the line of fire.”  

Sixes are always aware of their anxieties and are always looking for ways to construct “social security” bulwarks against them. If Sixes feel that they have sufficient back up, they can move forward with some degree of confidence. But if that crumbles, they become anxious and self-doubting, reawakening their Basic Fear. (“I’m on my own! What am I going to do now?”) A good question for Sixes might therefore be: “When will I know that I have enough security?” Or, to get right to the heart of it, “What is security?” Without Essential inner guidance and the deep sense of support that it brings, Sixes are constantly struggling to find firm ground.

Sixes attempt to build a network of trust over a background of unsteadiness and fear. They are often filled with a nameless anxiety and then try to find or create reasons why. Wanting to feel that there is something solid and clear-cut in their lives, they can become attached to explanations or positions that seem to explain their situation. Because “belief” (trust, faith, convictions, positions) is difficult for Sixes to achieve, and because it is so important to their sense of stability, once they establish a trustworthy belief, they do not easily question it, nor do they want others to do so. The same is true for individuals in a Six’s life: once Sixes feel they can trust someone, they go to great lengths to maintain connections with the person who acts as a sounding board, a mentor, or a regulator for the Six’s emotional reactions and behavior. They therefore do everything in their power to keep their affiliations going.  

Healthy Enneagram Type 6

Once Enneagram Type 6s give themselves what they’re looking for in others, they feel authentic freedom. There is no more need of holding their banners up elsewhere because they belong to them (this is such a graceful feeling!) and their defensive walls break down. Nothing is more silent than an open heart; all the mind noise will shush. The backwaters attract beautiful creatures; when Sixes create a calm and open environment within themselves, they will attract positive and beautiful experiences and people into their lives.Type 6s will unfailingly find what they need to feel complete. Faithful, hopeful, and friendly. There is no need for any peacock mating performance. Their own energy is irresistible in itself. Their natural surrender to love finally seizes the moment.

When Sixes learn to face their anxieties and realize the world is not as dangerous as they thought, they become healthy – and that makes them serene and even courageous. These Sixes have developed the self-esteem to stand up for themselves and trust their own decisions and opinions. They no longer just submit to authority nor feel the need to rebel against it, but quietly and confidently contribute to their community. Healthy Sixes often become impressive pillars of trust and responsibility. They use their sharp and analytical minds to solve problems for a common cause, and in this way teach the rest of us about the joy of commitment and cooperation.

Healthy Levels:

Level 1 (At Their Best): Become self-affirming, trusting of self and others, independent yet symbiotically interdependent and cooperative as an equal. Belief in self leads to true courage, positive thinking, leadership, and rich self-expression.

Level 2: Able to elicit strong emotional responses from others: very appealing, endearing, lovable, affectionate. Trust important: bonding with others, forming permanent relationships and alliances.

Level 3: Dedicated to individuals and movements in which they deeply believe. Community builders: responsible, reliable, trustworthy. Hard-working and persevering, sacrificing for others, they create stability and security in their world, bringing a cooperative spirit.

Average Enneagram Type 6

Average Sixes are on a constant quest to find security. While they frequently worry about potential catastrophes and seek security outside themselves – in marriage, their job, a belief system or a community –, they also know that the best way to achieve this is to be dependable and proactive. They find it easier to commit to what provides them with stability than to chase after their own goals and dreams. Average Sixes are fun to be around, employ an often slightly self-deprecating kind of humor and offer kindness and reliability to the people around them.

Average Levels:

Level 4: Start investing their time and energy into whatever they believe will be safe and stable. Organizing and structuring, they look to alliances and authorities for security and continuity. Constantly vigilant, anticipating problems.

Level 5: To resist having more demands made on them, they react against others passive-aggressively. Become evasive, indecisive, cautious, procrastinating, and ambivalent. Are highly reactive, anxious, and negative, giving contradictory, “mixed signals.” Internal confusion makes them react unpredictably.

Level 6:  To compensate for insecurities, they become sarcastic and belligerent, blaming others for their problems, taking a tough stance toward “outsiders.” Highly reactive and defensive, dividing people into friends and enemies, while looking for threats to their own security. Authoritarian while fearful of authority, highly suspicious, yet, conspiratorial, and fear-instilling to silence their own fears.

Unhealthy Enneagram Type 6

The fight-or-flight instinct of Sixes gets more extreme when they are unhealthy. These Sixes can become distrustful, paranoid and defensive, but also aggressive, provocative and bullish. Their fear of being left without support will make them do anything so people won’t leave them, but also lash out when they feel threatened. None of those strategies really work of course. The obsession with security of unhealthy Sixes makes them blind to the fact that the actual problem is not the danger of the world around them, but their own emotional insecurities.

Suspicious and wounded, Sixes may bark and bite if needed. They hope they don’t have to react like that—it’s not pleasant. Still, at the same time it feels good as they feel they are guarding their space. Loyalty and good values are very precious to Enneagram Type 6s, so they believe they are hard to find and everyone deserves to receive these from them. In the bottom of the darkness, Type Sixes beg for support since they don’t trust themselves anymore. At the same time, if they’re not worth it, why trust people that approach them with good intentions? In their minds, everyone seems so cynical. Remember what Dumbledore said, “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” It’s definitely real. What is happening inside their heads is humanity’s story and pains reaching out, willing to be enlightened.

Unhealthy Levels:

Level 7: Fearing that they have ruined their security, they become panicky, volatile, and self-disparaging with acute inferiority feelings. Seeing themselves as defenseless, they seek out a stronger authority or belief to resolve all problems. Highly divisive, disparaging and berating others.

Level 8: Feeling persecuted, that others are “out to get them,” they lash-out and act irrationally, bringing about what they fear. Fanaticism, violence.

Level 9: Hysterical, and seeking to escape punishment, they become self-destructive and suicidal. Alcoholism, drug overdoses, self-abasing behavior. Generally corresponds to the Passive-Aggressive and Paranoid personality disorders.

Growth opportunities that are typically associated with the Enneagram 6

• Understanding the limits of their control

• Avoiding magnifying or dramatizing problems

• Developing a confidence in themselves and their abilities

• Focusing on what has gone well, rather than anticipating failure

Quiet your mind: Meditation or similar spiritual practices are healthy for everyone. But Sixes benefit from it especially. Their minds never stop, with voices, opinions, doubts and worries filling it every second of every hour. The relief that comes from practicing stillness of mind can be one of the greatest pleasures for Sixes. Limiting your exposure to the negative cycle of daily news can be a first step.

Question your questioning: Observe how often the worst-case-scenarios and future problems you imagine actually come to pass. Maybe keep a journal. It will help you focus on the present and the actions you can take now instead of worrying about things you can’t influence anyway.

Check your relationship to authority: Become aware of your go-to-behaviour to seek security outside yourself. Are you prone to follow blindly or to rebell reflexively? The truth is, you have more than enough to be your own guide. Authority isn’t bad, but it doesn’t need to replace or provoke your own opinion.

Decide to trust: True, with all the dishonesty, betrayal and self-seeking behaviour out there, it’s hard to separate those who really have your best interest in mind from those who only pretend to. But at the same time, trust is something that must be given before it can be earned. Sometimes the decision to trust someone is yours, not theirs. Most of all, decide to trust yourself. Keep a journal of the times your decisions had positive results as well as of the times people have proven to be reliable.

Focus on the positive: The next time you play devil’s advocate, also try to acknowledge and point out the positive dimensions of other’s ideas. What sounds like the voice of reason and necessary improvements can sound to others like never-ending criticism. You’re good at seeing potential problems. Now practice seeing the potential for the good in the world.