The Enneagram is having a moment. You can thank millennials
LOS ANGELES - Emily Rickard was at a casual dinner party in Riverside, Calif., three years ago when a friend, a professor, mentioned a word that would change her life.
Enneagram.
The professor had recently learned about the personality test and wondered if anyone had experience with it. Rickard was immediately intrigued. And perplexed.
She has a master's in psychology and a longtime fascination with personality inventories (think: Myers-Briggs), so she couldn't believe that there was a system she hadn't heard of. Back at home, she researched the Enneagram (pronounced ANY-uh-gram) model and how it breaks people into nine archetypes designated by a number, and sometimes a one-word nickname ("The Peacemaker," "The Enthusiast," "The Challenger," "The Investigator").
The 37-year-old, who lives in Moreno Valley with her three boys, whom she home-schools, and her husband, a teacher who also helps pastor a church in Riverside, quickly pinned herself as a Nine - "The Peacemaker." (Figuring out your type often starts with an online assessment that asks you to agree or disagree with generic statements, such as "I want people to tell me the truth, not spare my feelings.")
As she read about the Nine's key motivations - avoiding conflict and maintaining harmony, sometimes by putting others' interests
