What Was Dolly Parton's Enneagram Type? (a nerdy dive into ambition, motivation, and subtypes)
Following Dolly Parton's passing, Sandy found herself stuck on a question with no clean answer: What was Dolly's Enneagram type?
In this episode, Sandy dives down the Enneagram-nerd-rabbit-hole and makes the case for three possibilities: Nine, Two, and Three, and ends up landing somewhere a little more useful than just a guess.
Sandy brings subtype into the conversation, explaining how this can really affect how a type presents itself, and offers the names assigned to a few of the 27 subtypes (one of them is particularly fitting!).
Along the way, she uses a spontaneous performance in an Irish pub to show how the same behavior can come from completely different motivations, depending on the person and the subtype underneath.
Sandy explores:
- Why behavior alone doesn’t tell us someone’s Enneagram type
- How instinctual subtype can dramatically change how a type presents
- What Dolly’s ambition, generosity, positivity, and public persona might suggest about Types 9, 2, and 3
- Why the same behavior can come from completely different motivations
- How coaches can use curiosity, rather than certainty, to help clients uncover what is really driving their patterns
And yes, there’s a little “cup of ambition” along the way.
Whether you’re an Enneagram nerd, a coach, or simply someone trying to understand the people in your life a little better, there are useful questions underneath all of this:
What if you’re wrong about what you think you know about someone?
And what becomes possible when you stay curious long enough to find out...?
___
Lines and Arrows episode (Swimming Upstream: Using the Enneagram Lines and Arrows for Personal Growth): https://www.swansoncoaching.com/podcasts/beyond-the-type-an-enneagram-inspired-podcast-about-being-human/episodes/2149079311
Subtypes episode (Why Do I Feel Lonely When I Have Friends?):
https://www.swansoncoaching.com/podcasts/beyond-the-type-an-enneagram-inspired-podcast-about-being-human/episodes/2149207913
Are you a coach looking for support? Check out my group mentor coaching program, Patterns, Presence, and the Enneagram. NBHWC and ICF approved for CEs and CCEs. The October cohort is open now. Learn more here and use the code FOUNDING to receive a discount:
https://www.swansoncoaching.com/coaches-enneagram
Book a Typing Interview: Curious to learn more about the Enneagram and which types you lead with? Schedule a typing interview with Sandy here:
https://www.swansoncoaching.com/typinginterview
___
Enneagram Institute (Don Riso and Russ Hudson):
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com
Book: The Complete Enneagram (Beatrice Chestnut):
https://amzn.to/4xybcYr
Music: Trio II album (Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Rondstadt):
https://amzn.to/4h32j32
Video: Dolly at the Irish Pub:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py1SJ39dwS4
Coffee: Cup of Ambition:
https://www.cupofambition.com/
___
Dolly Parton, Enneagram, Enneagram types, Enneagram Type 9, Enneagram Type 2, Enneagram Type 3, Enneagram subtypes, instinctual variants, self-preservation instinct, social instinct, sexual instinct, Claudio Naranjo, Oscar Ichazo, Beatrice Chestnut, The Complete Enneagram, behavior vs motivation, personality patterns, personal development, coaching skills, mentor coaching, Enneagram typing interview, Enneagram test mistakes, mistyping, cup of ambition, self-trust, curiosity, Beyond the Type, Sandy Swanson, SwansonCoaching, ICF certified coach, NBC-HWC health and wellness coach, life coach podcast
