Why MBTI Failed and What to Use Instead
“You’re an INTP.” “You should be a data analyst.” “That’s just how you are.”
If you've ever taken a Myers-Briggs (MBTI) test, you probably got a tidy four-letter personality type, maybe a job suggestion, and a brief dopamine hit of identity. But did it change your life? Did it help you grow?
This post isn’t about bashing MBTI. It’s about asking a better question:
That’s where the Enneagram comes in. (New to it? Start with our quick Enneagram overview or find your type.)
Where MBTI Falls Short
| MBTI Legacy | Enneagram Upgrade |
|---|---|
| Static label (“You’re an INTP”) | Dynamic system (You’re a 5 under stress, growing toward 8) |
| Vague job matching | Motivation-based fit (“You crave impact, but burn out from micromanagement”) |
| Overused in hiring | Understood as a tool for personal agency |
| Surface traits | Core fears, desires, shadows, and integration paths |
| Encouraged external boxes | Encourages internal transformation |
| Binary categories (Thinking vs. Feeling) | Spectrum of motivations within each type |
"This is what you're like."
"This is your story. Here's where it's headed. Want to grow?"
For a detailed breakdown, see our Enneagram vs Myers-Briggs comparison.
What an Enneagram-Informed Society Actually Looks Like
The Enneagram already works as a personal growth tool. The bigger question: what happens when schools, workplaces, and communities start building around it?
A Guidance System, Not a Label
People learn their type, wing, stress path, growth path, and instinct stack as a starting point, not a destination. Career tools suggest options, never assign roles. Coaching replaces “fit tests.”
Jobs as Mirrors, Not Just Paychecks
Every role triggers specific patterns. A manager who understands this can read their team at a deeper level: when a Type 6 employee starts asking more questions than usual, that’s a stress signal, not insecurity. Adjusting the project scope before burnout hits is management through emotional fluency, not just KPIs.
Not just a nurse. A healer learning boundaries.
Not just in logistics. Building trust in systems.
Growth Means Movement, Not Stagnation
The obvious risk with any type system: it becomes a caste system. The safeguard is building movement into the structure. People shift roles as they grow. Performance reviews ask questions like: “Are you integrating your wing? Are you confronting your core fear?” Promotions value psychological integration alongside skill mastery.
Understanding Replaces Judgment
Conflict resolution shifts when both parties understand type dynamics. A Type 8’s bluntness stops reading as aggression when you know it comes from a drive for truth. A Type 4’s intensity stops reading as drama when you see the depth of feeling underneath. Kids learn self-regulation through type awareness rather than being handed diagnoses.
Safeguards Against a Personality Caste System
Any system that categorizes people carries risk. Here’s how an Enneagram-informed society stays healthy:
| Safeguard | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Fluidity | No one is locked into a type. Growth is expected and rewarded. |
| Self-typing over external typing | People discover their type through reflection, not standardized tests. |
| Narrative framing | Type is a story you grow through, not a box you live in. |
| Cross-type mentorship | 8s teach 9s to claim power. 4s teach 3s to value authenticity. |
The Concrete Version
This isn’t abstract. Here’s what it looks like in practice:
Schools teach emotional literacy using the Enneagram alongside reading and math. Not as a label system, but as a language for understanding why your classmate reacts differently than you do. (See the crash course on emotions we missed in kindergarten.)
Workplaces build teams with type diversity in mind. Not to sort people, but to balance the room: the Type 8 who pushes decisions forward, the Type 5 who catches what everyone missed, the Type 2 who reads the morale of the group before it tanks.
Instead of resumes, picture an Enneagram Journey Map: what patterns you’ve confronted, what growth edges you’re working, where you’re headed. A hiring manager reads that and knows whether your growth path fits the role, not just whether you have the right keywords on a PDF.
How to Start Building This
If you’re a builder, educator, or skeptic who’s still reading, here’s where to put your energy:
- Build tools that help people reflect, not just get typed and sorted
- Design content that treats personality as a growth story, not a quiz result
- Train leaders in growth-based psychology instead of control systems
- Stop “typing people” and start inviting them into their own narrative
Picture This
A 20-year-old already knows how their Type 4 shaped their heartbreaks, how their growth toward 1 gave them discipline, and how their stress path to 2 makes them over-give in relationships.
That person doesn’t just need a job. They know what kind of work heals them. They know which relationships will challenge them to grow and which will keep them stuck. That’s the difference between a personality label and a personality map.
The Enneagram doesn’t sort people. It shows them where to grow.
Ready to start? Explore our Enneagram self-development guide or join the discussion.