Enneagram and The West Wing

I was thinking the other day about the Enneagram – something that Alison and I have been reading about off and on for a while* – and wondered about the characters in the West Wing and what their types are.

To my absolute amazement, there seem to be no real posts about this out in Blogdom or on the Enneagram websites.  There’s stuff for Star Trek and Star Wars, but not for the West Wing.  So, here goes.  Please comment if you know Enneagram and the programme:

President Jed Bartlett: 6w5: He’s really stable most of the time but can become a bit counter-phobic and needs pressing to make important decisions.  When he’s depressed he  really goes to his 5 wing – very studious and introspective.

First Lady Abigail Bartlett: 3w2: This was a tricky one as she’s an exceptional scientist so could also be a 1 (perfectionist), an 8 (the boss) or a 5 (scientist), but I think she’s an achiever with a helping wing.  Interesting how she interacts with CJ who I describe below as a 2w3.  When Abby’s pushed – she moves towards caring – when she’s her own woman – she climbs the heights of her field of medicine.

Leo McGarry: 8w9: First of the strong character types – he’s the boss, but has some of this rounded off by being a bit of a peacemaker at times.  He’ll challenge Bartlett at times, but he’s a mostly reformed 8.  His motivation for anger has been channeled into the love of his country and serving at the pleasure of the president.  He respects decisions made by his staff as long as they can stand up for them.

Josh Lyman: 8w9: I think Josh is the same as Leo – which is what makes their working relationship so intriguing.  He is so, so angry – particularly with Republicans!  He can’t seem to form any kind of romantic bond properly and we see two relationships with strong women either not start (Joey) or fall apart (Amy), until right at the end of the last series (won’t say who in case you’ve not seen it all, but you can probably guess).

Toby Ziegler: 4w5: He’s a very introspective, emotional type who goes to his 5 wing (perhaps why he and the president can communicate) when pressured.

Sam Seaborn: 1w2: I’m pretty sure that Sam is a 1 – a total perfectionist.  He might be a 5, but I can’t quite figure that one out.  His wing is likely to be a 2 as he’s very much the helper than the peacemaker.

Donatella Moss: 9w8: I think this is a particularly funny one as we have friends who are 8w7 and 9w8 – almost Josh and Dona, but not really – they’re much nicer. Dona brings a lot of peace to Josh’s anger – though can also go head to head with him and gives as good as she gets.  She likes things to go well, but will stand up for herself.

CJ Cregg: 2w3: I’m not sure about CJ.  I think I need some help on this one.  She’s very caring and does what she thinks is best – but often is overtaken by events in her job and can become quite spiky.  Push a 2 and see where they go – do they seek to overcompensate by achieving or do they try to be perfect?  I think that when CJ’s pushed, she tries to stand her ground and make sure people tell her that she’s good at what she does.  Alternative is that she might be a 3w2.

I don’t know if I’m putting too much emphasis on their wings in order to make up for not knowing enough about their personalities, but having spent the last seven years with them, I think I know them a bit.  Perhaps you know them a bit more – or know more about the Enneagram.  Would love to know what you think.