7 - The Enthusiast

The Enthusiast’s leadership style tends to be inspirational, visionary, and intellectual—synthesizing many streams of information. Enthusiasts have a hard time committing to a long-term strategy and like to keep their options open to new opportunities. They can create too many priorities and goals that are shifting targets. Style 7s are great at launching projects, but they often lose steam after the initial excitement and are on to the next great thing. Enthusiasts like mental stimulation and are known to keep several balls spinning in the air at once. When working for Style 7s, it can be difficult to know where to put your time and energy. Enthusiast leaders and managers expect you to do your job with minimal supervision, and they will hold you to a high standard of output. When someone on the team does not follow through, take initiative, or meet their standards, Style 7s can become impatient, critical, and sharp. Enthusiasts often avoid having tough, clarifying discussions up front to make sure that everyone is aligned and in agreement. Unfortunately, this can create misunderstandings down the road. They tend to be trusting of others and have a naive optimism that everything will somehow work out. Enthusiasts are gifted at seeing patterns and thinking from a systems perspective. Their joy and energy is infectious, and they influence with their optimism and clear vision for the future. Style 7s are particularly welcome leaders when the chips are down—when a new vision and strategy are called for and people need uplifting.