Throughout history, many thinkers have devoted themselves to the task of classifying mankind's vast array of personality attributes into distinctive types.
Think of Hippocrates' four temperaments, the psychoanalytical approach of Carl Jung or the introvert-extrovert model of Hans Eysenck. All have sought to categorise the messily complex diversity of human behaviour into neat and recognisable traits.
The use of the enneagram is one such theory that has gained credence in recent years. It is a system that identifies nine precise personality categories. These range from Type One (the perfectionist), to Type Five (the detached observer) through to Type Eight (the boss) or Type Nine (the peacemaker). For the record, this writer has been designated a Type Six (the loyal sceptic).
Wendy Appel, an American former product development manager who now makes her living as a business coach, is a firm adherent of the power of the enneagram. She believes that if her students fully grasp the type of personality they are, it will help unleash their true leadership potential.
Recently, she condensed her teachings into a book, InsideOut Enneagram: The Game Changing Guide for Leaders. After self-publishing her work earlier this year, she embarked on a tour of the Emirates to promote her writings.
Obviously, the UAE's comparatively buoyant economy is partly behind her excursion. Yet, Appel claims, the fundamental reason for her visit is her belief that the enneagram can resolve office discord apparently caused by the multinational nature of the country's workforce.
"The thing about the UAE is that it's so international, and although cross-cultural teams have many benefits, they also bring up a lot of issues," she contends. "A lot of teams focus on cultural differences as the reasons they're having conflicts and problems, when in effect, once I use the enneagram, they realise it's actually different personality types who are having challenges with each other.
"So it breaks up this sort of cultural differences because, at the end of the day, we're all humans really. My message is, we all have a lot in common."
Appel effuses charm and warmth, both valuable attributes for someone who makes their living as a motivational speaker. Nevertheless, guidebooks preaching theories on how to smooth out antagonism in the workplace and engender career success are far from uncommon. So why did Appel feel compelled to add to this mass of literature?
"When I discovered the enneagram system it absolutely changed my life and I had to share this with people," she explains. "I wasn't planning to write a book at first. I'd produced these enneagram typing cards, and then I felt I needed a pamphlet to show how to use them.
"But I soon realised [that] there aren't many books out there which translate the enneagram to the business world and how it affects leadership.
"So what makes this [book] really different is that I looked at all nine types and how each type interacts with all the others. I looked at the synergies and where they are going to find sources of potential conflict."
From her studies, Appel concludes that any type can make an effective manager.
"Anyone has the ability to make a great leader. But, depending on their type, they're just going to lead differently and create different types of organisations," she states.
She offers the names of some of the most esteemed CEOs of recent years to substantiate her point.
"Think about Jack Welch of General Electric," she says. "He was probably a Type Eight [the boss]. You know, he was like 'it's my way or the highway'. This is the most dominant type on the enneagram. He made his decisions from the gut. Type Eight's are very instinctual types, very dominant, very powerful.
"Alternatively, look at someone like Bill Gates," she goes on. "I would say he's probably a Type 5 [a detached observer]. He was more sort of inwards, withdrawn, very much an intellectual type. People like him will lead differently and create different organisations."
However, Appel concedes that it's unlikely that the aforementioned leaders actually made use of the enneagram system.
"I doubt they did," she admits. "but there are many roads to Rome. It just so happens I find this particular road very useful. What the enneagram does is take a lot of territory and really narrow it down.
"Anyone who's in leadership has got to be aware of their traps, their little gremlins and how to manage their behaviour. So it doesn't matter what type you are or if you use the enneagram, you just need to be aware of your flaws.
"As a leader, the most important thing you can do is influence. So, are you positively influencing people or not? How do you have positive influence on people? You have to inspire and motivate."
To many these would sound like nothing more than familiar platitudes espoused by any number of business coaches, although Appel insisted she was inured to criticism of herself and her theories.
"If it resonates through you, if you find value in it, that's fantastic. If it doesn't then that's fantastic too. Find something that does," she says.
"I'm very agnostic when it comes to most of these theories. But I happen to have a passion for the enneagram. I think it's fabulous. I can see how it's changed my life and other people's. So, if you don't agree with me, I hope you find your own way."
Beyond promoting harmony in the workplace, Appel has some loftier goals.
"I would like to see a shift in conscious awareness on the planet. The idea is to evolve, to grow as a person, to become more healthy, to do less harm, to have a wonderful life and to bring joy into the world and people in your world. So if you find a way to stop doing these crazy things we all do as human beings and to find the best in yourself then go for it.
"It's a journey. You can get some really quick hits, but then you have to stay committed to it ... Everyone has skills and gifts - you have yours, I have mine."
"So I feel this is my skill and this is what I can do to make a better world for all of us. This is where I'm starting, both in my book and my work with businesses. This is what makes my theories the juice to my lemon."
On this subject, why, considering the fruit-related nature of her surname, do lemons feature so prominently on her book's cover?
"It's really a metaphor. When I wrote the book I was sitting in a [Majorcan] orchard surrounded by lemons and oranges. And I happen to love lemons - they're little orbs of sunshine. They're beautiful, bright, alive and vibrant.
"You know, it's a chemical symbol of transformation: before you ingest lemon it's acid and when you ingest it, it becomes alkaline. And the whole book is about inner transformation and also about squeezing a lemon and bringing out your best."
Finally, before we part, I ask Appel what type she is.
"I'm a typical Type Seven, [the enthusiast]," she replies.
Considering her passion for her work, she may have just stated the obvious.
Hugo Berger is a features writer for The National.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
RECORD%20BREAKER
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The%20stats%20and%20facts
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MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
SPECS
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Frida%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarla%20Gutierrez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Frida%20Kahlo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
THE%20FLASH
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In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
