As a Helper personality type on the Enneagram, I have built highly personal, protective relationships with my employees, making them dependent on my approval. How do I break this emotional codependency during our exit runway so the business can stand alone?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

As an Enneagram Type Two, your natural drive is to support, protect, and be indispensable to your team. While this builds a loyal, family-like culture, it creates a dangerous operational dependency. If every decision requires your personal approval, you have built a business that cannot survive without you, which a buyer will spot immediately.

To prepare for a clean exit, you must transition from a protective caretaker to a disciplined leader. Start by redefining your relationship with your team through the lens of the Accountability Chart. Every seat must have clear, measurable roles and complete ownership over its outcomes.

Stop stepping in to rescue employees from their mistakes. Instead, use the IDS® process during your Level 10 Meeting™ to force your team to identify and solve their own issues. If an employee comes to you for approval, turn it back on them by asking: What do you recommend?

This shifts their mindset from seeking permission to taking ownership. It will feel uncomfortable at first, but letting go of this control is the only way to prove to a buyer that your leadership team is fully capable of running the business without your emotional or operational support.