Equitable Royal Purples truly care about those who are looking to them for active (extraverted) or quiet (introverted) leadership. The Royal Purples do not stop caring (introversion) or acting (extraversion) until some level of social justice is achieved for all people. It is an unending task for many with the Royal Purple orientation and can easily lead to fatigue, burnout, and ultimate disillusionment. The introverted Royal Purples are a bit more fortunate in that it doesn’t “hurt as much” to have people stop reading their essays or stop passing their bills. They are “accustomed” to being ignored. It usually hurts much more for an extravert to be blocked psychologically or physically from getting something done. John Lewis’s Royal Purple “good trouble” is admirable, but it can lead to physical harm (as occurred with John Lewis). And it requires the infinite patience exhibited by John Lewis and a willingness to be rebuffed repeatedly at the barricades.
The primary source of joy for the Equitable Royal Purple is ensuring that justice is done and that appropriate services are delivered to those who are repeatedly underserved. There is joy standing at one end of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, having crossed the bridge without harm being done, and celebrating the anniversary of a march that became a turning point in the American struggle for civil rights.
A major source of energy is the questioning by Royal Purple of those in authority. The “big bosses” in government and business are asked the hard questions: “Do the ends justify the means?” “Why are you really engaged in this so-called ‘humane’ act?” “How do you justify this destructive act?” There is the matter, for both extraverted and introverted Royal Purples, of challenging a notion pondered by King Arthur as he was envisioning his round table in Camelot. He asked himself: Does might always lead to right? Or, in alignment with the Royal Purple orientation, does right create might? Is power eventually (and inevitably) to be found in doing the right thing? Is this Arthurian concept too closely aligned with the impractical vision of the Royal Purple’s Azure Blue side? We must remember that Arthur (at least in many renditions of the Arthurian saga) does have to revert to warfare if his kingdom is to be preserved. The Ruby Reds were proven correct. Right is often established by might.
The introverted Royal Purple often focuses their attention on defending the weak and disadvantaged in their community or society by ensuring consistency in policies, procedures, and actions. This can occur in one’s society or even in one’s organization, with attention being given to such issues as sexual harassment and gender or racial discrimination. David Kolb (1984) describes the process of assimilation whereby a set of rules and procedures is firmly established to ensure consistency in organizational behavior. For the introverted Royal Purple, this assimilation focuses on the creation and implementation of fair and consistent policies and procedures leading to equity and justice.
The strength of an extraverted Royal Purple’s leadership often resides in this person’s provision of great drama. There are demonstrations, elegant gestures that are heroic in nature and that express the deep feelings underlying the actions that are taken [Enneagram 4]. The accompanying challenge takes place when the extraverted Royal Purple leader is being asked to be less “deep” and to live more often in the real and expedient world. The Thoughtful Golden Yellow member of an organization (or society) might agree with the Royal Purple that social reform is a good thing; however, “can’t we take it a bit slower and buttress this reform with some evidence of the injustice that has actually been done?” With this concern being voiced by a Golden Yellow aide who is residing inside the tent, the extraverted Royal Purple will often struggle with the contradictions inherent in the search for power and the search for justice. The burnout associated with extraverted Royal Purple can often reside in this contradiction (which is exacerbated by the overriding contradiction often to be found in a VUCA-Plus environment).
