Personality styles - are you red, green, yellow or blue?
Melanie Benson Strick’s latest blog post talks about something I found very useful when I took her course on virtual teams…
A color wheel called Insights™ Discovery that illustrates the different styles people have of communicating and managing and processing information.
There are all kinds of personality tests out there - Myers Briggs is one; the HOTS (Hare, Owl, Tortoise, Squirrel) survey from Robert Allen’s One Minute Millionaire is another.
But I like the color wheel - I find it very simple and easy for people to grasp and use.
When you understand that the person you are managing (or outsourcing to) is a “green,” for instance, it makes it a lot easier to communicate in a way that is effective and productive.
And since the personality types tend to correspond with career choices, once you learn how to communicate to a “blue” personality, you can use it with all the blues you run into (who probably include your bookkeeper, accountant, and maybe your project manager).
Here’s Melanie’s description of the 4 preference styles…
“Red” Energy
Our red energy friends tend to be very results-focused. Often experienced by others as aggressive, overbearing and dominant, they sort the world for how to get things done in the quickest way possible. Awesome for sales and getting things done quickly.
“Yellow” Energy
Yellow energy people are highly creative and visionary. Many of the other energies will experience a “yellow” as being flighty, unorganized or ungrounded. This energy type tends to be highly social and inspiring, which is a great trait for leaders.
“Green” Energy
Green energy preference will put people before everything else. They focus on helping, supporting, and making a difference in other people’s lives. The other energies may get easily frustrated with a green as they tend to move slowly, need a lot of affirmation and direction. Greens are very loyal though…definitely someone you want for the long term!
“Blue” Energy
Blue energy people focus on facts, data and methodology. Leading with a lot of “rational” thinking, others can experience them as cold, aloof or overly reserved. Blues are awesome for managing complex projects, finances and projects.
By the way, for anyone working with me…
I’m a yellow-red on the color wheel and a hare in HOTS. (I can’t remember my Myers Briggs.)
What are you?
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