Thrown Into Training

My former supervisor shared this personality colors test to help folks understand each other. The old rule is that you should treat others how you want to be treated; the new rule is you should treat others how THEY want to be treated. And, based on someone’s personality color, they could need an approach that is completely different than yours. Take the test below and see what you are.

Your Score Card

In the first horizontal row of four squares, decide which group of three words seems most like you and put a 4 in that square.

The group of words in that same row that seem next most like you will rate a score of 3, another group will get a 2 and the group which seems least like you should be given a score of 1.

Then go on to the second horizontal row and score those squares in the same way. 4 for the group that’s most like you- 1 for the group that’s least and 2 and 3 for the ones in between.

Now add the numbers in each of the vertical columns and put the totals below.

_____________ _____________ _____________ ____________

If you scored high in the 1st column, you are a RED. If you scored high in the 2nd column, you are a YELLOW. If you scored high in the 3rd, you are a BLUE. And if you scored high in the last column, you are a GREEN.

So what did you score?

Reds and blues are extroverts, though red is a “fighter” and blue is a “flighter.” Greens and yellows are introverts, although gree is a “fighter” and yellow is a “flighter.”

So reds and yellows are opposites and blues and greens are opposites. That doesn’t mean bad, just different ways of thinking. As with most tests of this nature, if you score similarly in 2 or more categories, you have bits and pieces of each in your personality. Or, you might score very high in one category overall.

So, in order to approach each person based on their personality color, here is what you need to know:

With Reds

Appreciate their sense of action, adventure and spontaneity

Acknowledge their willingness to give you their time

Don’t drown them in data

Tell stories using real life examples

Hold efficient meetings

Appeal to their spirit of competition

Emphasize immediate payoffs

With Blues

Take time to develop a personal relationship with them

Give them a lot of positive feedback

Use a collaborative approach in determining solutions

Focus on the impact your plans and actions will have on the people involved

Remember that they can appear to be chameleon like by matching another persons behavior. They do this because they want to be agreeable and accepted

Emphasize fairness and consider other people’s viewpoints

With Greens

Include them in the design, planning and research stages

Provide articulate, well-conceived proof to back up your ideas

Get straight to the point of your discussions

Respect their competence- help them avoid situations where they could be perceived as wrong

Give them the chance to work on issues independently

Don’t put them in situations where they must perform quickly under pressure

With Yellows

Provide detailed, organized backup for your ideas

Focus on past performance, history, data

Build in ample time for them to deal with change

Be prompt and follow through by doing what you say you will do

Show that you are willing to work hard and be dedicated to your cause

Acknowledge the importance of rules, traditions, policies, and procedures

Respect their ability to deal so completely with details

add to digg | add to stumble | bookmark on del.icio.us | submit to reddit