By Catherine Lang-Cline
Most employers are very familiar with DISC, Myers-Briggs, and StrengthsFinder analysis testing. We at Portfolio Creative use the book “StrengthsFinder” by Tom Rath when we hire new associates. It has helped us understand people as soon as they step through our doors, as well as see where they are going to be effective on the team.
We also use a much simpler analysis that anyone can do and it is a quick read of anyone on your team, not to mention, yourself. It is called the Color Code Personality Science test and you can test yourself and your entire team for FREE here.
We love it because we can quickly understand each other, know how to respond to each other, and get the best results from each other. (Alliances may have been formed.)
Everyone is broken down into 4 simple color groups based on what is their most dominant color but every one contains some of everything, the definitions that follow that are in quotes are taken from the Color Code Personality Science website:
RED – “Red are the power wielders. Power: the ability to move from point A to point B and get things done, is what motivates and drives these people. They bring great gifts of vision and leadership and generally are responsible, decisive, proactive and assertive.” We need the RED personalities on our team. These people are the “get it done” people, just get out of their way. They like direct, short conversations and you won’t see them again until the task is completed. On time. The rest of the team knows that these three will hold them accountable to complete jobs on time, too.
BLUE – “Blue are the do-gooders. Intimacy: connecting, creating quality relationships and having purpose, is what motivates and drives these people. They bring great gifts of quality and service and are generally loyal, sincere, and thoughtful.” We have a whole bunch of BLUE people here and considering what we do, this is great news. We deal with people and create relationships through great service. The BLUE people make it so people will keep coming back to use us.
WHITE – “White are the peacekeepers. Peace: the ability to stay calm and balanced even in the midst of conflict, is what motivates and drives these people. They bring great gifts of clarity and tolerance and are generally kind, adaptable, and good-listeners.” Need some conflict resolution? Send in the people in whose dominant color is WHITE. They see all sides of an argument, rarely get combative, they just want to see everyone get along. Typically, everyone gets along with these people.
YELLOW – “Yellow are the fun lovers. Fun: the joy of living life in the moment, is what motivates and drives these people. They bring great gifts of enthusiasm and optimism and are generally charismatic, spontaneous, and sociable.” While you may think a YELLOW coded person could be a distraction, there really is nothing better to keep a team motivated. They can keep everyone upbeat, focused, and really help everyone see the joy in the job. Every team needs at least one cheerleader.
I am sure that you are wondering my results. I am:
RED 44%, BLUE 42%, WHITE 9%, and YELLOW 4%.
What this says about me is that I am driven, but I appreciate people and relationship. On the backend of that, I don’t have a lot of tolerance nor do I need to create fun moments. (Work over fun has always been a gift and curse for me.) How do I feel about that? GREAT! Because this is me and I know where I thrive and everything else…well, I have a great team to help me out with that.