Now, I want to share a little bit more with you about this exercise,

understanding your color, learning how to use this information when working with

a team or organization, and how to motivate others. True Colors is based on the

work of a psychologist named David Keirsey. So, although True Colors is a fun

activity, there is also theory that supports the information I am about to give you.

ORANGES: According to Keirsey’s temperaments, you would be considered

an artisan. People who possess this as their strongest temperament are very

adventurous, spontaneous, and bold. They are natural performers and consider life

to be a game. Oranges become very bored and restless with routine or structures

jobs, value independence and freedom, and learn by doing and experiencing rather

than by listening and reading. They are motivated by their own natural competitive

nature and sense of fun. They want to win and be successful and seek things that

offer intense living and full experience. It would not be surprising to learn that those

who like extreme sports are artisans. Famous oranges include Ernest Hemingway,

FDR, JFK, Bruce Lee, Amelia Earhart, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and Madonna.

Some of the things I saw displayed by the orange group during the activity that

exhibit this temperament include:

BLUES. Keirsey would call you an idealist. They are the type of people

who wear their heart on their sleeve, are very sympathetic and emotional, and strive

to make the world a better place. They like people and animals and are very social

people. Blues seek harmonious relationships, are extremely imaginative, and

respond to encouragement rather than to competition. They are very empathic, and

prefer lives free of conflict and tension. Famous blues include Princess Diana,

Mohandas Gandhi, Mikheal Gorbachev, and Oprah Winfrey. From the blues, I saw

the following that typifies this personality type:

GOLDS. Keirsey’s temperament group for you is the guardian. Golds are

very responsible, goal-oriented, organized, and dependable. They value tradition

and have a strong sense of what is right and wrong in life. Golds want to follow the

rules and regulations, understand and respect authority. They believe that work

comes before play and are natural leaders. They tend to get high-paying jobs that

usually involve a leadership position or require lots of education to perform. Golds

are very loyal and faithful to the people and things in which they believe. Famous

golds include George Washington, Harry Truman, Martha Stewart, Queen

Elizabeth, and Mother Teresa. Watching the gold group, I noticed:

GREENS. The Keirsey group for you is referred to as the rationals. Greens

are very calm and collected, need to have explanations and answers, and value

intelligence and logic. They are conceptual and independent thinkers who think

that work is play. They like to be challenges and deal with the innovative. Greens

let their heads rule their hearts, appear older than their years, are perfectionists,

and often work behind the scenes. They become impatient with drill and routine,

often question authority, and may be viewed as non-conformist. Famous greens

include, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Margaret Thatcher,

Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight Eisenhower. The green group:

One of the important things to realize is that we all possess each of these

temperaments. Your highest scoring color is just the temperament that you use

most often.

So, now that you know more about yourself, how can you use this

information to motivate those around you. Please turn to the next page of your

handout. You have heard the descriptions of the colors, so it should be easy for you

to start to determine what group those around you might fall into. If you can sort of

figure this out, you can use it to develop other’s strengths to their greatest

advantage. There are lots of things that may frustrate you based only on differences

in color grouping. For instance, greens do not like routine, small-talk, illogical

arguments, social functions, or incompetence. It is important to realize this and to

counteract this frustration by giving them tasks that allow them to utilize their

strong problem solving skills, making sure they are not assigned to do the repetitive

parts of the job, and recognizing their competence.

As for the blues, they are bothered by dishonesty, lack of communication,

sarcasm, and personal rejection. In order to make them the most productive

possible, they should be assigned to work on group projects, be removed from

hostile working conditions, and be given lots of praise and pats on the backs.

Oranges are discouraged when they have to complete lots of paperwork,

conform to strict deadlines, have too much structure placed on them, and feel as

though there in no adventure involved in what they are doing. They will be

happiest when they are given hands-on projects to complete, can be original, are

given the freedom to do things their own way, and are praised publicly for their

work.

The golds are disturbed when they feel that there is a lack of planning,

people on the team are lazy or irresponsible, and anything that involves high risk.

They will appreciate, however, jobs that are very detail-oriented, structured

working environments, praise for their ability to organize projects, and tangible

rewards for a job well done.

Hopefully, knowing this can help you to better relate to those around who

may belong to other color groups. However, working with teams or organizations

can be a little different than working one-on-one. Therefore, it is important to know

how you can avoid conflicts in intrapersonal relationships. Blues, may not plan

well, they will avoid conflict at all costs – often simply refusing to acknowledge

problems, and behave in overly sentimental ways. When working with someone

whose temperament is blue, you can make sure that they know how much you

personally appreciate them by giving them one-on-one time, expressing your

feelings, and responding to their needs in an open and committed way.

Oranges often ignore the rules, seem undisciplined, are quick tempered, and

make act impulsively. When trying to work with oranges, allow them their needed

freedom, provide stimulation, and graciously accept their generosity.

As for those who may have green temperaments, they may not seem very

sociable, blow up in the face of any type of criticism, try to buck the system, and

want to function completely independently from the team. When working with

greens, it is important to allow them as much independence as possible, accept that

they don’t make a lot of personal gestures, value their competence, and recognize

them as important contributors to the project’s success.

The golds may seem like control freaks, come across as bossy or controlling,

obsess about the little things, and can appear to be too judgmental. You should

provide the golds in your life with a sense of security, remember and respond to the

things they deem as important, and praise them for their responsibility.