What are your True Colors?

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What are your True Colors?

• An Examination of Self and Others
• to Achieve Effective Collaboration

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(No Transcript)
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A Day in the Life of a Typical Factory Model High
School

• Consider what it would be like if your job was
  organized like the work students do in a typical
  American high school When you arrive at the
  office, you are seated at a desk and you start
  working then, 90 minutes later somebody rings a
  bell and says, Jump up! Youve got to go to your
  next job. So you run to another desk in another
  part of the building with a new boss, who has
  different rules and different expectations - a
  whole different agenda for you to accomplish -
  and you sit down and try to figure out how to the
  job for 90 minutes, and another bell rings. Then
  you jump up and run to another part of the
  building, and do another job for another boss
  with different rules and expectations for 90
  minutes. And you do this one more time. Some of
  the rules are explicit, but many of them are
  tacit. You are supposed to figure out for
  yourself what your boss cares about and what she
  will really care about when evaluating your work.
  Most of your bosses dont know you well, because
  they see 30 or so employees every 90 minutes and
  rarely get to talk to any of them one-on-one. If
  you get confused, most of your bosses will say,
  Dont talk to your co-workers thats cheating.
  Do your own work. Under these circumstances, how
  productive do you think you would be?
• - Linda Darling-Hammond in
• Redesigning Schools What Matters and What
  Works

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• No significant
• learning takes
• place without a
• significant
• relationship.
• - James Comer

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• Why are we here? (Green)
• Cool! This sounds fun! (Blue)
• What is this about? Wheres the agenda, again?
  (Gold)
• Hows this going to help ME? (Orange)

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A Brief History behind Personality Typing and
this Particular Method

• David Keirsey categorized the personality into 4
  types in the late 1960s with Please Understand
  Me.
• Don Lowry, inspired by Keirsey, was amazed by the
  many benefits that came from recognizing
  personality types. He then developed the metaphor
  of True Colors (before the song came out!) and
  studied the various meanings associated with
  colors (good as gold, true blue friend,
  calming properties of green, and stimulating
  effects of orange).
• Where did I hear about this and how has it been
  used?

• Hippocrates observed that people seemed to have
  one of four humors, or approaches to life
  Phlegmatic, Choleric, Melancholic, or Sanguine.
• Carl Jung in the 1920s thought people displayed 4
  types of functions Feeling, Thinking, Sensation,
  or Intuition. He thought for the most part that
  these functions were innate, but that a culture
  and environment can influence behaviors.
• The 1950s brought Katherine Briggs and her
  daughter, Isabel Myers, who studied Jung and
  chose to take it further into 16 personality
  combinations. This became the Myers-Briggs Type
  Indicator.

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Your True Colors Instrument

• Look at each row of horizontal categories of
  words. Rank the 4 categories from 1 to 4 (4 being
  most like you and 1 least like you).
• Go on to the next horizontal line of categories
  and do the same.
• Be cautious and make sure you rank these
  according to who you truly feel you are rather
  than who you would like to be.
• Using the letter formula at the bottom, add up
  the specified letters.
• Remember the purpose this is not to stereotype
  people this is to identify commonalities and
  differences, which will then help us collaborate
  and expand possibilities.

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The Analysis

1. Your primary and most dominant the
   characteristics listed for this number one spot
   indicate the ones you feel most comfortable
   operating with. These are the attributes you use
   when you are truly being yourself.
2. Your second color has a major influence on the
   first. In some cases, it shines as brightly as
   your dominant color (internal introvert vs.
   external extrovert).
3. This one does not make as much of an impact.
   Sorry, third!
4. Because these characteristics are least natural
   to you, you may admire them in others. Or, on the
   contrary, because they are the least natural,
   chances are that they are also the least
   understood, and therefore they are the
   characteristics that cause the most conflict with
   others. People often condemn what they themselves
   lack.

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The Results

• A, H, K, N, S ORANGE
• B, G, I, M, T GOLD
• C, F, J, O, R BLUE
• D, E, L, P, Q GREEN

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BLUEWhatever Blues decide to do with their
lives, it must involve people!

• Caretaker
• Optimistic
• Passionate
• Enthusiastic
• Imaginative
• Cause oriented

• True romantic
• Need to be unique
• Cooperative rather than competitive
• Strong sense of spirituality
• People oriented
• Peacemaker

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Blue Strengths

• Leading
• Listening
• Mentoring
• Motivating
• Optimism
• Recruiting
• Speaking
• Supportiveness
• Teaching
• Tolerance
• Training

• Accepting
• Acting as a catalyst
• Communicating
• Cooperating
• Counseling
• Creating
• Guiding
• Imagination
• Intuition

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Communicating with the Blue

• When Blues listen, they focus on more than words.
  
• Your message will not get through fully to a Blue
  if a relationship is not first established.
• Blues dont want to let anyone down, so we should
  be wary of overwhelming them.

• Blues may portray the opposite of what they are
  feeling.
• Blues get frustrated at the insincerity of the,
  Hey, how are you? ritual.
• Blues are saying right now, This is so cool! I
  love how this will help me relate to other
  people!

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The World vs. Blue

• Creating STRESS for Blues
• Broken promises
• Too much negative criticism
• Deception
• Not discussing what is occurring
• Completing paperwork as a priority
• Clock-watching
• Conflict
• Placing the system as a priority above people
• Being constantly compared to others and not
  evaluated as an individual
• Too much conformity without outlets for
  individual expression

• Succeeding with the Blues
• Spend quality time one-on-one with them
• Be aware that they wear their heart on their
  sleeve
• Listen to them as they listen to you
• Be supportive
• Share your thoughts and feelings
• Praise their creativity

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Good as Gold

• Prepared
• Loves to plan
• Detail-oriented
• Punctual
• Strong sense of duty
• Most comfortable with a structured environment

• Belief in policies
• Values traditions
• Conscientious
• Conservative and stable
• Well-organized
• Strong shoulds and should nots

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Gold Strengths

• Accounting
• Belonging
• Caretaking
• Collecting data
• Contributing
• Coordinating
• Dispatching
• Family

• Following directions
• Guarding
• Handling detail
• Organizing
• Planning ahead
• Securing
• Supervising

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Communicating with Golds

• Golds can come across as businesslike.
• In conversation, they want structure.
• Can we do it the way we have always done it?
• Golds listen for details.
• Golds are thinking right now, Slow down! I am
  still writing notes on Blues!

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The World vs. Gold

• Creating stress for Golds
• Incomplete/ambiguous tasks/answers
• Disorganization
• Too many things going on at one time
• Waste
• Non-conformity
• Changing details
• Haphazard attitude
• Lack of structure/direction

• Succeeding with Golds
• remember to be on time
• Try to be extra efficient and organized
• They are generous but like things to be returned
• Do what you say you will do
• Be dependable and loyal
• Respect their need for security

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Just do it! ORANGE

• Extroverted Orange
• Tigger (everyone knows when he is around and
  very little stresses him out)
• Introverted Orange
• Winnie the Pooh (goes with the flow and only
  major concern is HONEY!)

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OUTRAGEOUS ORANGE

• Energetic
• Desires change
• Playful
• Master navigator
• Natural entertainer
• Pushes boundaries

• Accepts challenges
• Impulsive
• Spontaneous
• Just do it!
• Appreciates immediate feedback
• Most productive in non-structure environments

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Orange Strengths

• Going with the situation
• Hands-on
• Keeping options open
• Negotiating
• Proficient, capable
• Receptive to opportunities
• Risk-taking
• Trouble-shooting
• Welcomes new ideas

• Able to take charge
• Being the master of tools
• Carefree
• Dealing with chaos
• Determination
• Direct communicator
• Doing many things at once
• Eclectic, diverse, changing

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Communicating with Oranges

• Oranges are confident, loud, and casual
• Now oriented
• Oranges listen for entertainment, usefulness, and
  relevance
• They are constantly looking for opportunities

• They want forthright communication
• They are trying to accomplish a goal with all
  communication
• When talking to an Orange, encapsulate your
  information into bite-size pieces
• Give Oranges choices and ask for their suggestions

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The World vs. Orange

• Creating Stress for Oranges
• Too much responsibility
• Redundancy
• Deadlines
• Rules and regulations
• Being stuck at a desk
• how to directions
• Too much attention to product and not enough to
  performance/results
• Abstract concepts

• Succeeding with the Orange
• Be active and dont slow them down!
• Be spontaneous and fun
• Compete in fun when appropriate
• Be adventuresome and optimistic
• Be energetic and ready to go!

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Feelin Green

• Intellectual
• Work is play and play is work
• Need for independence and private time
• Driven by
• competence
• Perfectionist
• Analytical

• Problem-solver
• Why mentality
• Very complex
• Standard-setter
• Cool, calm, collected
• Approaches interpersonal relationships in a
  logical manner

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Green Strengths

• Analyzing
• Conceptualizing
• Confidence
• Designing
• Determination
• Developing
• Diagnosing

• Intellectualization
• Inventing
• Mapping out
• Problem solving
• Reasoning
• Researching
• Technical know-how
• Thinking

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Communicating with Greens

• Greens usually dont show emotion.
• When talking to a Green, be prepared to defend
  your position!
• Greens are thinking now, How will this help me
  with people, again? I dont need help with
  people. Why would I?

• Greens communicate for the purpose of gaining or
  sharing information.
• Their favorite line is, And your point is?
• Greens listen for information and want to know
  the purpose for that particular communication.

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The World vs. Greens

• Creating stress for Greens
• Not being in charge
• Lack of independence
• Elaborate use of adjectives
• Incompetence
• Emotional displays
• Lack of options
• Inability to use or display knowledge
• Small talk
• Routine
• Social functions

• Succeeding with Greens
• Be aware of their curiosity about life
• Give things that challenge their problem-solving
  abilities
• Respect their need for independence
• Know that they are caring even though they may
  not show their feelings much
• Respect their ideas

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Why is this important?

• It is time to move away from the one-room
  schoolhouse concept! Think about how much high
  schools have truly changed in the last 100 years.
  Have they?
• Collaboration is about communication and
  relationships.
• We must understand in order to be understood
  (Stephen Covey).

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Why True Colors?

• Color watching is only one filter through which
  to view human behavior.
• True colors should alter your interactions as you
  become more aware.
• It helps you understand values, needs, and
  actions of others.
• True Colors is not supposed to provide you with
  one strategy for changing yourself or others but
  to help you understand more fully behaviors and
  people.
• Learning the True Color language and customs of
  others not only lowers tension and resistance
  levels, but it also demonstrates the utmost
  respect. It helps you build relationships and
  collaboration.

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References

• Miscisin, M. (2005). Showing our True Colors.
  Sacramento True Colors, Inc.
• www.true-colors.com