Understanding ourselves and others’ actions, motivations and efforts at communication have been and always will be a subject of interest as long as we live together on this earth. Originally scheduled to take place in May, the True Colors™ workshop seemed very timely in light of national and worldwide current events.
The True Colors™ workshop participants of 11 gathered at the Jackson Civic Center on Friday, July 10, and seemed eager to learn about applications of the workshop in the workplace.
The group learned about the history of the study of temperaments, touching on theories of Hippocrates, Karl Jung, David Keirsey and Don Lowry, founder of True Colors. The color categories of orange, gold, green and blue began to take on more depth as Glenn described the characteristics of each color while using illustrations that included actions and situations drawn from her family members.
The ice breaker/introductory portion of the workshop resulted in knowing that the group of nine females and two males. The group included a range of individuals who liked sparring with swords, had red hair and were left-handed.
A card color sort helped individuals discover what color best described their personality. Although it was possible that you might end up meeting the criteria of your favorite color, liking the color really had nothing to do with it.
One of the two males in the group, Garrett Cook, Jackson resident and soon to be Central Junior High School principal, said, “I’ve been leaning toward green but it’s kind of situational though.” Cook explained that the attributes of other colors could spontaneously surface in a work or social setting.
Chameleons, or those exhibiting characteristics of all four colors, might very likely be good managers in the corporate world, not only for their ability to understand all the personality types but the ability to fill in the gaps of missing strengths.
While the group evaluated their personalities following a workbook exercise in tallying up strengths, Tracey Glenn, president of Glenn-View and a certified True Colors™ facilitator, advised, “Pay attention to your palest color. You don’t understand these folks.”
Aside from knowing that some workshop participants were there at the will of their employers, it seemed as if the group were interested in learning how to create and operate in a better environment as a result of understanding themselves and others.
You may know an individual with a “just do it” motto. This one trait may not solely define an orange personality but it is clear there is a definitive contrast with gold personalities in their number one goal of being prepared.
Shedding some insight on the contrasts between green and blue includes that greens need independence and private time while blues are sensitive to the needs of others and often need to help others more than themselves.
Amber Walker, a student interventionist at Franklin Elementary School in Cape Girardeau Jackson attended the workshop.
She said, “One thing I found to be very valuable was looking at how each color perceives him/herself and taking that stance when working with others. Many times, colors can be perceived in a negative light when actually there is a positive perspective one can take. For example instead of thinking someone might ‘goof off too much,’ we could view them as being “flexible and easy going,” This allows us to appreciate differences.”
Workshop participants grouped themselves by color in four corners of the room and discussed what they learned while sharing strengths, joy, values and needs. They looked at situations in different ways to recognize others’ motivations, strengths and weaknesses.
While working on weaknesses was stressed as important it was also reinforced that recognizing strengths and relying on others’ strengths where you might be weak is a smart way to accomplish goals.
Lexi Arnzen, office manager at Bug Zero in Cape Girardeau said, “The True Colors workshop was insightful, interactive and fun! The information provided helped to open my eyes to understanding personality types on a whole new level. Seeing how these different types are motivated will help me create goals and different approaches to all tasks.”
Tracey Glenn (president) and her husband, Jeff (CEO of GlennView) work to help organizations and individuals plan for success and create intentional growth through leadership development, strategic planning and public relations.
Tracey is an independently certified coach, teacher and speaker with the John Maxwell team. She also holds advanced certifications with True Colors International.
