Blue is the Color of the Week
Ten Ways to Earn the Respect of a Blue Person
The Idealist Blue folks number about 15-20% of the population - more than the Green Rationals, but substantially fewer than the Gold Guardians and Orange Artisans.
These Idealists possess a diplomatic intelligence and leadership style. More than anything else, they care about harmony, especially harmonic relationships, empathy, and paths to happiness for everyone. The operative phrase is "care about" - whether it's an intimate personal relationship or world peace itself. Opposite the movie title "He's Just Not Into You," our Blue friends really, actually, truly are INTO YOU!
You find Blue folks among your colleagues and friends. Many heads of non-profit organizations are Blue - not surprisingly, because the work of foundations and causes are natural magnets for them. Blues often choose the "cause" professions: teaching, mentoring, championing ideas, and practicing healing arts. FYI - if you want to know more about applying these lessons to your own work team, consider booking a workshop. http://www.jackdermody.com/contact.html
If you want to win the respect of Blue folks, here are ten ways to earn it.
1. "I'm here in the room. Care about me!" Blue folks hope that you sincerely care about them as persons - even more possibly than the both of you care about the circumstances or business than has brought you together. "Yeah, yeah, we're talking about life insurance, but are we enjoying each other's company and appreciating who each one of us is all about?"
2. Don't be put off by their flexibility. Eagerly invite the Blue person to contribute ideas and make decisions. The problem is that because Blue folks are so flexible in their thinking they are left out of brainstorming and decision-making sessions. The other temperaments are eager for clarity, firm decisions, and imminent action; Blues tend to see gray where others prefer black and white - but don't let that deter you with Blues. More importantly, they tend to resent and even rebel against being left out because they feel at the deepest levels that that have a unique perspective on many issues. Their "gut feelings" may not look like science, but they are often more right than wrong.
3. Do not let hierarchy get in the way of a good idea. One thing that Blues have in common with Greens is that they live in their heads. Abstract ideas swirly there and Blues, especially, want to express the results of their mental processing. A problem they run into is the time they voice an opinion to folks of much higher rank and get scolded for it because they bypassed the chain of command. Both Blues and Greens simply do not understand that any person of any status would not want to listen to a good idea. When you tell the troops you have an "open door policy", your Blue friends expect you to honor it.
4. Do what you say you are going to do. Surely all people of all four temperaments care about integrity - certainly about a person's word. To break your word - to a Blue person - is potentially taken as a serious breach in the relationship. Where a Gold person (also caring deeply about integrity) may delete "trust" on your integrity list, the Blue person may feel that breech as a personal battering - and may become sad, disappointed, or even alarmed emotionally.
5. Actively do your part to create an atmosphere of harmony. Although Blue folks are the first to line up to help resolve conflict, they dislike negativity intensely. To have effective communication with a Blue person, provide an atmosphere that supports acceptance, free speech, problem-solving, learning, and healing.
6. Support teamwork. The most frequent pronoun voiced by Blues is the word "we." When it comes to getting good results on projects, Blues usually leap at the change to be part of a team, even to lead that team. Their natural diplomacy and desire to follow fulfilling pathways can be leveraged here for spectacular results.
7. Communicate in person. Blue folks can get edgy in overly efficient workplaces. If business is conducted inside cubicles, if communication takes place mainly through emails and overly prepared meetings, if people issues are usually subordinated to task issues - then you may have a problem with your Blue colleagues and employees. Blue folks are the most social of all the Colors - getting their energy from human contact, from social interaction, from one-to-one conversations, from open meetings, etc.
8. Be patient with "drama". The emotional side of human nature, especially in a business setting, is often a turn-off to the other three temperaments, but Blue folks usually see the expression of emotion as logical, necessary, and important. "After all, we are all human. We are passionate about things, we love people intensely, we go to the streets to change communities, we are charged up by new directions in our companies - why do these things have to be squelched in the workplace?" If such "drama" bothers you, imagine what the workplace would be like without passion and genuine human excitement. Who would want to work there?
9. Invite learning and bonding opportunities. It's easy to forget that people are not only result-producers. They are people. So when deciding to provide training opportunities, consider the bonds that will form among colleagues and employees as part of your return on investment. Blues are eager students, yes, but Blues also go out of their way to be the glue that keeps spirits up among any workforce.
10.Ask Blues for help.Of all the temperaments, Blue have the most difficulty saying "no". Of course this could be a problem for a Blue because taking on too many tasks could affect their stress levels and the quality of performance. However, Blue folks usually like nothing better than to be recognized for their unique gifts, knowledge, and skills - and they are eager to share everything they have. |