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Scott Schwefel

How to Build Strong Work Relationships by Leading With Earth Green?

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Are you that one person on your team whom others come to for advice? Advice on how to handle another troublesome employee, how to handle a mean boss, or how to handle a personal issue that is eating away at someone and affecting their work? Have you ever stopped to think why these people seem always to choose you? The reason your peers and mostly other people choose you for all these issues is because they absolutely trust you. There is also another reason, too—you are free of all judgment. You do not lie, you are easy to approach, you take an interest in their issues, you offer up other solutions and ideas to their issues and, most importantly, you are sincere. Every workplace needs someone like you there. With respect to Discovery® Color Energies, you are what the personality industry describes as being a person who leads with Earth Green Energy.

What Is Earth Green?

On the Discovery Color Energies wheel, the colors are Cool Blue, Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, and Earth Green, A.K.A. the Supporter. Unlike the Myers-Briggs test, a person is not stuck inside only one color or “box.” As human beings, we are highly complex creatures and could never be relegated to just one color; with Discovery Color Energies, a person does not have to be. More times than not, everyone has traces of all four colors in their personality; it’s just that some have higher energy levels of any given color than others, thus allowing them to better use and lead more often with this one energy.

In addition, even though a person can demonstrate personality traits from all four colors, the other reason they would lead more with one color over the other colors is sometimes out of their control; it’s just who they are.

So if you are the person who seems to get a lot of your peers’ work and personal issues dropped on you daily, and you always take care and help these people each time, you are a person who leads with Earth Green.

Is Leading With Earth Green Bad?

Absolutely not! Every job in the world needs a person like this for it to run effectively. The world needs people like this, too. The classic characteristics of a person who tends to lead with Earth Green Energy are as follows:

  • Is a supporter
  • Is genuinely very caring toward others
  • Encourages people when they are down or have a big decision to make
  • Is an open book and is very sharing
  • Is very patient and a great listener
  • Stays relaxed even when the person with the issue is not
  • Usually has introverted feelings
  • Values close relationships
  • Is very loyal

If you are the “supporter” or have one as an office friend, consider yourself lucky. These personalities value close relationships, are loyal, are very considerate, and are irritated by others who may be insensitive or impatient with you. Basically, they have your back!

If you’d like help in identifying this person(s) on your team, schedule me, Scott Schwefel, as your keynote speaker. I will come to your group and address the differences in personalities in a truthful, fun, and easy-to-understand way. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to share my blogs with the color energies you work with!

Scott Schwefel

The Gift and the Curse of a boss who leads with Fiery Red energy!

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Fiery Red

Have you ever had a boss that you hate, but sometimes you love them? Well, this love/hate type of feeling you may have for your boss has the potential to turn into far more positive interactions with them, and less negative interactions with them where you walk away feeling horrible and small. How can you achieve this? All you have to do is read up on the Fiery Red energy and master it!

What is Fiery Red energy?

The Fiery Red energy is like no other energy color out there. The red color selected for this energy kind of spills the beans on what personality types this energy is referring to; the fiery part of the name also gives it away.

A person, who leads with Fiery Red energy is always on the move, doesn’t have time for nonsense or small talk, and quite frankly, they do not have time for you either. If you want to get along with, or should we just say, co-exist, with a boss who leads with this type of energy, you must know what else to look for. Take a look at the classic warning signs your boss might be leading with Fiery Red energy:

  • Tends to avoid emotions
  • Really needs you to get right to the point
  • Needs to be clear on actions
  • Needs you to be brief when speaking to them
  • Needs you to be bright
  • Needs you to be gone
  • Are competitive
  • Are demanding
  • Are determined
  • Very strong willed
  • Purposeful

At this junction in the article, you probably have figured out if your boss is this person. Knowing the classic warning signs of this energy, can put you ahead of the game, and even teach you how to communicate effetely with your boss. Some vital positive outcomes that can be had from this invaluable knowledge is:

  • You better understand your boss now
  • You don’t hate them anymore
  • You don’t feel like you are walking on egg shells every time you need to speak with them
  • You feel better about work in general and your job too

The boss who leads with Fiery Red energy is not perfect, like most of us, and they can do things that get in the way sometimes. Or, they can do things that you didn’t expect that work in your favor…

What is there to love about the boss who leads with Fiery Red energy?

Believe it or not, the boss who leads with Fiery Red energy can actually be extremely useful in that they will fight tooth & nail for you, and shield you from any nonsense coming down from upper management. If you have a boss who leads with this color of energy, it is unlikely they will have you doing mindless work that is not going to help the overall goal, which is always the completion of the next big project. Also, if another business segment within your organization is ripping your team or speaking in a not so flattering matter because of a mistake you made, this energy type will defend you and the team almost every time. However, expect them also to rip you face to face when they get alone with you for those mistakes.

What is there not to love about the boss who leads with Fiery Red energy?

Now that you understand the Fiery Red energy a little more, there is a flipside to this color. If some of their strengths are overused, or abused, this energy can get in its own way and hinder the team’s chances for high performance. For example, on the start of a new day, it is quite possible that after only 10 minutes of being clocked in, the boss who leads with Fiery Red energy will already have left a trail of devastation behind them. With the secretary in tears and other teammates asking themselves, “What did I do wrong?” A boss leading with this energy is prone to lash out, displaying some of the following characteristics when faced with pressure from work.

  • Aggressive
  • Controlling
  • Driving
  • Intolerant
  • Overbearing

Does your job need a person who leads with Fiery Red energy there?

Absolutely! After you gain this person’s trust, you will have a strong ally for life at the workplace. Once the trust part has fully been established, the Fiery Red energy leading boss will understand that your relationship with them is worth making compromises for, and that your points of views are surprisingly valuable and worth listening to.  Having this strong personality type as the boss or just as a team member is a great move. With this person around, you will know your team has a “rock” that knows how to get things done!

Every organization needs a good mix of color energies; especially a Fiery Red color. If you’d like help in identifying this person (s) on your team, schedule me, Scott Schwefel, as your keynote speaker, I will come to your group and address the difference of personalities in a truthful, fun, and easy to understand way.  Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to share my blogs with the color energies you work with!

Scott Schwefel

Step outside of your box – Stop hiring yourself

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Sunshine Yellow

Imagine yourself in the position of a hiring manager deciding between two potential new employees. One is obviously more qualified, but the other reminds you of yourself in the way they interact or even take a seat. You weigh the qualifications of both and assess which would be the most valuable addition to your team.

You might be surprised to hear that research shows that in this scenario the latter applicant is more likely to get the job. Studies have brought up the idea of a “cultural fit,” an unwritten category of the hiring phase in which an employer looks for someone who matches them on a socially desirable level. Sometimes even making the decision just based on who they can see themselves having a beer with! This does not necessarily lead to the wrong hires in every case, but it raises concern that a biased haze could be preventing a team from growing to its fullest potential.We, as leaders, have a habit of building teams made of individuals who remind us of ourselves. That doesn’t seem like such a bad thing, especially if you’re constantly reminded of your hard work ethic, enthusiasm, and level-headed judgment. However, this mindset when applied to hiring insulates your group from gaining the insight and experience that can only be obtained through employing a diverse range of staff. Lacking the awareness that you are cloning current members of your team also robs you of gauging where your group excels—and where fine tuning needs to be done.

Getting down to it

For example, your current team may be proficient in achieving client satisfaction with completed projects, but lacks the organization required to meet deadlines. Gathering a group of similar individuals may mean your group consistently delivers good work, but aggravates your failure regarding promptness. This sequence of events would noticeably damage your credibility, and your business will suffer as an end result.

We can consider this problem in a more visual way. An emerging idea dedicated toward helping professionals build the most well-rounded team possible is the concept of “color energy.” Take a Sunshine Yellow type, for example, a real go-getter who invigorates the staff with visionary ideas and provides a fresh outlook on projects and assignments. A Sunshine Yellow, however, can fall prey to disorganization, a habit of jumping from project to project without giving each its due and closing on those with loose ends. You can mitigate the flaws of the well-intentioned Sunshine Yellow with a Cool Blue type who is more guarded against new visions but performs copious amounts of research on current projects. Fire Red personalities are hustlers, rarely short on confidence, but potentially on patience. Thankfully, we can count on Earth Green leaders to act as pillars of support for the group, providing guidance and mentorship—although they, too, may be a bit traditional in their ways.

Mixing creates the strongest teams

A balanced team is not a blinding yellow or endless blue, but rather a spectrum of vivid colors and personalities. As a hiring manager, your job is a two-step process. One: judge each applicant’s skill set and weaknesses objectively—as you normally would. Two: make an honest and critical analysis of your current team. Where do we have gaps and who can fill them? You may be inclined to recruit an individual with years of experience with analytics, but if your team already has a handful of those professionals, it may be best for you to hire the applicant with accounting experience. Similarly, you may consider yourself a Yellow Sunshine and be turned off by the sight of a deflating realist. But the success of your team may depend on the grounded Cool Blue who can keep them from flying too close to the sun.

This is not to say that hiring an employee who would be an ideal tennis partner is a bad idea. Your job as a responsible employer and business owner, however, is to put the interests of your team first. The work socials come after that.

To get assistance on how to hire a well-rounded team, contact me, Scott Schwefel of Insights, and get me on the schedule as the keynote speaker for your next team-building event.  To see what I’m up to and get notified of my new blog posts, follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.  For a sneak peek of what you can expect for your next company event, find me on YouTube!