What COLOR are you and your team members, and why is it important to your management team?

W hat “COLOR” are you and your team members, and why is it important to your management team? Have you ever had an employee perform very well in a p...
Author: Frank Copeland
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hat “COLOR” are you and your team members, and

why is it important to your management team? Have you ever had an employee perform very well in a position, and then when they got promoted or moved to another position they struggled? Or, have you ever wondered why certain employees struggle to complete tasks at hand or perform well with certain tasks associated with their position? In the fitness industry, and any industry for that matter, it is truly a skill to make sure all team members are on the right seat on the bus. By being aware of the personality styles you have on your team, you will be able to place talented people in positions where they will perform and excel, rather than struggle and disappoint. All people tend to fall into one of four dominating personality styles or profiles. These profile quadrants are called different things by different organizations, but they are all essentially referring to the same thing – Drivers, Interactive people, Stabilizers, and Cautious (analytical) people. We like to give these groups “color” codes, because it is simple to identify with colors, and it puts an interesting visual on your whole organization as you begin to learn what their dominating profile, or color, is. Although there is no perfect or better color, some colors are better suited to certain situations or tasks than others because of their natural tendencies. Let’s have a look at the specific “colors” first and see if you don’t start identifying not only yourself, but the people in your organization; •

BLUES: These are our DRIVERS. This highly motivated group has a strong need to be direct, efficient, on time, and usually prefer to “get it done themselves”. A driver is a decisive person who knows exactly what they want and how to get it. Although they may come across as abrupt or abrasive, they will not shy away from responsibility and will take it very seriously. These people tend to be impatient and have no use for all the “trimmings” – they just want the steak! Give it to them straight.



REDS: This is the INTERACTIVE group. This loveable group has a high need to be socially interactive. They are usually noticed first in a crowd, love to be active, often start many projects at once, and love to party! They are often looked to as leaders because of their “stand out” personas and ability to schmooze. Although

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they can sell freezers to Eskimos, they are hard pressed to get things done on time, finish ALL the projects, and are notoriously unorganized. •

GREENS: The STABILIZERS. This even keeled group has a high need to stabilize any situation. They do not like conflict and will bend over backwards to keep everybody happy. These people are great mediators and have a natural talent for diffusing potentially destructive confrontations. Although they tend to have eyes in the back of their heads and an ear for everything going on, they are not comfortable if put in the position of having to make a decision. They never want to be responsible for upsetting anyone’s applecart!



YELLOWS: The CAUTIOUS crowd. These are observers who have a high need to be careful, or cautious, before making a move or decision. They need to be correct so they will spend as much time as it takes to solve a problem or do research before going public with an end result. They are METICULOUSLY organized and are “single task” oriented people. This group is often viewed as highly intelligent, but can also be perceived as standoffish. They prefer a quiet lab or office and will avoid noise and confusion.

Complete this form to determine your color combination, and do it with your entire staff!

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. In each of the five columns below, choose ONE behavior which MOST describes you. CHOOSE ONLY ONE, THE FIRST ONE THAT COMES TO MIND. 2. Add up the check marks across each row and place the totals in the blank. __ Forceful

__ Decisive

_ _Competitive

_ _Directing

__ Daring

__ Charming

__ Optimistic

_ _Talkative

_ _Influencing

__ Enthusiastic

__ Easygoing

_ _Patient

_ _Accommodating _ _Steady

__ Stabilizing

__ Curious

__ Restrained

_ _Precise

__ Analytical

_ _Cautious

The rows that you have the most checks in indicate your dominant “color style”. It is not uncommon to have a tie or very little difference in numbers of more than two rows. What this means is that you are like a very adaptable person, or have had some practical training in this theory. __ Forceful

√ Decisive

√ Competitive

_ _Directing

√ Daring

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√ Charming

__ Optimistic

_ _Talkative

√ Influencing

__ Enthusiastic

2

__ Easygoing

__ Patient

_ _Accommodating _ _Steady

__ Stabilizing

__ Curious

__ Restrained

_ _Precise

__ Analytical

_ _Cautious

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T

ake a look at each role category in

your organization and give thought to what color (in its full form) would fit best in that role. Conversely, think about what would be a bad thing to do – for instance: putting a Yellow, (Cautious), person in a Front Desk position. On the surface, this may seem like a good idea because of their organizational skills – after all, there are many things to keep organized at the front desk! However, what happens when the phones are ringing off the hook, a new prospect has just walked in looking for price information, a membership coordinator can’t be found, and a member has a problem to unload all at once? Sound familiar? At about 5 or 6 o’clock in the evening, this could be the scene at any club! Your very organized Yellow, will have a meltdown and probably at that moment contemplate quitting but not before they have snapped everyone’s head off – ouch! A good leader, one who has mastered an understanding of their own personality profile, as well as quickly identifying others’, will make careful considerations when interviewing individuals for particular roles or doing performance reviews with existing staff. They will find the strengths and NATURAL tendencies in a person and put them in a position that best utilizes them. Everybody is happy and productivity goes up! Also consider putting people together on projects and in positions. For example, a talented Sales Manager who has the RED highly interactive tendencies but is disorganized would do very well working with the very organized YELLOW as an administrative assistant. Let’s look at a list of typical key positions within a Fitness Facility and what the ideal color, or personality styles are for those roles. Keep in mind, that although square pegs do not fit in round holes, be aware that a person’s style is not carved in stone and with coaching can even adapt and change somewhat – providing they are willing; •

Manager – Blue or Red Dominant with a good dose of Green, maybe even Yellow. The more “centered” a manager is, the more successful they are likely to be as a leader as they will have the ability to adapt quickly to varying situations and people.



Sales – Red or Blue. The reality is that this group tends to be populated by high Red types, but if a little Blue and Green shows up – bonus!



Front Desk – Green or Red but enough Yellow to help in the “keeping things organized” department.

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Personal Trainers – Red and Green. Reality is that this group tends to be dominated by Blue types (that is how they came to be Personal Trainers in the first place), but the reality is that now they are very much in a customer service role and must learn to adapt and curb their natural tendencies of directness if they are to be successful.



Group Instructors – Red, Blue, Green. This group tends to be high on the Red side, but all three mentioned are logical and good fits. Variety in your Group Ex schedule is key.

• Back Office/Admin – Yellow. You most definitely want an organized and accuracy minded person in this role. But it is nice if the Yellow is tempered with enough Green or Red to be effective if expected to interact with other staff members or handle calls with clients or vendors. •

Child Care – Green or Red. Kind hearted, energetic, and upbeat people are best suited to this role.

A strong team utilizes ALL colors of the quadrant and puts the right colors in the right roles while striving to learn more about each other so that their team as a whole looks seamless, running smoothly, harmoniously, and profitably. So what COLOR is your team? Hopefully it is a complimentary pallet of colors of the rainbow! The following descriptors, both positive and negative, give a direct account of what a person’s particular personality style would be like if they were 100% true to one of the Personality Style quadrants. This theory is based off of the DISC methodology. There are several institutions offering variations on this theory, but note, they are all similar, simply using varying descriptors and quadrant names, and tend to focus on particular uses or sectors to apply the findings to. For instance, some may have a heavy focus on professional business application, while others may focus on social or family relationship applications. The DISC methodology has a mainstream application that is applicable for both business and social uses. We at Fitness Club Success simply apply a “color” to each quadrant as it is easier to remember and encourages the thought process that a variety of color is preferable over monochromatic in building teams or environments.

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Directive (Blue) Positives – • High need to direct. • Very “high tell”, driver type personality. • Usually prefers to do things on their own because they feel they are the best person to do it. • They are punctual and thrive on “getting things done”. • Not that concerned about recognition…unless it improves the bottom line, but definitely interested in being “first place”. Negatives– • Can be perceived as impatient, bossy, and maybe even “not a team player”, (player who constantly hogs the ball!). • Has little patience for details so sometimes misses soft or important considerations. Only interested in “the bottom line” and not concerned with hearing all the buildup. • Will accept criticism as long as you approach it from a firm position of authority and can back up your concerns with tangible proof…if you have the nerve to approach them with it.

Interactive (Red) Attributes – • High need to be interactive. • VERY sociable and works especially well in teams. • Very animated and creative in their communications. • Full of energy, “the life of the party!” • Loves to be involved in EVERYTHING. LOVES/needs public recognition and will actively seek it out. Drawbacks – • Tend to be disorganized and will overlook details completely sometimes. • Enthusiastic nature often causes them to take on more projects/responsibilities at one time than they can handle (but won’t admit it until it is too late!). • Can be perceived as “too loud”, “Too talkative”, or “superficial”. • Does not handle criticism very well and will become extremely defensive and …will tell everyone they can about how unhappy they are and why. • Advise beginning with a couple of heartfelt “compliments” before approaching the criticism.

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Stabilizing (Green) Attributes – • High need to “stabilize” everything. • Excellent mediators as they are very concerned with avoiding conflict and keeping everyone happy. • These are very likeable people (generally liked by all styles), and are a vital part of any team. Drawbacks – • Have a very difficult time making a decision and would prefer NOT to be the decision maker for fear of upsetting someone. • May appear as too sensitive. • Avoids confrontation at all costs, even to the point of leaving issues unsolved sometimes. • Tend to be very emotional people and risk personal meltdown if criticized. • Need to be approached very carefully and sensitively with criticism and will take it better if you have an immediate action plan for them to follow to correct the problem.

Cautious (Yellow) Attributes – • VERY cautious people. • Very observant and analytical, and will dig to find all the facts. Very detail oriented people who thrive on perfection. • Not afraid of numbers, in fact usually prefer “numbers” jobs. • Very organized and have a logical place for everything – neatly. Love doing research. Will only make “informed” decisions because they need to know they made the “right” decision.

• • •

Drawbacks – • May appear “unsociable” or even unfriendly due to their need to observe carefully before interacting. • Perceived as loners rather than team players…and in many cases are as they prefer to work alone. May take too long to make a decision because of their high need to get ALL the facts and leave no stone unturned. Will happily sacrifice punctuality for accuracy. Can be perceived as condescending (smarter than everyone else!). Prefer to do ONE thing at a time – not good at multitasking.

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If you plan to criticize them, you better have proof that you are right…if not, prepare for a good argument or even a “walk out”.

REALITY CHECK – Most people are a combination of 2 or more of these styles and may even change over time. It can also depend on the social setting a person is in that determines what “style” can become, or be perceived as, dominant – “perceived” being the operative word. By learning to understand ourselves, how we think we are, and how different groups of people may perceive us, it will go a long way to become a highly effective communicator, parent, teacher, sales person, manager, leader, student, TEAM PLAYER! Getting the picture? Now how does this relate to your management team? By identifying a person’s natural tendencies and comfort zones, you can match them up with roles which require specific strengths in specific areas. In reality, we all tend to have a mix of traits from each quadrant, but we all have an underlying dominant style. Once we learn to identify and control the negative tendencies in ourselves and highlight the positive, we can also learn to interact with other “styles” in a manner which will put them at ease rather than scare the heck out of them, or rub them the wrong way. The ideal leader will appear to be what we call “centered”, meaning that they can adapt quickly to the people around them, but their underlying profile is probably deeper into the Blue and/or Red Quadrants giving them the energy, people skills, decisiveness, and action oriented-ness required to succeed in a position of leadership.

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