WHAT’S YOUR COLOR?

Home Depot, 1997 -- It took me awhile but I finally figured out that when the store manager called me into her office, it wasn’t to give me direction: it was to allow her to think out loud, to process. I can’t tell you how many times I tried to add to the “conversation” only to realize she was in her own zone. I would rise from my chair every few minutes, thinking she had settled on a goal or strategy, only to find that she was still processing, and quietly sit back down. The first 10 pages of my notes could be tossed in the trash, but those last 2 were essential.

That was the manager of the Simi Valley store. The Thousand Oaks store manager was just the opposite: by the time he conversed with the management team he had decided on the direction, strategy, and every detail of whatever project was next. Meetings with him were short. Very few notes.

Since Hippocrates first placed us into personality type quadrants in 450 BC, society has been talking about communication. Sales people speak and process information differently than bookkeepers and engineers, right? A supervisor should communicate in such a way that their employee can “hear” or “get” what they are saying. Or at least warn them about their style. It took me awhile to get up to speed on Simi and T.O.: a hint would have helped. Or a class in Hippocrates.

This goes for employees, too. You want to be “heard”; whether to impress your boss or to beg for a day off. So, are you “speaking his or her language?” If they are a detail person, don’t waste time drawing the “big picture”.

Are they fast-paced and quick-thinking, focusing on results? Then present your idea or concern without a lot of detail, focusing on the bottom line. Be brief and be gone. And you will be heard.

Supervisors: are you asking a relationship-driven employee -- the one who plans the pot lucks and takes 10 minutes to get to their desk in the morning because they have to greet and chat with everyone first -- to complete a project on their own? No collaboration? No way.

If I want my employees to do what I ask…..if I want my boss to understand my concerns…. It behooves me to first understand their style.

In the parlance of my favorite personality style analysis, Real COLORS ®,,the pot luck planner is a Blue – relationship driven, sensitive, collaborative. The best person to place on a project is a Green – process, research, answers questions with questions. For details and organization, pick a Gold. Their sock drawer is organized and they love to make lists. And if you are looking for a creative, “outside the box” type – get an Orange.

Most of our entrepreneurs are Orange. And so is our prison population. (I’ll pause here while you make a joke about all the entrepreneurs in prison.)

We’ll talk more about communication in another column, but you can start thinking about your style (and your boss’s) in the meantime.

Betsey Nash, SPHR, is a consultant in Human Resources with United Staffing Associates and a certified trainer in Real COLORS ®. She can be reached at betsey.nash@unitedwestaff.com