1. Now, I want to share a little bit more with you about this exercise,
understanding your color, learning how to use this information when working with
a team or organization, and how to motivate others. True Colors is based on the
work of a psychologist named David Keirsey. So, although True Colors is a fun
activity, there is also theory that supports the information I am about to give you.
ORANGES: According to Keirsey’s temperaments, you would be considered
an artisan. People who possess this as their strongest temperament are very
adventurous, spontaneous, and bold. They are natural performers and consider life
to be a game. Oranges become very bored and restless with routine or structures
jobs, value independence and freedom, and learn by doing and experiencing rather
than by listening and reading. They are motivated by their own natural competitive
nature and sense of fun. They want to win and be successful and seek things that
offer intense living and full experience. It would not be surprising to learn that those
who like extreme sports are artisans. Famous oranges include Ernest Hemingway,
FDR, JFK, Bruce Lee, Amelia Earhart, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and Madonna.
Some of the things I saw displayed by the orange group during the activity that
exhibit this temperament include:
BLUES. Keirsey would call you an idealist. They are the type of people
who wear their heart on their sleeve, are very sympathetic and emotional, and strive
to make the world a better place. They like people and animals and are very social
people. Blues seek harmonious relationships, are extremely imaginative, and
respond to encouragement rather than to competition. They are very empathic, and
prefer lives free of conflict and tension. Famous blues include Princess Diana,

2. Mohandas Gandhi, Mikheal Gorbachev, and Oprah Winfrey. From the blues, I saw
the following that typifies this personality type:
GOLDS. Keirsey’s temperament group for you is the guardian. Golds are
very responsible, goal-oriented, organized, and dependable. They value tradition
and have a strong sense of what is right and wrong in life. Golds want to follow the
rules and regulations, understand and respect authority. They believe that work
comes before play and are natural leaders. They tend to get high-paying jobs that
usually involve a leadership position or require lots of education to perform. Golds
are very loyal and faithful to the people and things in which they believe. Famous
golds include George Washington, Harry Truman, Martha Stewart, Queen
Elizabeth, and Mother Teresa. Watching the gold group, I noticed:
GREENS. The Keirsey group for you is referred to as the rationals. Greens
are very calm and collected, need to have explanations and answers, and value
intelligence and logic. They are conceptual and independent thinkers who think
that work is play. They like to be challenges and deal with the innovative. Greens
let their heads rule their hearts, appear older than their years, are perfectionists,
and often work behind the scenes. They become impatient with drill and routine,
often question authority, and may be viewed as non-conformist. Famous greens
include, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Margaret Thatcher,
Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight Eisenhower. The green group:
One of the important things to realize is that we all possess each of these
temperaments. Your highest scoring color is just the temperament that you use
most often.

3. So, now that you know more about yourself, how can you use this
information to motivate those around you. Please turn to the next page of your
handout. You have heard the descriptions of the colors, so it should be easy for you
to start to determine what group those around you might fall into. If you can sort of
figure this out, you can use it to develop other’s strengths to their greatest
advantage. There are lots of things that may frustrate you based only on differences
in color grouping. For instance, greens do not like routine, small-talk, illogical
arguments, social functions, or incompetence. It is important to realize this and to
counteract this frustration by giving them tasks that allow them to utilize their
strong problem solving skills, making sure they are not assigned to do the repetitive
parts of the job, and recognizing their competence.
As for the blues, they are bothered by dishonesty, lack of communication,
sarcasm, and personal rejection. In order to make them the most productive
possible, they should be assigned to work on group projects, be removed from
hostile working conditions, and be given lots of praise and pats on the backs.
Oranges are discouraged when they have to complete lots of paperwork,
conform to strict deadlines, have too much structure placed on them, and feel as
though there in no adventure involved in what they are doing. They will be
happiest when they are given hands-on projects to complete, can be original, are
given the freedom to do things their own way, and are praised publicly for their
work.
The golds are disturbed when they feel that there is a lack of planning,
people on the team are lazy or irresponsible, and anything that involves high risk.

4. They will appreciate, however, jobs that are very detail-oriented, structured
working environments, praise for their ability to organize projects, and tangible
rewards for a job well done.
Hopefully, knowing this can help you to better relate to those around who
may belong to other color groups. However, working with teams or organizations
can be a little different than working one-on-one. Therefore, it is important to know
how you can avoid conflicts in intrapersonal relationships. Blues, may not plan
well, they will avoid conflict at all costs – often simply refusing to acknowledge
problems, and behave in overly sentimental ways. When working with someone
whose temperament is blue, you can make sure that they know how much you
personally appreciate them by giving them one-on-one time, expressing your
feelings, and responding to their needs in an open and committed way.
Oranges often ignore the rules, seem undisciplined, are quick tempered, and
make act impulsively. When trying to work with oranges, allow them their needed
freedom, provide stimulation, and graciously accept their generosity.
As for those who may have green temperaments, they may not seem very
sociable, blow up in the face of any type of criticism, try to buck the system, and
want to function completely independently from the team. When working with
greens, it is important to allow them as much independence as possible, accept that
they don’t make a lot of personal gestures, value their competence, and recognize
them as important contributors to the project’s success.
The golds may seem like control freaks, come across as bossy or controlling,
obsess about the little things, and can appear to be too judgmental. You should

5. provide the golds in your life with a sense of security, remember and respond to the
things they deem as important, and praise them for their responsibility.