TRUE COLORS OF
LEADERSHIP
Presenter: Kimberly Pratt

OUTLINE
• Welcome & Introduction
• What is your TRUE Color?
• Scenario I- Primary Color Work
• Color Descriptions
• Strengths & Weaknesses
• Scenario II- Group Work
• Assessment
• Leadership Styles
• Victory Within TRUE Colors

INTRODUCTION
• Personality Testing and Categorizing
• Ancient Greece-Hippocrates and the body fluids/temperaments
• Ancient Asia-Elements
• Earth, wind, fire, water and metal
• 1962- Isabel Briggs Meyers & her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator- 16 Types
• 1978- Don Lowry “True Colors

“SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE KNOW WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEIR TRUE COLORS ARE… WHEN
YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR CORE VALUES AND NEEDS ARE AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEM, YOU
CAN PERFORM AT YOUR HIGHEST POTENTIAL IN EVERY AREA OF LIFE. AND WHEN YOU SHARE
A WORKING, MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF OTHER’ CORE VALUES AND NEEDS, YOU HAVE THE
BASIS TO COMMUNICATE, MOTIVATE, AND ACHIEVE COMMON GOALS WITH UTMOST
DIGNITY, EFFICACY, AND MUTUAL RESPECT.”
~Don Lowry, creator of True Colors.

INTRODUCTION
• The Purpose of True Colors is to improve recognition of your own personality while
welcoming similarities and differences in others.
• What is your personality style?
• BLUE?
• GOLD?
• GREEN?
• ORANGE?

FIND YOUR TRUE COLORS
• Complete the provided worksheet, ranking each group of words from one (1) NOT
like you through four (4) MOST like you.
~Keep In Mind
• You will see aspects of each color in your personality
• You will discover a primary and a secondary color. These are your favored styles
• The colors you do not select will have some characteristics that represent you; however they are not
your favored styles
• True Colors is beneficial for fostering your success in working with others; however, as a short, self-
reported assessment is not 100% accurate

True Colors Personality Quiz
Describe Yourself: In the boxes below are groups of word clusters printed horizontally in rows. Look at all the choices in the
first box (A,B,C,D). Read the words and decide which of the four letter choices is most like you. Give that a “4”. Then
rank order the next three letter choices from 3-1 in descending preference. You will end up with a box of four letter choices,
ranked from “4” (most like you) to “1” (least like you). Continue this process with the remaining four boxes until each have a 4,
3, 2, and 1.
A 4
active
opportunistic
spontaneous
B 2
parental
traditional
responsible
C 3
authentic
harmonious
compassionate
D 1
versatile
inventive
competent
E
curious
conceptual
knowledgeable
F
unique
empathetic
communicative
G
practical
sensible
dependable
H
competitive
impetuous
impactful
I
loyal
conservative
organized
J
devoted
warm
poetic
K
realistic
open-minded
adventuresome
L
theoretical
seeking
ingenious
M
concerned
procedural
cooperative
N
daring
impulsive
fun
O
Tender
inspirational
dramatic
P
determined
complex
composed
Q
philosophical
principled
rational
R
vivacious
affectionate
sympathetic
S
exciting
courageous
skillful
T
orderly
conventional
caring
A,H,K,N,S orange = B,G,I,M,T gold =
C,F,J,O,R blue = D,E,L,P,Q green =
Example
Line

SCENARIO
The Partnered Student Funding Committee at Orchard Grove University spends an immense amount of time in the Spring
Semester listening to inquiries from various groups and organizations concerning allocation of the Student Fees for the upcoming year.
The students are selected to sit on the committee each spring semester to serve for the subsequent year. It is an honor to serve on this
committee and involves a spirited election process from the student body.
Liam is the Partnered Student Treasurer, and as such, serves as the chairperson to the Funding Committee. He has devoted a
great portion of the fall semester notifying other committee members of their responsibilities and guiding them through the allocation
policies and procedures. This will be his fourth year on the committee, three acting as chairperson. He has always had a phenomenal
group of colleagues to work with and looks forward to the allocation process again.
Nevertheless, Liam is facing a challenge he hasn’t in previous years. Two of his committee members, Tina and Josh, have been
rarely attending meetings and have neglected to attend training on the allocation process. He has contacted both of them by email and
phone to see about rescheduling a smaller training session for them, but he has not heard back from either of them.
Yesterday, he bumped into Tina. She apologized that she had missed the training and that she would prepare for next
Tuesdays meeting. This particular meeting includes petitions from three groups seeking program funding. Liam told Tina he would put the
funding proposal in her office mailbox and asked her to prepare questions regarding the requests.
When Tuesday arrives, Liam goes into the office prior to the funding meeting and notices both Tina and Josh’s mailboxes still
contain the proposal information for that day’s meeting. Leading Liam to assume that neither one of them read the proposal information
nor would be prepared for the meeting.
Liam is uncertain on how to proceed. The committee requires a substantial dedication from the members as they are
distributing thousands of student dollars to university groups and organizations. However, the positions are elected, so Liam has little
authority over individual committee members’ performance. This is a first for him and he doesn’t have an idea on what to do.

SCENARIO
Questions
• If you were in Liam’s situation, what would you do? Why?
• Can and should you dismiss volunteers and/or elected officials? Why or Why not?
• We all fall down on our responsibilities now and then. How would you want to be
approached if you were Tina or Josh and not fulfilling your commitments? How do
you plan to approach others who are not doing their fair share?

BLUES
• Relationship Oriented
• Enthusiastic
• Sympathetic
• Warm & Friendly
• Great Communicators
• Peaceful
• Flexible
• Honest
• Compassionate
• Sincere
• Imaginative
• Harmonious
• Cares about others and their experiences
Surprise!
Possible Career Paths: Counselors, Educators, Public Relations, Communications

GOLDS
• Structure Oriented
• Sensible
• Prepared
• Detailed-Oriented
• Faithful
• Conservative
• Likes Rules
• Traditional
• Likes Routine
• Organized
• Cooperative
• Practical
• Dependable for comfort, ideas, & support
Possible Career Paths: Computer Programming, Finances, Business
Administration, Health Care
Really?

GREENS
• Cognitive Oriented
• Logical & Wise
• Philosophical
• Investigative
• Problem Solver
• Accurate & Efficient
• Knowledgeable
• Calm
• Studious
• Visionary
• Determined
• Goal Oriented
• Determines what motivates others
Possible Career Paths: Actor, Architect, Criminal Lawyer, Writer
Did you see this one
coming?

ORANGES
• Impulse Oriented
• Spontaneous
• Eager
• Generous
• Witty/Funny
• Physical
• Courageous
• Realistic
• Hands-On
• Competitive
• Open-Minded
• Direct
• Enjoys prestige, challenge, & the win
Possible Career Paths: Advertising, Athlete, Secret Service,
Comedian
T-I-double"guh"-errrrr,
that spells Tigger!

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
Blues
Their strength is their ability to
encourage and collaborate. The
Team Builders
Greens
Their strength is their ability to
think methodically and
purposefully. The Natural Analysts
Golds
Their strength is their sense of
accountability and obligation to the
organization. The Team Backbone
Oranges
The strength is their ability to
multitask effortlessly and sense of
determination when the situation
calls for it. The Troubleshooters
Blues
Their weakness lie in over-personalizing
of organization problems and hold
grudges
Greens
Their weakness lie in their propensity to
make things more complicated than
necessary and they are impatient with
incompetence
Golds
Their weakness lie in their inflexibility
and narrow focus of rules and
regulations
Oranges
Their weakness lies in their indifference
to routine and being too focused on
now at the expense of future

SCENARIO
You are ecstatic to start your experience as a student leader after a few days of training where you were
introduced to 10 new members and two returning leaders, Amanda and Heather. The returning student leaders
are very cooperative in sharing information and insightful-most of the time.
You are beginning to discover their participation and opinions to be domineering, mainly because they
appear to be clinging to last year’s methodology. Like yesterday, the team was suggesting ideas that could
potentially become programming prospects but Amanda and Heather brought up ideas that were successful and
not successful from last year. They discussed in length about how certain events operated last year. And today,
someone proposed that the team use sidewalk chalk art to welcome people to campus. Both ladies interrupted
the discussion stating that using chalk was so juvenile and last year they created professional banners as
welcoming pieces.
You are observing the other team members are becoming frustrated with the unrelenting “last year”
references. So much so, they are discussing ideas and purposely leaving Amanda and Heather out of the
conversation. You realize that if this frustration persists it could damage the overall productivity and success of
your team. You suspect that Amanda and Heather do not realize their behavior and responses are causing closing
off the creative process and sharing of ideas, which ultimately can have a poor impact on the team. What can you
do in this situation?

SCENARIO
Questions:
• Do you think there is an issue in this situation?
• How can the team find balance between the insight of returning students from last
year experiences and fresh ideas for this year?
• Are there any solutions for not driving the team members apart from the
beginning?

ASSESSMENT
• How did you work with together?
• Were you able to resolve the conflict that may have occurred between the personal
styles?
• Where you able to identify the weaknesses and utilize your strengths to work
through the scenario?
• What did you discover from each color/style?

LEADERSHIP STYLES
ORANGE
• Expects quick action
• Assumes flexibility
• Works in the here and now
• Performance oriented
• Welcomes change
• Institutes changes quickly
• Expects people to “make it fun”
GREEN
• Expects intelligence and competence
• Assumes task relevance
• Seeks way to improve systems
• Visionary
• Analytical
• Encourages change for improvement
• Constantly in process of change
• Expects people to follow through

LEADERSHIP STYLES
GOLD
• Expects punctuality, order, & loyalty
• Assume “right” way to do things
• Seldom questions tradition
• Rule oriented
• Detailed/thorough approach
• Finds change difficult
• Prolonged time to initiate change
• Expect people to play their roles
BLUE
• Expects others to express views
• Assumes “family spirit”
• Works to develop other’s potential
• Individual oriented
• Democratic, unstructured approach
• Encourage change via human potential
• Change time allows for sense of security
• Expects people to develop their potential

VICTORY WITHIN TRUE COLORS
Thriving with a GOLD
Individual
• Be prepared and tidy in work and
appearance
• Be Honest
• Plan ahead of them
• Be Direct
• Respect their need for constancy and
tradition
• Be Reliable and Loyal
• Support their need for structure and
security
Thriving with a GREEN
Individual
• Respect their preoccupation with ideas and
logic
• Realize they care but may not express their
feelings
• Respect their knowledge & wisdom
• Think ahead; Future forward thinking
• Help with commonplace details
• Praise their ingenuity and intelligence

VICTORY WITHIN TRUE COLORS
Thriving with a BLUE Individual
• Respect their need to get to know you
• Take a inventive approach to problem
solving
• Be sincere and truthful
• Cooperate as a team
• Show that you value and appreciate them
• Be supportive
Thriving with an ORANGE
Individual
• Be direct and right to the point
• Respect their lack of structure and need
for freedom
• Join in the game with them
• Compliment their kindness and sense
of humor

REFERENCES
• What is True Colors? - True Colors Intl. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2016, from https://truecolorsintl.com/about-us/what-is-true-colors/
• P., & Sipe, L. (n.d.). True Colors. Retrieved April 29, 2016, from https://prezi.com/fsqy7naubrmb/true-colors/
• True Colors: Exploring Personal & Leadership Styles. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2016, from
http://bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/70546645/BonCur.TrueColors.pdf Adapted from
• Klumpyan, T. J., Phillips, J., & Strickley, V. (2009, July). Student Life Case Studies Reproducible Case Studies, Assessments, Activities,
and Self Tests. Retrieved April 29, 2016, from
https://tamuct.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/institution/studentactivities/Student_Leader_Training-Part_3.pdf Contributions from
PaperClip Staff. Edited by Laura L. Betti, Julie Phillips. Designed by Joellen Collins-Cardona
• Orange, Gold, Green, Blue, Your True Colors – Yes, That’s You! (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2016, from http://lifetickler.com/your-true-
colors-test/
• True Colors Personality Types of some Famous People in History - True Colors Workshops | Edmonton to Kelowna. (2014). Retrieved
April 29, 2016, from http://www.truecolorsworkshops.com/true-colors-personality-types-famous-people-history/
• De Anza College :: Robert Clem :: True Colors. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2016, from
http://deanza.edu/faculty/clemrob/truecolors.html
• True Colors Personality Quiz. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2016, from http://www.phigam.org/document.doc?id=5286
• True Leader Colors. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2016, from http://www.boostconference.org/PDF/2012_workshops/The Leadership
Pipeline Hands-on Learning for Lifelong Learners - Kara Allen.pdf

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