8

green/backup
red extroverts

 

YOU’RE NOT ONLY a Green, you also have strong secondary characteristics of the Red personality. And you have tested as a Color Q Extrovert, which means you recharge your batteries by being with people, rather than being alone. Green/Red Extroverts are keen observers, energized by new ideas. A free spirit intrigued by the unusual, this personality is often unconventional and admires other nonconformists. You shun routine, gleefully battle bureaucracy, and love challenges that highlight ingenuity. Gravitating to new goals and careers more frequently than most, your warmth, insight, and people skills open doors. A gift for discerning future trends fuels your ambitions.

Top Motivators

As an Extrovert, working alone for long periods makes you restless. Early in your career you likely were chided for roaming the halls when you should have been at your desk.

Green/Red Extroverts are most motivated by big-picture, people-oriented visions of the future. You believe in achievement through cooperation; liking others and being liked is the grease that makes your wheels turn. Green/Red Extroverts form only 4 percent of the world’s population, but it would be boring without you!

Corporate Culture—Finding the Optimal Fit

It is the responsibility of every personality to find or create their optimal work environment. Optimal cultures differ among Color Q personality types. Strengths in one company may be viewed as weaknesses elsewhere. The corporate culture itself may not be dysfunctional; for instance, Greens hate what Blues love. Conflict, sapped strength, resentment, and feelings of defeat are symptoms of poor cultural fit and can be avoided by understanding your preferences.

The Green/Red Extrovert’s most preferred work environment emphasizes:

Freedom to express oneself in creative, humorous, and colorful ways

Variety and change, with minimal rules and restrictions

Being heard by peers and superiors

People-related projects

Placing high value on staff and clients

Democratic, lively atmosphere

If you think these points are obvious, it means you’ve tested correctly. (Compare with a Blue/Gold Introvert’s ideal environment.)

The Green/Red Extrovert’s least preferred environment has:

Little creativity, lots of bureaucracy

Minimal social interaction (i.e., the sense of being ignored)

Lots of rules, procedures, details, and repetitive routine

Manipulative, controlling people and/or office politics

Leveraging Executive Presence
and Building Personal Brand

Green/Red Extroverts are masterful at dealing with a broad range of events and people—simultaneously when necessary! Because of this ability, you see connections that others miss. Energized by new ideas and industries, you enjoy applying your skills in original and unique ways.

The Green/Red Extrovert’s personal leadership brand should be built around your intuitive gifts for seeing the trends and pitfalls of the future. You have a strong sense of how to motivate and help others.

Your leadership style is one of dynamic initiation, especially valuable during start-up phases of projects or companies. You see a very big picture and believe it is attainable. An outside-the-box thinker, you know profitable ideas originate from new hires and twenty-year veterans. Persuasion, rather than control, of people creates buy-in that moves products quickly to market. Without trying, you build extensive networks of people.

CASE STUDY 1: The Successful Green/Red Extrovert

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney

Carolyn Maloney understands that leadership and success come from first mastering the issues and then mustering your forces. For nine terms she has represented the twelfth district of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first woman to chair the Joint Economic Committee and is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of economic policy, financial services, national security, and women’s issues. She was the powerhouse behind the landmark credit card reform legislation that the Pew Foundation says saves consumers $10 billion annually.

“I have managed to pass many important bills that people thought could never overcome the opposition of special interests,” says Maloney, demonstrating the Green/Red’s dynamic initiation and ability to persuade. In one session alone, she introduced more than seventy pieces of legislation, tying the record for the most bills from any legislator.

Her tireless efforts to secure badly needed health care for New York’s ailing 9/11 heroes won her plaudits and admiration around the world. “If you really believe in and understand the importance of the goal,” says Maloney, “it’s not work. And no obstacle can withstand the unwavering determination of a united people committed to a just cause.” She is also proud of helping draft the Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Reform Act, which changed the structure of the U.S. intelligence system.

Despite being a national leader, her deep concern for her constituents keeps her focus local. Maloney recently prevented the closing of a veteran’s hospital on twenty-third Street in Manhattan. “Sometimes, it’s not what you do, it’s what you stop.”1 Her efforts to keep post offices open and fund the schools in her district have been decidedly Green endeavors.

She also has a feisty Red side, and her opponents know she is no easy target. A strong proponent of women’s rights, she was a chief sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment and author of the Debbie Smith Act, which funds the processing of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases. She has stood firm against right-wing opponents. When Representative Darrell Issa chaired a religious freedom and birth control panel with no female speakers, Maloney’s question, “Where are the women?” resounded through the national media.

Her response to conflict is typical of a Green/Red Extrovert: “I deal with it in steps. A lot of it is educating people, and listening to all points of view, to see if there is a way to move forward together. It really works.”

Participating In and Managing Productive Teams

Green/Red Extroverts inspire their teammates with warmth, insight, can-do attitudes, and passionate interest. Conflict provides information, and then is defused with humor. You establish rapport quickly and are a terrific collaborator.

By listening to everyone and everything, you make unusual connections and are often the first to offer creative solutions. Your many relationships ensure needed support.

Communications Style

Merely adjusting one’s vocabulary to align with another color’s style can elicit powerful positive responses. Empathetic vs. objective analysis, theoretical vs. practical, structured vs. adaptable—these clashes fuel most workplace conflicts. Being able to “style shift” gives you a personal competitive advantage in negotiations, managing, and interviewing.

Green/Red Extroverts are gifted at both verbal and written communications, often becoming writers and speakers. You like talking in person, rather than writing or texting. You favor abstract concepts, metaphors, feelings, and analogies, and your preferred vocabulary emphasizes words like “values,” “relationship,” “feel,” and “friendly.” Reds, with whom you share some personality traits, prefer words such as “move,” “stimulate,” and “gusto.” Blues prefer theoretical jargon, statistical data, and technical terms. Golds, conversely, prefer “facts,” “tradition,” “respected,” and “proven.”

Green/Reds speak fluently, with liveliness. Style shifting for you means toning down, holding back, and disciplining yourself to talk sequentially rather than in a stream-of-consciousness manner. When needed, replace your usual exciting, vivid imagery, and personal stories with more concrete words and ideas. Put aside the charm and focus on here-and-now details and procedures. You’re a good listener, keying in to your colleague’s preferred style quickly.

Blind Spots

Certain blind spots are prevalent in Green/Red Extroverts (a few of them will apply to you):

Starting too many projects, losing interest, or getting sidetracked.

Overlooking important details, facts, analysis, and practicalities.

Underestimating time and logistics.

Keeping options open too long when decisions are needed.

Taking criticism too personally.

Using metaphors and analogies instead of practical, sequential words. (You’ll dramatically increase cooperation with Golds by “talking real.”)

Not giving others time to evaluate or test ideas.

Stressors That Produce Fatigue and Strife

Certain workplace conditions produce stress and fatigue for Green/Red Extroverts. They include:

Feeling manipulated or controlled

Feeling cramped by structure and rules

Lacking human connection, especially during difficult periods

Being isolated from “the loop”

Resenting those who disregard your values

Being pressed for decisions before you’re ready

Green/Red Extroverts under extreme stress often become distracted, rebellious, and gossipy. You may stir things up, create trouble, or obsess about health issues. Fatigued Green/Reds can become compulsive about details or make sudden, irrational changes.

Self-Coach Your Way to More
Productive Work Relationships

The primary focus of the Green/Red Extrovert who wants to self-coach for career advancement should be on how to handle challenges to your inner values from a core of strength and confidence.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

The Green/Red Extrovert possesses these strengths:

Brainstorms many possibilities and follows intuition

Prioritizes people issues

Listens to everyone and adopts what’s important

Focuses on areas of agreement; defuses conflict with fun and humor

Improvises and confidently gets assistance when needed

Makes keen, penetrating observations of multiple options

Strategies to Improve Effectiveness When Challenged

Interpersonal challenges detract from productivity. Here are self-coaching strategies for your biggest challenges:

Criticism that feels condemning and challenges your inner values. Listen with dispassion. Then ask your criticizers if they respect your beliefs. Most likely, they do!

Ignoring conflict for as long as possible. You prioritize harmony, but ignoring conflict destroys it. Force yourself to air aggravations while they’re still fresh and manageable—you’ll get stronger and acquire vital negotiating tactics.

Resistance to structure, rules, and bureaucracy. You believe, rightly, in the value of brainstorming when problem solving. You chafe when structure overrides implementing ingenious solutions. Work within the system; develop allies who’ll help you accomplish your goals.

Having to work alone. Delegate such tasks to Introverts, who’ll thank you for the alone time!

Making factual errors. Other Color Q personality types need facts to allay anxieties. Facts seem to lead you astray, whereas gut feelings have always steered you right. Start intuitively, then back up your decisions with facts.

Leaving current projects incomplete when exciting new ones appear. Put the new projects in a queue, and use your excited anticipation of the new to help complete the old projects.

When dealing with challenges, set and stick with daily priorities. You love to “wing it,” so plan both organized and “wing it” times into schedules, presentations, and meetings. Learn from, rather than react to, critical feedback. Understand that deadlines are more important to other color personalities, who will manipulate and pressure you to meet them. Respect deadlines in order to enhance your credibility and stay “in the loop.”

CASE STUDY 2: When a Career Isn’t Working

Web designer Max Ogilvy was talking to himself, and it was scaring his family. A successful voice-over actor until the recession hit, Max had welcomed his lighter work schedule as an opportunity to transition into a more stable field.

Max used his knowledge of commercials and marketing, and his Green understanding of human desires, to create several well-received websites for prominent local businesses. He enjoyed interacting with business owners, his Red love of technology helping transform their corporate visions into digital realities.

Max hadn’t counted on how many hours he would have to work at home alone in front of the computer. His Extroverted side revved up when his family came home, just when they wanted to relax.

Max badly needed to work with other people. To stay in touch with friends, he designed a website for fellow voice-over performers, complete with digital resumes and audio samples of their work. The site became so successful at connecting performers with work that Max opened an office—complete with coworkers and an audition room for new talent.

By the end of the day, he feels energized and fulfilled . . . and the last thing on his mind is talking, especially to himself.

Political Savvy—Making Your Words Count

A valuable part of the Color Q system lies in learning how to harness the Red’s spontaneous crisis-handling ability, the Gold’s detailed and concrete thinking and administrative talent, and the Blue’s strategic thinking to your advantage. Engage irritating coworkers as powerful political allies.

Reds. “I’m trying to have a meeting of the minds with my (Red) committee member Samuel,” says (Green/Red) philanthropist Muriel. “I want our fundraiser to raise awareness of world hunger; he’s excited because he got a deal on filet mignon! It sends the wrong message.”

Your style can irritate a Red with its emphasis on people-centered global visions. The Red’s strength is to deal with the present; Reds like to see how things play out in the real world. Your global vision may not seem realistic enough to a Red, who will challenge with on-the-ground scenarios. To the Green/Red Extrovert, the Red’s style appears to be amusing but barely controlled chaos. You may sympathize with their desire to flout order every chance they get, but it’s irritating that Reds seem to respect things over people. This is a setup for long-term conflict. When these Red strengths become irritations but are ignored “for the sake of harmony,” resentments boil over into conflicts, which exhaust you but appear to energize and excite the Red.

Negotiating Strategies

Use these words with a Red and watch the response: “stimulate,” “enjoy,” “expedite,” and “now.”

Downplay the global vision. Using factual, sequential words, discuss what needs to be done now.

Solicit their opinions. Reds can create contingency plans on the spot when needed.

Do not micromanage; let them handle delays, ambiguities, and unforeseen changes.

Do not “give in” for harmony’s sake. Stand your ground, preferably using a little easy humor.

Envision challenging your Red coworkers as equals who can handle a firm “no,” and practice holding firm until your concerns are addressed.

Blues. “We’ve lost two clients to competitors. I say we train the reps in client retention techniques; he says fire the underperformers and hire fresh faces. He doesn’t get how disruptive that would be to the department and existing clients.” Courtney, a (Green/Red) sales manager, is at loggerheads with the (Blue) vice president of operations, Adrian.

The Blue is the least people-oriented of all the Color Q personality types. To a Green/Red Extrovert, Blues appear to put all their formidable mental energy into creating strategies that may ignore the impact on workers and customers. Your style can irritate a Blue by emphasizing the impact on people rather than overall strategy. The desire for harmony may strike a Blue as secondary to the task at hand, which in the Blue’s mind must be challenged. The Blue will then pepper you with criticism and questions. This onslaught pressures the Green/Red personality to stand firm in the face of conflict. The Blue appears to judge the value of your concerns by your “inability” to fight and win. If overwhelmed with lots of challenges by a Blue, do not take it personally or as a threat. It’s actually a compliment—this is how Blues show interest.

Negotiating Strategies

Be verbally short and concise.

Use “if . . . then” sentences, which are very effective.

Rehearse firmer, more effective responses: “Strategically, the problems I see are . . .” “If you see customer relations as secondary, then how do you propose to deal with account cancellations?”

Speak in theoretical jargon, statistical data, and technical terms. To prove a proposal’s worth, point out several long-term benefits. Use ingenuity, logic, and wit to make your case.

Display competence. Blues force you to be tough-minded and firm; they need to see your competence on display.

Don’t react personally. Blues are hardwired for impersonal critical thinking.

Golds. “He cuts me off when I describe how people will respond, and tells me I’m rambling. I’m trying to make him consider all sides of the equation.” (Green/Red) Assistant VP Will is frustrated with his (Gold/Blue) boss.

You can deal with Gold/Greens. Gold/Blues are another matter. More authoritarian and less patient than you, they view your people-first style as soft. The Green/Red’s style can irritate a Gold by being too stream-of-consciousness and not offering enough concrete evidence and linear processes to show how to achieve the desired ends. Greens listen to all sides; Golds see right and wrong only one way.

Green/Red Extrovert Suzanne M. experienced this predicament with her Gold/Blue accounting colleague, explaining: “I had an invoice for health benefits for a Polish employee in the United States that needed to be paid right away, or the person would have been without coverage. The accountant did not like that I showed up in person and was too bubbly telling the story. He resisted, saying it was the end of the month; we do not have time to focus on one invoice; it was out of the ordinary. But I explained the fact that if it wasn’t done the person would be without coverage, and he handled it. From then on, we had a relationship and I kept going to him.”

Negotiating Strategies

To ease tensions, pepper your sentences with words like “facts,” “tradition,” “respected,” and “proven.” Avoid metaphors and analogies.

Make use of concrete words and concepts to create more of a comfort zone, so you can “talk the talk” with Golds (and Reds). They need grounded, practical, sequential communications.

Commit several low-pressure, self-directed minutes each day to focusing on the vocabulary of investment, costs, time lines, and budgets.

Acknowledge and flatter their superior detail management, especially when they take on some of your detail work.

Extrovert vs. Introvert

If the previous strategies are still missing the mark, you may be dealing with an Introvert. If so:

Respect, don’t challenge, their need to recharge their batteries with privacy—it’s not personal, although it will be difficult for you to understand why they shun interaction and prefer working alone.

Tone down your enthusiasm; listen more.

Invite them to speak, but don’t force them to speak until they’ve thought things through. Do not fill their pauses.

Recognize your coworkers in any of the preceding descriptions? Learn more about them by reading each Color Q personality’s overall chapter and Chapter 25, “Adjusting to the Workplace Styles of Others.”

In summary, Green/Red Extroverts are open-minded and imaginative individuals who plunge enthusiastically into new possibilities. Typically multitalented, you often have several distinct careers as well as many creative endeavors. Charismatic and ingenious, you are less successful in jobs demanding routine and strict compliance to rules. Focusing on facts and details can be very stressful to Green/Reds, who typically have a short attention span and diverse interests. Overall, your key contribution is inspiring others to share your expansive approach to work and life. Maintaining harmonious team spirit is a top priority; but stand firm when conflict first arises. It is critical to honor your desires and draw your lines in the sand.