Published: August 24, 2018
by Rachel Hughes and Elsye Jones
We’ve all taken personality tests that poke at our least desirable habits and reveal things about ourselves that we never wanted to admit, especially not to our coworkers. But here at OC we have found one of those ubiquitous tests pretty darn useful. Every time someone comes on board, whether intern, consultant, or employee, we subject them to the True Colors Personality Test, which categorizes personalities into four groups by color: orange, green, blue, and gold.
What do you mean by “True Colors”?
In a short and sweet manner, here’s the breakdown of each group:
Orange – Spunky, loud, optimistic, risk-takers, people-people
Green – Curious, logical, concise, technical, innovative
Blue – Caring, symbolic, emotional, desire peace
Gold – Rule follower, like structure, closest to “Type A,” traditional, organized, goal oriented
The cool thing about this test is that it doesn’t just place you into one of these four colors, but it ranks your results for each. This way you can see not only your dominant personality traits, but the whole spectrum that makes your who you are.
How Taking the True Colors Personality Test Boosted Our Office Dynamic
I know this might sound like a bunch of useless junk to know about your colleagues, but understanding peoples personalities can help you understand their tendencies as well, how they react in certain situations, and what makes them happy.
For example: Lynn, sweet Lynn, our accounts manager, tends to respond to one-sentence emails with paragraph upon paragraph of explanations and details. Now, not knowing that it’s part of who she is, it might come off as excessive. However, knowing that she is a full-blown blue, bluer than the cookie monster, bluer than a bunch of little robin eggs, even bluer than the blue man group themselves, it is evident that it’s simply her way of showing that she cares about your message and wishes to give you the best and most thoughtful response possible.
Another case: Katie, spunky Katie, our digital manager, is a gleaming orange. She breaks into song, is easily excitable, and has a memorable reaction to everything. Instead of finding these qualities distracting, we now know that it is just how her brain is wired, and we can appreciate her animated qualities and find ways to use those strengths in ways that benefit everyone.
So which colors work well together?
The truth is, any colors can work well together once people understand their differences. The most effective teams are actually those that are diverse. Oranges may think differently than greens, and blues may consider aspects of a situation or problem that gold’s haven’t. We’ve found that our rainbow office makes for great collaboration. An orange risk-taker and a gold rule-follower might organically butt heads, but knowing their differences and labeling them something as simple as a color can help the pair better process and understand each other’s ideas.
Are you ready to see the full spectrum of personalities that inhabit the space around you? Have your office take the personality colors test, and take your dynamic to the next level! The original test can be found here: True Colors Test. There is a PDF version floating around online, but be cautious of imposters. It seems everyone wants to tell you what color defines you, but this one is the real deal, backed with 40 years of proven results in all kinds of situations. We’d love to know what the True Colors Personality Test has to say about you!