I enjoyed last week’s youyou so much I thought I’d try it again today!
One of the first steps you can take when getting a team together is to have everyone take some sort of Meyers-Briggs assessment so you know what kind of communication style they have. I already know my teamwork traits: I’m not super-patient, I have an opinion on everything, and I have a devil of a time sitting still in meetings. I also tend to not care what the outcome is, so long as I get paid.
Sound counterintuitive?
Look at it this way. If no one else has an opinion, I say let’s talk about mine. If someone else has an opinion (and especially if they feel strongly about it), I say Good, let’s talk about that. Saves me the effort of explaining my twisted thought process. This is why whenever I take some sort of teamwork assessment, I always score evenly between “Don’t give a flying monkey ball” (yellow) and “Do it my way; what are you? Stupid?” (red)
Now onto the youyou!
If the other two colors were blue (sensitive to the concerns of others) and green (analytical–wants to understand all sides of the issue and all possible solutions before even thinking about making a decision), which one are you? You can claim fractions, if you want. It’s more fun that way.
Here are some teamwork traits to help you decide (choose as many as apply to you):
- Initiator (R)
- Opinion Giver (R)
- Opinion Seeker (B)
- Clarifier/Elaborator (G)
- Orientor (R)
- Evaluator (G)
- Coordinator (B)
- Consensus Tester (B)
- Devil’s Advocate (G)
- None of the above (Y)
Yellow - Whatever. Is it time to go home?
Green - What are the issues? Let’s talk them again.
Blue - Make sure every side is heard, please! That Yellow guy in the corner hasn’t said anything yet…
Red - Are we still talking about this? Pick one, dammit!
This entry was posted on Friday, March 9th, 2007 at 11:49 am and is filed under On Working. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 9th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I score INTJ (Introverted Intuitive Thinking Judging) on the Myers-Briggs scale. I probably overestimate my introvertedness when I take these tests though, because they always ask if I LIKE large social situation and I don’t particularly, but that doesn’t mean I don’t handle them reasonably well.
On your color scale, I’d say I probably fall between Red and Green. I like to talk stuff through, but I get to the “pick one, damnit” stage before long.
March 9th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I’m blue all the way, and a Libra to boot, natch. I drive my husband crazy, so my job is done.
March 9th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Okay, I am really really tired right now, but I don’t quite get this. As far as I can tell, I’m mean and bitchy and opinionated, and I like being around people who are the same. What does that make me?
March 9th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Someone I’d probably hang out with?
March 9th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Lacey, have a wonderful weekend! Are you in Vegas yet?
I’m yellow and blue and for the Briggs test I came up with Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving.
March 9th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
This explains why red and green are my favorite colors…
Darcy
March 9th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Now why I am gratified to discover Darcy is the same colors as me?
And CM, you definitely sound like someone I’d hang out with.
March 9th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
I am SSOOOOOO glad I’m not working outside the home these days. All that management talk. . . I tend to be the YELLOW — let me out of this meeting and I’ll just get the work done! I hate talking about it, arguing about it, and then discussing it yet again. Sigh.
March 9th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Pam - snicker.
Sometimes I sit in meetings and I wonder what these people are like after work. Management speak is its own language, with visual nuances and all the rest. I am *very* amused when a Big Boss lets loose a few vulgarities, just because it proves they ARE human!
You almost sound Red!
March 9th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I’m purple, I think. I have a strong red tendency, but I try to mix it with blue, especially in groups of people I don’t know.
Now, when the issue at hand is trivial, I’m yellow. Nothing drives me nuttier than an hour-long meeting over what color to paint the bathroom stalls.
Group decision-making drives me bonkers, in general. When I’ve had managers who always throw the decision back on the group, I get annoyed. Aren’t they getting paid to make decisions? It’s like California, where every mother-lovin’ issue gets put on our ballot as an initiative. Why the heck do we even have a legislature? Politically, I’m blue. Waaay blue.
Oh, and Jacqueline - I’m an INTJ too.
March 9th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Myers Briggs has me as INTJ with heavy introversion and judging. Not a huge surprise.
Also called the Mastermind.
On the colors, I tend to go between Green and Red.
March 9th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
I scored ENTJ on the MB test:
* slightly expressed extravert
* moderately expressed intuitive personality
* slightly expressed thinking personality
* moderately expressed judging personality
Looks like everyone else who posted their “score” was INTJ, which is interesting enough in its own right, and also interesting is that the web page said I crossed from introvert to extrovert by 1 point. Hmmm….
March 10th, 2007 at 12:39 am
You know, I’m INFP or INTP depending on the time of month. It’s always very weakly F or T, of course. And no matter what nasty comments the boys might make up, the T is stronger when I’m PMSing. I don’t get emotional; I get speciously logical. Take that!
The I is pretty darned strong, as is the P. N is moderate. And F/T is so weak it’s borderline.
And for everyone else–thanks, I think I’d like to hang out with you, too.
March 10th, 2007 at 4:38 am
I’m Red and Blue, leaning more toward the Red than blue. I’m the one who, in a meeting when we’re being told our raises will now come two months later under ‘new mgmt’ who will be the only one who will say, ‘and how come we’re learning about this change the month before we expect to get this raise?’ My philosophy is work smart not hard. And don’t be a ninny.
March 11th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I’m somewhere between Green and Red, but probably leaning closer to the Red. I hate when decisions take too long. Just decide already! That being said, I’m also usually the one throwing out 101 options for whatever the issue is.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
[...] before, even if it didn’t trip up instant recognition at the first mention. (I even wrote a blog about it a year ago.) Now, I’ve taken other types of assessments at work, as requirements for certain [...]