Have you ever spent a sleepless night trying to decide how to get through to someone who just doesn’t seem to “get it?” Do you find yourself saying things like, “I wish we had less whining and more productivity. We spend most of our time dealing with personality conflicts. Why can’t we all just get along?” If so, don’t worry, be happy! Things are starting to change. Many managers are beginning to recognize the importance of creating a personality-sensitive workplace. They are helping employees gain the knowledge and skills required to get along with diverse personalities.

One of my all time favorite cartoons shows a man and a woman standing in an office: The man says to the woman, “We’ve got to focus on diversity. I want you to hire people who all look different, but think just like me.”*

Dealing with diversity requires more than knowing how to work with people of different colors, ethnic backgrounds, and cultures. It requires personality sensitivity — knowing how to “read” and work with diverse personalities to achieve the best possible results. This module introduces the concept of personality sensitivity and gives examples of how personality-sensitivity training can improve performance, satisfaction, and outcomes. It may also give you strategies to deal with some of the “difficult” people in your life.

The personality-sensitive workplace

Let’s begin by defining a personality-sensitive workplace — one in which the entire staff acquires the insights and strategies needed to build positive relationships with diverse personalities. We now are more aware of the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ) and being able to get along with others. We know that interpersonal skills are as important as cognitive skills. We have shifted from the Golden Rule (treat others as you would like to be treated) to the Platinum Rule (treat others as they want to be treated).¹ Applying the Platinum Rule changes your thinking from “this is what I want, so I’ll give everyone the same thing” to “let me first understand what others want so I can give it to them.”

Many organizations have already spent significant amounts of money to facilitate personality-sensitivity training for their managers. For example, some corporations have spent millions training managers worldwide, and many hospitals have hired consultants to train their supervisors. Now, they are beginning to realize that front-line employees — staff nurses, for instance — need this training as much as anyone. Nurses today are expected to be self-directed and accept more accountability for patient outcomes and customer satisfaction. They need the benefits of understanding personality differences. Creating a personality-sensitive workplace means reaching all key people — both managers and staff. Wouldn’t it be great if when faced with a patient, peer, or boss who has a personality that seems to make things difficult, you could reach into your imaginary “strategy hat” and pull out things to ease the load? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone knew how to make the most of people’s talents and relationships while still addressing the problems?

The two main goals of personality-sensitivity training are: to help people gain insight into their own and others’ natural tendencies and to identify positive ways to connect with diverse personalities. Keep these goals in mind as you read on.

What tools are available?

Following pioneer psychologist Carl Jung’s work, more than a few experts developed tools for determining personality types and teaching personality sensitivity. Three commonly used tools are —

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^®2: Based on behavior; uses eight major categories (Extrovert, Introvert, Sensate, Intuitive, Thinking, Feeling, Judging, Perceiving)
• DiSC^®3: Based on behavior; uses four categories (Dominant, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness)
• Hartman’s Color Code^®4: Based on motive, or inner drive; uses four colors to represent main motive (Red — Power, Blue — Intimacy, White — Peace, Yellow — Fun).

My experience teaching personality sensitivity to nurses in critical thinking workshops has consistently shown that Hartman’s Color Code® is the simplest and most powerful tool with that group. For this reason, I’ll use it to demonstrate what happens when diverse personalities learn to interact in positive ways.

Hartman’s Color Code^®

The Color Code^® is based on the belief that each of us is born with an innate core motive, or drive, that’s characterized by strengths and limitations. Using the colors Red, Blue, White, and Yellow to represent four distinct personality types, here’s how Hartman describes each one.⁴

Reds have a drive for power. From a very early age, they are productive individuals who want power because they know how to take charge and make things happen. Reds’ strengths are that they are confident, determined, logical people who have the gifts of vision and focus. However, they can also be bossy, impatient, arrogant, argumentative, and focused on themselves.

Blues are driven to achieve intimacy. They enjoy closeness, have strong feelings, want to get to know people well, and enjoy talking about the daily details of life. Blues are creative, caring, committed, reliable, and sincere. They have the gift of service and quality. On the flip side, they tend to be judgmental, worry prone, doubtful, and moody and often have unrealistic expectations of others.

Whites strive for peace. They are fair, independent, contented individuals who ask little of those around them. Whites are insightful, flexible, easygoing, patient, and kind. Their major gifts are tolerance and clarity of thought. But Whites tend to avoid conflict at all costs and are indecisive and silently stubborn. They may also “explode” because their need for peace causes them to hold things in until there are so many things bothering them that just one more problem pushes them over the edge.

Yellows are driven to have fun. They wake up happy, want to enjoy life in the present moment, and are simply fun to be around. Yellows are outgoing, popular, and trusting. They bring the gifts of optimism and enthusiasm. However, they tend to avoid facing facts and can be impulsive, undisciplined, disorganized, and uncommitted.

While you may decide that you’re a blend of the above colors, Hartman stresses that you’re dominant in only one, which ultimately drives your innate characteristics. Things like upbringing, birth order, culture, and environment influence your strengths and limitations, but they don’t change your core motive. For example, you may be a Yellow with an innate drive for fun, but have been raised by parents who stressed the need for taking control and getting jobs done before having fun (in this case, you’re probably a Yellow with leadership skills — you readily take control and get things done even though your core motive is fun). Take a few minutes to reflect on each of the above colors. Do you relate to any one color more than the others? What about some of the other people in your life? Where do they fit in? Does the above explain some of your successful or problematic relationships? If you don’t connect with any of the above colors and want to know more, you can find resources and take the Color Code^® profile free at http://hartmancommunications.com .

Some people look at Hartman’s personality types and immediately identify a bias that they have against one sort of person or another. Yet, Hartman stresses that there is no good or bad color. All colors are equally good. He also points out that since each person is born a particular color, it’s useless to wish for something different. It would be like wishing for a different IQ. In other words, if you have a bias, get over it. Through in-depth personality-sensitivity training and a commitment to reaching out to diverse human beings, you can move from negative biases to being able to celebrate the gifts and talents of different individuals. To get to this positive, productive “place,” Hartman suggests we each learn to do three things —

1. Strive to understand and embrace each person’s color (including our own), valuing strengths and facing limitations.
2. Acquire strengths that don’t come naturally to us.
3. Identify strategies to make positive connections with the various personalities in our lives.

Let’s take a look at some specific examples of how patients and nurses benefit from being in a personality-sensitive workplace.

How patients benefit

While it’s unrealistic to expect nurses will know their patients’ particular personality types, it’s not that difficult for those who have had training to get a “ball park” idea of what category might be appropriate. For example, if you have someone who appears impatient and directive and generally seems to want to run the show, you might be dealing with a Red. If so, the following are prudent strategies: a) Don’t become upset by what is normal behavior for a Red under stress; b) Focus on efficiency and getting things done, rather than chitchatting; and c) Allow as much control as possible. On the other hand, if you have someone who is jovial and laughing and joking all the time, you might guess that you’re dealing with a Yellow, who values enthusiasm, optimism, and having a good time more than efficiency. You might also guess that you’re going to have to check frequently to be sure this jovial Yellow is getting things done (Yellows tend to need prodding and structure to stay on task). Think about the difference between a Red-type patient and Yellow-type patient and how you might need to change your approach with each one. The efficient, cut-to-the-chase-and-get-things-done approach that works best for Reds may leave sociable, fun-loving Yellows feeling isolated in the midst of people they view as a being a “bunch of stuffed shirts.”

Dealing with families

Color Code^® principles can also help you understand the dynamics within families. For example, I once worked with a widow who was debilitated and receiving home care. She had three sons who often had disputes over managing their mother’s affairs. The youngest, relegated to being the “low man on the decision pole” by birth order, was a Red. The eldest, a Blue, was constantly offended by his younger brother’s efforts to lead and take charge. The third son, a Yellow, was happy to stay out of it, letting the Red and Blue verbally “duke it out.” Although the brothers didn’t work out their differences during the time I cared for their mother, my explanation of the Color Code^® to the mother helped her deal with what was happening among her sons. We even laughed at how true these men were to their core motives. This example illustrates that although you can’t always fix the problems (because all those involved must be willing and schooled in the personality model), you can help people gain insight into the problems. This in itself reduces stress because less time is spent ruminating over questions like “Why is this happening?”

How nurses benefit

Nurses tend to live and work in stressful environments. At home, they’re often in charge of nurturing family members, all with diverse personalities and needs. They must be teachers, counselors, cooks, chauffeurs, and disciplinarians all at once. Then they come to work to deal with patients who are likely to be stressed because of the problems and inconveniences associated with illness and injury. Throw in physicians, colleagues, and other healthcare workers who are stressed because of heavy demands on their time, and you have the perfect formula for a stressful environment. Thankfully, a key component of personality training is learning what to expect and how to respond to personalities when they are under stress. For example, Reds delegate, demand, give orders, get more productive, and cause more stress in others. Blues tend to worry, get depressed, blame themselves first, and then blame others.¹ In the case of stressed Reds, understanding their behavior helps you avoid hard feelings and wasted time trying to fix a problem that’s simply “a tempest in a teapot” — it will soon blow over. In the case of stressed Blues, understanding their commitment to service, yet tendency to worry, you know to reassure them that they’re working as hard as anyone and that you appreciate their efforts.

One nurse educator discovered that the Color Code^® could be beneficial when counseling employees. Rather than saying something like, “You don’t do this,” she found it easier and more helpful to say, “You’re a Blue. I’m trying to help you to acquire some characteristics of the Red personality that will help you do this job.”

Nurses who complete personality-sensitivity training gain an expanded awareness of themselves, their patients, and their colleagues. They begin to make better choices in dealing with the challenges facing themselves and others in relationships. When training with the Color Code^® occurs in a supportive environment with a professional counselor, many people have so much fun that everyone “loosens up” and readily talks about their natural tendencies. The information nurses gain about their interaction style, their practice, and their interpersonal relationships becomes pivotal in managing themselves and others. It can also help them make decisions about their future. For example, a White, who values peace, might choose to work in research rather than take a leadership position that requires confrontation and conflict management.

Link to critical thinking

The link between understanding personal styles and an improved ability to think critically is clear.⁵ People think better when they feel understood, supported, and confident. They focus on finding solutions, rather than on defending or justifying themselves. When I ask my clients the question “What are the three main problems you have related to critical thinking?” a common response to this open-ended question is, “Problems with interpersonal relationships.”

Another important point is that critical thinking today frequently requires collaborative thinking. We need everyone’s brains, talents, and input to achieve the best outcomes in a timely way. By improving interpersonal relationships through personality sensitivity, we can release the power of great minds coming together.

Identifying personality characteristics can also help identify strengths and limitations related to critical thinking. For example, Reds are able to stay focused, Blues bring creativity and high standards to thinking, Whites bring clarity and insight, and Yellows bring enthusiasm (though they have trouble staying focused). When you’re aware of how personality affects thinking, you can identify ways to improve your own (and others’) ability to think critically. For example, if you identify yourself as being a Yellow, you know that you need help staying focused. When choosing projects, you may want to partner with a Red, who will be likely to help you stay on task.

Healthy workplace standards

Three of the six American Association of Critical Care Nurses’ standards for establishing and sustaining healthy work environments — which align directly with the core competencies recommended by the Institute of Medicine — relate to interpersonal skills and personality sensitivity: (1) Skilled Communication — nurses must be as proficient in communication skills as they are in clinical skills, (2) True Collaboration — nurses must be relentless in pursuing and fostering true collaboration, and (3) Effective Decision-Making — nurses must be valued and committed partners in making policy, directing and evaluating clinical care, and leading organizational operations.⁶ Knowing how to understand and work with various personalities is central to communication, collaboration, and effective decision-making that incorporates the perspectives of all the key stakeholders.

What the evidence suggests

As we move toward evidence-based approaches, we can expect to find more information on the importance of understanding the needs of various personalities. For example, researcher Asa Sand found that nurses’ relationships, interactions, and job satisfaction are likely to be influenced by their personalities.⁷ Sand’s study began with a group of 51 female nursing students (mean age 31.8 years) and finished 10 years later with a follow-up of 43 of those nurses. The results suggest that the students that were considered to be the “gems” of nursing (very much like the service-minded, creative Blues of Hartman’s Color Code^®) went on to become nurses who 10 years later had more injuries and long-term illnesses than others. This group also seemed to have difficulties being dominant and asserting their own interests. This study implies that we need to identify nurses with Blue characteristics early, and give them the education, support, and tools they need to learn to deal with today’s stressful clinical setting. Another example is found in a study of burnout and attrition in nursing students by British investigators.⁸ This study suggests that personality factors at course entry contributed significantly to the prediction of burnout and program completion.

What about outcomes?

Personality-sensitivity training aims to help everyone stay focused on results or desired outcomes. Trying to get results by forcing someone who is quite different from you to connect in your own particular way doesn’t work. To get the best results in less time and with more satisfaction, tailor your approach to the other person’s wants and needs, rather than your own. For example, those of you who enjoy teaching patients via gaming might need to ask yourself, “Is there a quicker, more direct way I can teach my Red, get-to-the-point patients?” You might find that simply handing over a pamphlet and returning later to answer questions may be all a self-directed Red wants or needs. On the other hand, keep the gaming for the Yellows. And if you’re thinking about just handing over a pamphlet and getting results with a Yellow, “forget about it.”

The downside

If I were a Yellow, naturally centered on the positives, I might forget to tell you about the downside to personality-type training. But since I’m a White, naturally centered on fairness and seeing both sides, here’s what can go wrong: Facilitating personality sensitivity can be a challenge, and it’s a good idea to be prepared for any issues that may arise. One problem facilitators encounter, no matter what tool they’re using, is that some individuals resist the idea of personality typing because they feel it’s “placing people in boxes.” It helps to explain that even though certain commonalities characterize each of the types, each person is still unique because of influences such as upbringing, culture, gender, birth order, brain differences, and past experience. It’s also good to point out that even if they don’t like the idea of categorizing personalities, they can still benefit from the discussion on the importance of changing approaches depending on certain personality characteristics (most will agree that one approach doesn’t fit all).

Another downside is that occasionally some people want to become amateur psychologists, trying to be testers and counselors without the required knowledge, skills, and experience. For this reason, the use of personality typing needs to be in the hands of qualified people who are connected with human resource departments.

You can also have problems with people who want to be a certain type and try to respond to profile questions in ways that will reflect who they want to be, rather than who they are. It’s important to push people to be honest with themselves, stressing that no one type is better than another.

Two issues arise with the Color Code^®. First, some people ask, “Aren’t you worried that some people think the colors represent race?” (I make a statement about this early — something like, “These colors do not represent race. You can be any race, and still be a Red, White, Yellow, or Blue.”) Second, some people find the tool so simple that they think it must be “hokey.” However, if you encourage them to read Hartman’s book, they’ll see that the theory makes sense. Hartman, a psychologist, therapist, and leadership coach, is well-qualified and gives solid rationale. The other thing I do to overcome concerns that the Color Code^® is too simple is to explain that the simplicity of the tool is one of the reasons it does work. More complex doesn’t mean better. The four-color approach works because the colors act as memory hooks that help you to readily call forth a complex cluster of characteristics.

How to facilitate training

If you’re thinking about facilitating training in your workplace, I recommend a few things: Keep the advantages of having an outside, objective, experienced facilitator in mind. Shop around. Interview a few facilitators, and find out what tools they use. Ask for their qualifications and get references. Choose someone that “feels right” for your particular group (choosing the right facilitator is as important as choosing the right tool). Stay focused on your budget, but remember, cheaper isn’t always better (and vice versa, of course). Spend time together with the facilitator to come up with a mutual plan. Your input is crucial because you are the one who knows your group the best.

Harmonizing diversity to improve outcomes, performance, and satisfaction entails more than understanding different ethnic and cultural groups. It requires understanding different personalities and knowing how to establish relationships with people who are different from you. Personality-sensitivity training can give you the strategies you need to simplify your life and bring out the best in others. But remember: Human relationships are complicated. If you get unexpected behavior, analyze the situation carefully. Your initial interpretations may be wrong, or there may be stress that temporarily changes the person’s response (for example, a Blue might act like a Red). “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is an important motto in improving people-to-people relationships. It has been said the best teacher leaves you wanting to know more. My hope is that you do want to know more. Check out the references, talk with your peers, contact some experts, and most of all, take this tip from “all the colors”: Create a vision (Reds), share what you learn (Blues), be kind (Whites), and have fun (Yellows).

EDITOR’S NOTE: For another article by this author, see CE 168, “Improving Your Ability to Think Critically,” at http://www.nurse.com/ce/CE168.