I was facilitating Color Code workshops in a large organization that had tens of thousands of employees and around 3,000 leaders at various levels. This organization had well over 100 locations and depended on Location Leaders to be in charge of each of those locations.  Location Leaders had hundreds of employees under their purview. They were compensated well, and they carried a massive basket of expectations put upon them by the organization. 

The organization worked hard to build a pipeline of lower-level leaders to fill these ranks as spots opened up, and over time, a common thread appeared—the candidates often hired into the Location Leader roles were almost always Red/Blue. (For the purposes of this article, primary Red/secondary Blue will be treated the same as primary Blue/secondary Red). 

I was in a position that allowed me to observe the selection and development process up close. It became clear that what made the Red/Blue type attractive to the organization for the Location Leader role is that they wanted to take charge and be in charge of all aspects of the business.  These were massive locations, so that made sense. The Red/Blue knew how to inspire an understanding of the high-level vision and mission of the organization (Red trait), but they were also adept at breaking the work down into regimented systems and processes to ensure efficiency in production (a Blue trait).  They could quickly make far-reaching decisions, (a Red trait) but also take the time to analyze complicated business problems and find errors and problematic procedural weaknesses (Blue). They knew how to get things done fast, (Red) and they demanded accuracy and quality (Blue). These leaders wanted to be in charge of the direction the location went as a whole, (Red) and they wanted to be involved with all the little details (Blue). To the organization, the Red/Blue was an ideal steward—they were both visionary and detail-oriented, and they naturally wanted to drive both those efforts.

Many of the Red/Blue leaders found great success, but also, many did not. 

Of those who struggled, their expectations of their employees weren’t just high, they were unrealistic. With just a little bit of examination into the Red and Blue traits, we can see that a Red/Blue leader may inadvertently demand too much of their employees from conflicting objectives. For example, if an employee got the job done quickly, they might be criticized for missing important details, but if they got the job done with great detail and accuracy, they could be criticized for going too slow. Similar conflicting objectives often arose around the desire to follow policy, but be flexible to the employee’s individual circumstances, or possibly asking for quantity of production one day, then expecting quality of production the next.

The Red/Blue Location Leaders who were successful worked hard at self-awareness and learned how to avoid being unrealistic. They learned how to rely on both their Red and Blue strengths, while mitigating the weaknesses. They often spoke of having balance in their expectations and proactively reducing stress and tension in the workplace, as they knew they could often be the source of the stress. 

The two things that the most successful Red/Blue leaders did that made the biggest difference were: 1) They listened first, and they listened patiently (mitigates the Red limitation), and 2) They allowed others to have their own opinions without heavy criticism (mitigates the Blue limitation).

If you’re a Red/Blue type who is in a leadership role, learn from the teachings of Color Code; they can make or break you. Start with the two communication skills of listening openly and actively and giving others the freedom to express their feelings and beliefs without heavy-handed criticism. Then, focus on balance.  It’s ok to expect speed and accuracy, but mind the degree of expectation; keep it realistic and carefully increase your expectations over time.  Knowing when and how to adhere to policy and when to bend the rules is a difficult skill to master and should be mentored—seek out your mentor for this (and of course partner with HR on policy matters).  

Red/Blue leaders who choose to follow these strategies and the teachings of Color Code will find that the reaction they get from their employees and the production they get from their teams could reach break-through levels. Be a Red/Blue leader who diligently works toward self-awareness and balance.

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Derek Pangelinan is the owner of Derek Rey Consulting, a workplace-culture and leadership development company. He has been teaching Color Code for nine years and has taught teams in large and small organizations, for-profit and nonprofit, and has used it as a coaching tool. You can reach out to Derek at his business email address: Derek@DerekReyConsulting.com