Drive and Determination: How Reds Run The Show
Welcome back! Today, we'll be focusing on the competitors, Reds.
If you're catching up, you can take the personality test here, and you can read up on our overview here.
Without further delay: Reds!
Identifying Reds
Reds are competitive, driven, focused, results-oriented, and independent. Reds love to be challenged, to overcome challenges, and to be the best at what they do.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Reds perform well under pressure, embrace challenges, and are strong self motivators. They won't accept anything less than the best results, and will go the extra mile to ensure that their work is the highest quality possible. Reds love to take the lead and will often take on leadership roles naturally, directing the team and passing on their drive to be the best. A Red leading a team, with the intention to smash the competition, is a formidable presence in any organization!
The desire for a Red to win at all costs can be their weakness. They can have the tendency to lose sight of details, such as the needs of their team, because of their focus on the end goal. They are driven and results-oriented, which means they often overlook process in favor of results. If left unchecked, their competitiveness can lead to tensions building within the team. Effective Reds will remember that to meet success, they need to succeed with their team, and not just meet their own goals.
How Reds Fit Into The Team
Reds love to lead, and they do make for natural leaders. Their desire for excellence can push their team to perform at their best. They also thrive under pressure, and when they are committed to a course, they stay committed and see it out to the end.
Reds can struggle to find their role when they are not leading a team. They tend to buck authority and question direction, especially if they feel their own methods are superior to the methods of their leader. Leaders working with Reds who struggle to take direction can overcome this obstacle by challenging them to work within the structure, and succeed according to their model, rather than trying to find short cuts. Reds can benefit from staying in a structure by using that structure to push their own boundaries and get out of their comfort zone, where they thrive.
How Reds Are Motivated
More than any other color, Reds are money motivated! They appreciate owning the best of everything, and status symbols often appeal to them. Financial rewards, the promise of promotion, and performance bonuses are great ways to motivate reds. Of course, appealing to their competitive spirit works wonders as well. Reds will commit to winning company contests, or working with their teams to beat your organization's competition. Reds want to be the strongest, most efficient performers in your organization. Provide them with a clear path to get there and their own personal drive will do the rest.
How Reds Lead Teams
Reds love to lead, and their tendency to take charge will often result in them becoming default team leaders when a team needs direction. They expect the best from themselves, and will often expect the same of their team. You can count on a Red team leader to push their team's performance and go hard against the competition.
Red leaders can sometimes find it difficult to motivate others who are not as inspired by competition and winning as they are. It's important for Reds to tap into their empathy and understand the motivations of their team, so that everyone can be as effective as possible and increase the team's chances of meeting with success. Red's are often a "contagious" color as well, and they definitely have the ability to infuse their competitive spirit into other people. As a Red leader, if you can balance your drive with your empathy, you can make your team even more effective, and more likely to be the best they can be!
I knew exactly who I wanted to interview to hear from a successful Red on our team: Jacob Rosenbaum, City Coordinator of San Francisco. Jacob is a go-getter, first and foremost. Outside of the office, he pushes himself hard in his Jiu-Jitsu dojo, and in the field, he hustles even harder! I asked Jacob for his thoughts on being a successful Red, both as a fundraiser, and a leader. Let's hear it from him:
1. What Red characteristics are strongest in you?
I'm super competitive! I'm mostly competitive with myself. Every day, I want to do better than I did the day before. When I see someone else beating me, it drives me to push myself, and go as hard as I can. I definitely love earning a great salary, and I enjoy the rush of responsibility, and being in charge.
2. How does it affect the way you're motivated?
I love being in a leading role, and that motivated me to climb our ladder, and lead my own team. I love leaders, the important people in my life have always been leaders, and I wanted to get there myself. It's been an amazing experience, leading here at DialogueDirect, because as a Red, you get the chance to compete with yourself, test yourself against your colleagues, and that's pushed me to get better and better.
3. How does being Red affect the way you lead?
I try to be balanced with my leadership. I understand that not everyone is motivated the same way I am, so I try to motivate all the colors: you can call it "rainbow motivation." I try to not let my Red take the reins entirely, and let myself see motivation from the perspective of my team. I think good leaders are in touch with what their teams need, and they adjust their leadership to that. I do naturally infuse some Red into my team, encouraging them to earn a great living and push themselves to be the best, but I always respond to what my team needs. Ultimately, I trust my team to communicate what they need, and I trust myself to provide that.
4. What's your second strongest color?
Yellow, definitely. I love to win, but I'm a softie too.
5. Any advice for being successful for other Reds?
First, allow your inner beast to come out! Maybe not at first: when you're in training, be aware of what your trainer needs from you, so keep it in check and focus on the person in front of you. But when you're leading, let it out, lead by example, let your Red flourish and burn hot, but then also be sensitive to the needs of your team. Tap into that competitiveness and let it drive you forward. Don't lose that drive when you keep moving up, contain and focus that Red energy. Be in control of your Red, don't let it control you.
Thank you Jacob!
Jacob is always looking for strong competitors to join his team. If you love a challenge, love pushing yourself, and you think you've got what it takes to keep up with a top notch team, you can follow our San Francisco careers here: Careers.
We'll be back in just a few days with our post on Blues.