The chatterbox, the bully and five others: MyDrives colours under pressure

You know them: that one colleague who always seeks connection, another who loves rules, or the one who thinks achieving success is important. And above all, do not forget yourself. In the seven-colour theory of MyDrives every colour has its own strength, but also a pitfall. When someone ends up in it, a caricature of the behaviour appears. Let us dive in deeper. Below you can read, per colour, what happens when heavy pressure sends you overboard and then under.

1. Green: the chatterbox

Colleagues with a predominantly green driver are true meeting enthusiasts. They are continuously looking for mutual harmony, but in their green pitfall they talk even more than usual. They then want to gather even more allies around them. Certainly, they mean well. But the agenda keeps overrunning … and overrunning.

2. Blue: the nitpicker

Colleagues who mainly display the blue driver value structure like no other. But when stress strikes, they go all out on details. At that moment everything has to happen exactly according to the rules and they put every deviation under a magnifying glass. They can then, so to speak, spend hours discussing the colour of the paperclip tray.

3. Orange: the show-off

Colleagues you recognise by their strongly present orange driver are success-oriented and full of ambition. When they fall into their own pitfall, they are mainly preoccupied with themselves. They emphasise their own results, claim personal victories and feel they can do (almost) everything better themselves.

4. Red: the bully

Colleagues with a considerable red driver are decisive and quick. But when they go under from heavy pressure, they display forceful and unsubtle behaviour. They want to push their own way through and prefer to go straight ahead while doing so. Even when a supertanker is sailing across their path.

5. Yellow: the know-it-all

Colleagues who for the most part have a yellow driver enjoy analysing and equally enjoy thinking ahead. When they are stuck in their pitfall, they start floundering and get caught up in answering questions and dispensing criticism. In fact, or worse still: they then know everything better (or so they say) and can even become cynical when nobody follows them.

6. Turquoise: the drifter

Colleagues who mostly match the turquoise driver want to serve the greater whole. Once in their pitfall they drown, because they cannot stop philosophising about any subject whatsoever. They put everything into perspective to such a degree that nobody around them knows what is really important any more. Nor do they themselves.

7. Purple: the grumbler

Colleagues with a defining purple driver love traditions and a sense of security. When they end up in their pitfall, they become extra conservative and suspicious. They then immediately bring in the past, ’everything used to be better’, and block any form of change.

No ’oddballs’

In a way that is as powerful as it is clear, MyDrives shows that the chatterbox, the nitpicker, the show-off and the rest are not ’oddballs’, but that under heavy pressure they can display pitfall behaviour. Or, put differently: every driver makes a valuable contribution to the team, provided the behaviour that goes with it is in balance.

Knowing the colours means recognising yourself and the other person

So the chatterbox can be a wonderful connector, the nitpicker someone who guards quality, and the show-off makes sure successes are achieved. By knowing the seven different colours, you more quickly recognise your own behaviour and that of others. That is the lifebuoy for working together on strengthening your team, instead of drowning in your own pitfall and each other's.