1. True Colors – Know yourself Know your team
Increasing your understanding of one another, appreciating differences and ultimately becoming a higher functioning team. …
Russ Facione Principal
Bingham Farms Elementary School
Birmingham Public Schools
Royal Oak High School
November 2012

2. Today’s Agenda Personal Note- Who is this guy?? Goal of Today-
True Colors – What is it, how can it help?
A little about who we are, how others understand us and how we understand others..
A Framework for Approaching new challenges as a highly effective team.

3. A little about me… Personal Note- Who is this guy??
Russ Facione- Born and raised in Metro Detroit.
Wayne High, Western Michigan
Taught in Wayne Westland, then Birmingham
Administrator for past 12 years.
Married for 17 years, 4 Daughters.
Softball Coach, Parrothead,
“Drama Dad”, Camping.

4. Connector- Start every meeting with one (that’s related to goal)
*Pick your Sports Friends:
* Pick a “Tigers Friend” and a “Lions Friend”
Since our goal is building trust and increasing our understanding of one another, our connector is:
Time to find a Friend :
Do you need connector ideas with your team meetings?
Question #1 “Who would play you in the movie about your life?” Discuss with your Tigers Friend
Question #2
“What songs/CD/I-pod List is in your car right now” Discuss with your Lions Friend

5. Our /my group norms You are in charge of yourself and your needs.
Be an Active participant today.
Keep an open mind to items discussed.
Multi-tasking is an individual preference.
Anything that comes up but not be tied directly to this goes in Parking Lot to be covered at the end.
We will maintain our schedule and agenda
Everything you see here and more is on my wiki at

6. 1st Step- Staff Relationships = Communication & Trust
TRUST & Effective Communication
These are the KEY!
So, then…..how can we grow our mutual collective trust? That is today’s GOAL!

7. Trust = Open and Honest Communication
When in a time of change there needs to be a feeling or mutual “we’re-in-this-together”
You can achieve this by:
Knowing yourself as a teacher leader
Know the OTHERS you work with to problem solve
Know those in your class as well.
That is where our journey begins….

8. Know the people in your neighborhood
Mr. Rogers had it right… you need to know who you are in the trenches with, building the mutual trust works only when you look inside yourself.
Won’t you be my neighbor?

9. Know the people in your neighborhood
What can you do?
My favorite example is TRUE COLORS.
Book is Showing Our True Colors, Mary Miscsin.
TC based on Lowry’s work on personality analysis.
What is it, how do you do it, and what do you do with the results?
Fill out a quick sheet which has you match up trios of words that best describe how you would most naturally approach something…

10. Why True Colors?? Need to know each other to work together;
To understand ourselves,
How we seem to others and
How they seem to us;
GOLD, BLUE, GREEN, ORANGE

11. TRUE COLORS
When you know what your core values are, you can perform at your highest level – and when you understand others, you have the basis to communicate and achieve common goals.
Four COLORS-
GOLD, BLUE, GREEN, ORANGE
How do I determine my color spectrum? Dominant Color to a lowest color?
You could have a pair--- you could have a more even spread, or one slam dunk dominant.

12. Questionnaire Directions:
Let’s find out our Colors!!
Questionnaire Directions:
1. Read each trio of words across
4 = Word list that most describes you to
1 = Word list that least describes;
You will have five rows filled out, with 1234 in different sequences reading across.

13. 2 3 4 1 = Active Opportunistic Spontaneous Parental Traditional
Responsible 3
Authentic
Harmonious
Compassionate 4
Versatile
Inventive
Competent 1
Competitive
Impetuous
Impactful
Practical
Sensible
Dependable
Unique
Empathetic
Communicative
Curious
Conceptual
Knowledgeable
Realistic
Open-Minded
Adventuresome
Loyal
Conservative
Organized
Devoted
Warm
Poetic
Theoretical
Seeking
Ingenious
Daring
Impulsive
Fun
Concerned
Procedural
Cooperative
Tender
Inspirational
Dramatic
Determined
Complex
Composed
Exciting
Courageous
Skillful
Orderly
Conventional
Caring
Vivacious
Affectionate
Sympathetic
Philosophical
Principled
Rational =

14. Questionnaire Directions:
2. Then, take the four color sheets on the table, look at the picture on the front and the description on the back, see which one fits you best and rank them left to right:
Orange Card, Gold Card, Blue Card, Green Card Label Under Notes left to right Orange, Gold, Blue, Green

15. Card ranks go here ORANGE BLUE GREEN GOLD = Active Opportunistic
Spontaneous
Parental
Traditional
Responsible
Authentic
Harmonious
Compassionate
Versatile
Inventive
Competent
Competitive
Impetuous
Impactful
Practical
Sensible
Dependable
Unique
Empathetic
Communicative
Curious
Conceptual
Knowledgeable
Realistic
Open-Minded
Adventuresome
Loyal
Conservative
Organized
Devoted
Warm
Poetic
Theoretical
Seeking
Ingenious
Daring
Impulsive
Fun
Concerned
Procedural
Cooperative
Tender
Inspirational
Dramatic
Determined
Complex
Composed
Exciting
Courageous
Skillful
Orderly
Conventional
Caring
Vivacious
Affectionate
Sympathetic
Philosophical
Principled
Rational =
ORANGE
BLUE
GREEN
GOLD
Card ranks go here

16. Questionnaire Directions:
3. Now we will add each column going down…
MAX is 24 for any one area—MIN is 6
Fill out your four color spectrum:
Highest to lowest with totals;

17. Total up all to get four number spectrum
Active
Opportunistic
Spontaneous 2
Parental
Traditional
Responsible 3
Authentic
Harmonious
Compassionate 4
Versatile
Inventive
Competent 1
Competitive
Impetuous
Impactful
Practical
Sensible
Dependable
Unique
Empathetic
Communicative
Curious
Conceptual
Knowledgeable
Realistic
Open-Minded
Adventuresome
Loyal
Conservative
Organized
Devoted
Warm
Poetic
Theoretical
Seeking
Ingenious
Daring
Impulsive
Fun
Concerned
Procedural
Cooperative
Tender
Inspirational
Dramatic
Determined
Complex
Composed
Exciting
Courageous
Skillful
Orderly
Conventional
Caring
Vivacious
Affectionate
Sympathetic
Philosophical
Principled
Rational = 8 18 22 12
GREEN
ORANGE
GOLD
BLUE
Total up all to get four number spectrum

18. Your 4 Colors- A Little more….
Primary Color What does it tell you?
This indicates what you are MOST comfortable doing.
Sometimes people order their cards in order of what they MUST do instead of what they PREFER to do.
Example of the Ele School Principal who THOUGHT she was a GOLD but was really an ORANGE.

19. Your 4 Colors- A Little more….
Second Color - Quite important, often forgotten
It has a major influence on your first.
If you are introverted, it may be hard to tell which is 1 and which is 2.
The first one may be processing things while the 2nd color is what the outside world sees…so take that into consideration if you are confused about yourself or others. (Ex: Myself GREEN & ORANGE)

20. Your 4 Colors- A Little more….
Third Color - May come in handy.
If the first color is very dominant the 2nd and 3rd will be closely related to each other.
Fourth Color - Significant, too.
Your least natural soooo:
You may admire them in others.
You may conflict with them the most (esp. in others)
This lack of understanding results in us criticizing instead of appreciating.
We often tend to condemn what we’ve haven’t experienced or what we lack most in.

21. Your 4 Colors- Four, not One…
It’s important to remember we have ALL 4 colors.
Some have the rare Rainbow- All 4 spread evenly.
HOW?
Lots of life experiences that leads to a balanced temperament.
They’ve intentionally worked at lesser colors over years.
Also, they may be in a transition period in their life trying to figure themselves out.
Maybe they’ve seldom had a chance to BE themselves and can’t remember what comes naturally.
They are really a green and over-analyze things.
Most of all, you are born with one temperament stronger than others it’s just a matter of finding it.

22. Blues Golds Greens Oranges Time to Share !! Famous Folks in your color
Your characteristics
Your strengths
Others may see you as:
Time to Share !!

23. GREEN- Logical Frame Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, 30+ Presidents
Characteristics-
Problem Solver, “Why” Mentality, Very Complex,
Standard Setter, Cool Calm Collected,
Work = Play, Play = Work, Intellectual
Competence Driven, Analytical, Global,
Visionary Relationships through Logic
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs,
30+ Presidents

24. GREEN- Logical Frame Organizational Strengths-
Analyzing, Conceptualizing, Designing,
Developing, Diagnosing, Intellectualizing,
Inventing, Mapping out, Problem Solving,
Reasoning, Researching, Thinking

25. GREEN- Logical Frame Others may see you as:
Intellectual Snob, Arrogant, Heartless,
Unrealistic, Eccentric / Weird, Unfeeling,
Anti-Social, Cool, Aloof, Sarcastic,
Critical, Lacking Mercy, Unappreciative

26. BLUE- Empathy & Relationships Frame
Characteristics-
Caretaker, optimistic, Passionate,
Dramatic, Enthusiastic, Imaginative,
Cause Oriented, True Romantic, Unique,
Cooperative over Competition, Spirituality,
People Oriented, Peacemaker
Robin Williams -Dead Poets’ Society

27. BLUE- Emotional Frame Strengths:
Accepting, Communicating, Cooperating,
Counseling, Creating, Guiding, Imagining,
Intuition, Leading, Listening, Mentoring,
Motivating, Recruiting, Speaking, Supporting,
Teach, Tolerate,

28. BLUE- Emotional Frame Others may see you as:
Mushy, Over Emotional, Other-Worldly,
Smothering, Unrealistic, Wishy-Washy,
Bleeding Heart, Nosy, Talkative,
Groveling, Manipulative,

29. Orange- Freedom Frame Winnie the Pooh (Intraverted)
Characteristics-
Energetic, Desires Change, Playful, Master Negotiator,
Natural Entertainer, Pushes Boundaries, “Just Do It”
Accepts Challenges, Impulsive, Spontaneous,
Immediate Feedback, Self Confident, Unstructured
Winnie the Pooh (Intraverted)
Tigger (Extraverted)

30. Orange-Freedom & Flexibility
Strengths:
Take Charge Ability, Care Free, Dealing w/ Chaos,
Determination, Multi-task, Flexible, Hands-on,
Negotiating, Direct Communication, Risk-Taking,
Trouble Shooting, Welcome New Ideas

31. Orange-Freedom & Flexibility
Others may see you as:
Rude, Irresponsible, Not Serious, Selfish
Self Centered, Ignoring the Rules,
Manipulative, Impatient, Flaky
Easily Distracted, Unprepared, Flirtatious,
Taking Advantage of Others

32. Gold- Loyalty & Responsibility
Characteristics-
Prepared, Loves to Plan, Details Oriented,
Punctual, Strong Sense of Duty
Policies, Family Values, Traditions, Conservative
Stable, Well Organized, Strong Right & Wrong
Comfort with Structured Environment
General Patton

33. Gold-Loyalty & Responsibility
Strengths-
Accounting, Belonging, Caretaking,
Collecting Data, Contributing, Coordinating,
Dispatching, Family, Follow Directions, Guarding,
Handling Details, Organizing, Planning Ahead,
Securing, Supervising

34. Gold-Loyalty & Responsibility
Others may see you as:
Rigid, Restricted, Stubborn, Boring,
Self Righteous, System-Bound, Unimaginative,
Judgmental, Bossy, Uptight,
Rigid Idea of Time, Married to Task

35. What we all need! When working together, be cognizant of needs…
Oranges Need- Action, Activity, Freedom, Flexibility, Variety, Fun & Play
Blues Need- Acceptance, Harmony, Expression, Meaning, Understanding, Contribute, Validation
Greens Need- Intellectual Stimulation, Time to Ponder, Information, Objectivity, to Question
Golds Need- Consistency, Reliability, Structure, Timelines, Clarity, Closure, Respect, Rules

36. Trivia Question- Why use it with staff. Here’s a good one
Trivia Question- Why use it with staff? Here’s a good one. What about kids and teachers?
Student Population vs. K-12 Educators
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Kids Staff
Blue _____ % ______ %
Orange _____ % ______ %
Green _____ % ______ %
Gold _____ % ______ %
* Important reminder- a person’s full color spectrum doesn’t take hold around yrs. *

37. What about kids and teachers?
General Student Population vs. K-12 Educators ANSWER KEY- FOR TYPICAL SCHOOL Kids Staff
Blue 38 % 20 %
Orange 38 % 5%
Green 12% 5 %
Gold 12 % 70 %
38 % OF KIDS ARE ORANGE WHILE 70% OF STAFF ARE GOLD- THEY ARE OPPOSITE

38. What to do with this info…
At my school we have stickers on our mailboxes to subtly remind us.
You could have a TC Spirit Day, staff wear their “color”.
Make it a part of your building conversation.
Celebrate your differences!
Be open about working on your lowest.
Stickers on mailboxes for instance, leads to a more open appreciation.
Make it a risk-free part of the culture.

39. A moment to recap, reflect and reconnect..
What can you do to enhance the relationships you have with those you work with or lead?
How could you use this True Colors information to help with that?
Find your TIGERS Friend- Promise- Name 2 changes you will make with your team this school year in regards to colors.
Then monitor it and check in with yourself by December break.

40. Colors & Your Meeting
Now that you’ve connected, you’ve laughed you’ve deepened relationships…
Meaningful Meetings with COLORS:
Have an agenda, goal, and norms
(GOLDS need this)
Have an opportunity to talk, share & connect
(BLUES need this)
Have flexibility built in, activity, variety
(ORANGES need this)
Have research, articles, process time
(GREENS need this)

41. Let’s go to the Parking Lot…
You must address parking lot concerns at the end of all meetings. Remember especially your BLUES need that validation and open communication.
So what’s in our Parking Lot.

42. Final reminders This is all available on my Wiki-
Please contact me and I’d be happy to help.
Russ Facione- Principal Bingham Farms Elementary School
Office