What do the four types in Personality Dimensions® represent?
Jan 27, 22・by Yen Ng・8mins read・🌐 中文
Note: If you have not taken or are about to take a Personality Dimensions® assessment, we strongly recommend that you read this article after your Personality Dimensions® assessment. Because after an understanding of the four personality types, there is an opportunity to influence your choices in the assessment, and thus the assessment results.
If you want to learn more about Personality Dimensions® and its workshops first, you can click the button below to learn more.
Personality Dimensions® (PD) is a self-discovery tool launched in 2003 by Canada’s Career/LifeSkills Resources (CLSR).
Four personality types
The philosophy of Personality Dimensions® holds that people are born with four distinct personality systems. These four personality systems drive us to behave differently when exploring self-esteem. Personality Dimensions® is divided into four personalities, each with its own colour, symbol and short descriptor. The four personality types include:
Inquiring Green,
Organised Gold,
Resourceful Orange, and
Authentic Blue.
Everyone contains these four personality traits. Usually, we tend to one or two colours, this is called the "dominant colour". Expressing the dominant colour personality makes us feel most comfortable and at ease, as if we were writing with the hand that we are used to writing. The purpose of understanding personality types is not to "categorise" people into fixed types, but to help people understand and appreciate their own and others' personality traits.
Below we introduce the four personalities in their purest form, meaning they are not influenced by other colours.
Inquiring Green
Represented by a question mark, the Inquiring Green people are naturally full of curiosity, and their main purpose in life are to acquire knowledge, ability and autonomy. They have a strong thirst for knowledge, often exploring "why?" and wanting a logical answer to everything.
Inquiring Green tend to think in the big picture or holistically, and therefore these people tend to be visionary and innovative. They are good at analysing things and understanding abstract theories and concepts, so they can also see important details of things. Inquiring Green need to be successful, be efficient and think about accomplishing something all the time. They see themselves as major competitors and are constantly striving to improve themselves.
Inquiring Green rarely express their feelings in words, but they are deeply felt people. They don’t feel the need to say things like "I love you" to their partner, because they feel that choosing to live with this person is the best proof.
In the workplace, Inquiring Green are good strategists, because they act logically and focus on efficiency, and they are good at getting projects done in the best way possible. However, they may feel stressed or frustrated if they encounter concepts they cannot understand, or if they don’t have enough information to draw conclusions about the problem.
Organised Gold
The representative symbol of the Organised Gold is the tick. Organised Gold pay attention to details and the main purpose of their life are a sense of belonging. They value family, tradition and social awareness, they are loyal to friendships and relationships, and they are happy to serve the groups to which they belong.
Organised Gold people are full of responsibility and pursuit of objective facts. They focus on the present, value quality and efficiency, and want to ensure work is done properly and on time. They are good at developing policies and procedures and like to do things by rules. They believe rules, procedures and timetables are necessary to help people succeed or feel safe.
Organised Gold people seek security and stability, so they don't like to change jobs or move houses for no reason. They also tend to seek security through financial stability, so they are usually good at managing money. They are cautious consumers and investors.
At work, Organised Gold people are excellent organisers and planners who are specific, work-oriented and detail-oriented. They respect the system and have a deep respect for those in power. However, when faced with leaders who lack leadership, projects that lack organization and planning, or they are ostracized by teammates, Organised Gold will feel frustrated and uneasy.
Resourceful Orange
Resourceful Orange like thrill and pursuit of excitement, and they are most attracted to things that surprise them, so their symbol is the exclamation point. Resourceful Orange need freedom, they need the freedom to make choices and do things their own way. They like to live in the moment and do things for fun. Making an impact and achieving results are important to them.
Resourceful Orange are good at observing, analysing, deciding and taking action in an instant. They are also good at adapting to changes. They use their skills, imagination, and resources at hand to quickly deal with crises, identify and seize opportunities.
Resourceful Orange people need variety and tend to multitask quickly, so long, restrictive environments and repetitive tasks can make them tedious and difficult to focus. Resourceful Orange are generally optimistic and easy to get along with, and they usually have a large group of friends who share their hobbies.
In the workplace, Resourceful Orange are doers and strategists. They are versatile, practical, fast and flexible, and they are good at adapting to different environments and situations. Resourceful Orange people are often considered energetic people because they want to be busy all the time. They get frustrated if they encounter slow-moving people.
Authentic Blue
Two connected hands represent Authentic Blue. Authentic Blue seek meaning in life, so they focus on personal growth. Authentic Blue need meaningful relationships with others; they like harmony, balance, and cooperation.
Authentic Blue are usually people-oriented, have a keen sense of people, feelings and what's happening around them, and love helping others. They are adept at inspiring and motivating others to reach their full potential and are often quick to offer support, encouragement and praise.
Authentic Blue desire to be honest with themselves and others, and are surprised by anyone being dishonest. They are not very interested in social status, but they need acceptance from others. They get stressed for not being able to show who they are. They are compassionate, enthusiastic and good at communicating with people.
In the workplace, Authentic Blue is a motivator. Regardless of their position, they bring an element of empathy to the workplace. However, if they feel they are being oppressed, they tend to suffer in silence to maintain overall harmony.
Summary
Personality Dimensions® not only gives you a better understanding of your own personality, but it also helps you understand the personality traits of others, so you can get along better with others and build better relationships. For example: if you are an Inquiring Green and need to work with a colleague who is Authentic Blue, you need to be gentle when expressing your opinion. On the other hand, you can complement your logical thinking by seeking out your Authentic Blue colleague to give you some human-centred advice. If you are a Resourceful Orange person and need to work with an Organised Gold colleague, he/she will get the job done methodically and meticulously, but perhaps not as quickly as you might think. Each personality has its strengths and weaknesses. Appreciating the strengths of each individual and embracing the differences of others can help us leverage the strengths and uniqueness of our team and work better together.
