At Seven Institute, we are not just an Insights Discovery licensed practitioner and distributer, we are fans. We really enjoy delivering our foundational workshops to an audience with limited or no previous exposure to the model. The accuracy of the individual profile shocks a lot of delegates when they see it for the first time. The look of disbelief on their faces and some of the comments, such as “have you been following me?” or “have you had hidden cameras in my house?” have always confirmed our initial thoughts that we are using a tool which can really impact upon people and bring great self-awareness. Seven Institute MD, Paul Rhodes, was first exposed to Insights Discovery as a one-hour module on a leadership programme that he delivered to 500 managers of a large UK-based engineering firm. Each manager completed the 25 question evaluator which produced a profile that included a management chapter. In spite of only touching the surface over one hour, delegates consistently said that this module was the highlight of their two days. We were sold on the model then and have been a fan ever since. Giving employees this base understanding of the theory is a great foundation, but the real return on investment starts to happen when delegates find practical ways of transferring the knowledge into their roles.

The companies that get the most out of Insights Discovery are those that embrace it in their day-to-day operations. They find ways to transfer the theory into a live working environment. For example, the NHS recognised that Fiery Red Doctors who were leading shifts were breaking a lot of the unspoken communication rules that are in place to get the best out of their nurses, who in general lead with an Earth Green energy. The nurses felt like they were not included or listened to which they took personally and this placed a lot of stress on them in an already demanding environment. This was resulting in a sickness rate of 40%, often connected with work-related stress. By understanding and practically transferring Insights Discovery to their environment, they were able to use the tool to help reduce this sickness rate to only 3%. This reduction is a massive ROI and highlights the kind of results that can be achieved.

There are many different ways of implementing these kinds of changes into your workplace. We have recently been analysing the kinds of training requests we have received over the last few years and some of the repeat requests have been for leadership and management, team effectiveness, and how to get employees to improve their ability to communicate with customers, clients, and internal colleagues. The ability to recognise and understand individual differences, and then adapt our style to the receiver, plays an important role in all of these areas. In business, and in our personal lives, we all have the need to influence others; the team we run, the people we collaborate with, the people we offer services to. One way to look at this is to imagine we are all salespeople, selling a product, a service, or just an idea. The Insights website highlights that 62% of customers will stop using your company if they receive poor customer service. Similarly, you might have heard of the saying ‘people don’t leave a company; they leave their manager’. I say similarly because employees leaving a company and customers that stop using a company have something in common: both are unhappy about the relationship. We don’t use Insights Discovery as a direct sales training tool, we are in the business of personal development, but, by helping employees become more aware of their actions and how these actions impact those around them, they will be able to build better relationships, identify the real needs, and offer effective solutions. We are great believers in the motto ‘better people make better employees’.

The more your employees improve their awareness of individual preference sets, the better equipped they will be to help your company become high performing. One of the profile chapters that Insights Discovery offers is ‘Sales Effectiveness’. This chapter looks at a classic sales cycle and helps employees understand their personal style and approach to each stage. We often see this ‘sales cycle’ as something that a company would use to sell something, which is true, but it can be used in any situation where we need to provide effective solutions and build effective relationships. We use this six step cycle to help employees improve their ability to influence those around them.

While this is a classic sales cycle, it’s important to understand that we are using this cycle every day. Understanding individual preferences, based on the Insights Discovery model, will help us consider the process from a variety of viewpoints, considering when we may have to draw on certain energy colours. For example, when we are proposing a solution, it might pay to draw on a Sunshine Yellow energy like Enthusiasm, or, when we want to gain commitment, we could display that we have taken action to minimise any risk, which will naturally appeal to those that lead with Cool Blue energy.

Earth Green

Be nice

Make them feel helpful

Show that you care

Be considerate

Re-assure

Explain reasons + outcome

Don’t talk down to us

Be calm

Be aware of overloading

Listen

Emotive language

Be aware of “the Hulk”

In our workshops, we run a practical exercise to help delegates understand influence from a specific colour energy perspective. We create four groups based on what colour energy people lead with and then ask the group to prepare a presentation around the actions other people need to take to influence them. This is a great exercise to run as a team as it helps people become aware of the key behaviours required to get the best out of others. This is an example from a recent session based on the feedback from an Earth Green group:

If you lead with Earth Green, these kinds of behaviours are going to come naturally to you. However, if your Earth Green energy is low, this might not be your natural style. To influence people so they buy your ideas, as a leader, as a project manager, or as a doctor, we need to take the knowledge we have and then find ways to practically transfer the theory into our roles. This is where the real benefits sit. Don’t just leave Insights Discovery on the wall of a training room or in your profile, find ways of bringing it to life and watch the results.

Written by Seven Institute for Cortex Learn