Colored Brain for Leadership Success

By LILY LAU

November 2020

• Why it is so difficult to emulate a particular leadership style? You find that it is not natural to follow.

• It is also said that leadership is situational. How situational should it be?

• Should you fit into a template or should you find your own leadership style?

There are many leadership books and every guru would prescribe his / her own leadership recipe for success. Some of you may have read and followed the steps and find it workable, some tried and give up along the way. Why did this happen? If it is a recipe, it should work for all.

How you think is how you behave…your brain is YOU!

Based on research by Arthur Carmazzi, founder of Directive Communication Psychology and Colored Brain, when we think, our brain will go through a process to comprehend and get clarity to make decisions what to do. This process of getting clarity and comprehension is known as “Ambiguity Relief”.

The instrument to measure your brain’s Ambiguity Relief is Colored Brain Communication Inventory. It is the system that organizes the different types of genetic neuro-processing brains which defines the way each person experiences their environment and take in and interprets information. This results in specific ways of perceiving and evaluating events, situations and even the development of ideas.

So what is Colored Brain?

It is the genetic wiring system of your brain (it is easier to speak in simple language rather than using technical words). All of us are born with one wiring system and that is YOU!
Imagine, when you need to think (like you press the “Enter” button in your laptop), your computer will process in a way that is configured. Similarly, your brain is configured based on the natural wiring system that is in-built.

The key is how can you find out what is the natural configuration?

Well, it is through discovering your Colored Brain. That’s right!

Depending on which type of genetic wiring you have, that is the way your brain works and that is HOW you think, HOW you get clarity on what to do. So, your leadership style is dependent on your Colored Brain because that’s HOW you get comprehend matter.

Why is it important for leaders to be aware of their Colored Brain?

As a leader, you have your own way and style of doing things. You also have strengths and weaknesses. Awareness of your Colored Brain gives you the means to maximize your capacity to act intelligently. In another words, to Turbo Charge your natural gifts and use them to maximize your ability to develop “software” for your brain and create greater competence across many disciplines. It gives you the privilege to understand others at deeper level and unleash potential for better teamwork, greater harmony and cooperation with your environment and teams.

As a leader in your organization, department or team, your Colored Brain dictates your natural leadership style and the culture of your working environment. Below are the descriptions of the 4 types of Colored Brain and the behaviours as a leader.

 

Green Brain – Random or Chaotic Processing

People with a Green Brain are forward moving. They process their surrounding as a summary of the overall situation and see the “Big Picture” of things. Their thinking is non-linear in random chunks, so they can usually concentrate on one situation at a time.

As a Green Brain leader, you are action driven and like to get things going. When working in a team, Green Brain people like inter-action as a form of sharing and tossing ideas around. They can come up with creative approaches and see things in big picture. They cannot give you details unless consciously being told. They are good motivators in getting things started but may have difficulty following through. They are perceived to be impatient due to the nature to quickly get things done.

 

Red Brain – Linear Processing

Clarity is power to the Red Brain. They must maintain a clear sense of purpose. They are precise in their communication and process facts in a logical way which carries the ability to detach themselves from situations and be extremely objective.

As a Red Brain leader, you are structured and your style is to create framework and policy. You have a clear sense of direction with long term perspective and future thinking. You think through before speaking and do well in accomplishing goals and objectives. As a result, you take calculated risks and actions upon thorough analysis.

 

Blue Brain – Intuitive Processing

Blue Brain people are emotional base, and they process and communicate in feelings. They are versatile, flexible and are capable of playing multiple roles. They have a strong sense of personal connection which resulted them to be relationship based and the ability to be empathic.

As a Blue Brain leader, your natural focus is about caring and sharing. You will be super in roles that require to interact with people. You are great at resolving people issues and a natural organizer. For personal communication, you are a good listener and have strong intuition and can often address organizational insensitivities with positive results.

 

Purple Brain – Relational Processing

Information is king to Purple Brain. Their style of processing requires them to absorb a lot of information to take appropriate action. Their mind is connected through data and they need the details to give them a safe sense of direction. They are key in operational functions and are very practical in their applications.

 

As a Purple Brain leader, you are meticulous in details and organize in nature. You accumulate data even for future use. To get things done, you need considerable context in a hands-on environment and sufficient time to assimilate the information garnered. You excel in areas that are developmental of systems or operations. Your ability to plan and observe details are applied in practical solutions to problems and improvement of situations.

 

Let’s go back to the 3 Problem Statements at the top.

a. Why it is so difficult to emulate a particular leadership style? You find that it is not natural to follow.

Every leader has a natural Colored Brain. If your color is the same as the leader, then it is easier to emulate his / her style as both of you have the same genetic thinking pattern.

If you do not have the same color, that is where you face challenges. You would find that it is not so easy to follow the style. You have to make effort and overtime, you may find it tiresome and often give up. The key is that it is not natural to your brain. You can do it but it requires conscious determination which is not easy.

 

b. It is also said that leadership is situational. How situational should it be?

‘’Situational” is a perception issue. The perception of the situation is different in everyone which leads to different interpretation what should be done. Again, it goes back to how your brain process the situation and what is perceived?

Based on the 4 colors, a Green Brain leader who is action based can be fluid and change decision as situation changes.

A Blue Brain leader who is people-centric will assess the situation based on the overall environment and those who are involved and make decision based on the situation at hand.

A Red Brain leader who is structured and objective driven will strive to make impartial decision based on the outcome to achieve.

A Purple Brain leader who is information driven will make options based on the situation at hand.

There is no best decision for best situation. It is your leadership competency to make the most appropriate decision based on your perception on HOW the situation should be handled, which is based on your Colored Brain.

 

c. Should you fit into a template or should you find your own leadership style?

Fitting into a template is about copying. It is not wrong to copy but is it suitable?

As explained above, if your template is the same it is easier to role model. My advice is always find own your leadership style. We are created uniquely, and we have the capacity to be successful. The key is finding your own talents and develop on it.

In conclusion, uncovering your Colored Brain help you to unlock your natural talents and potentials. It gives you a guide on how to develop your leadership skill. The purpose is to avoid making mistakes and find success faster.

 

Lily Lau is a Master Certified for Directive Communication Psychology and has conducted many training sessions on this topic. She aims to inspire people to reach their potential through self-discovery of personal talents. Interested to find out more about Colored Brain? Engage Lily Lau to know your Colored Brain and learn how to interpret and understand people’s Colored Brain as well! For more information: www.culturedynamics.com.my