Blue types

Blue types like to be recognized for their competence. They like to see the work they have accomplished

• For example, they like to scratch things off their to-do lists throughout the day. This brings them a lot of pleasure.
• Blue types also need structure. They need to structure their lives, to organize and to plan things. When they wake up in the morning, they generally already have their whole day planned out in their heads. If you make an appointment with a blue type, tell them, “We’ll meet at 4:45.” In this way, they can organize themselves and optimize their time. But if you say “See you some time this afternoon” it is demotivating.
• Professionally, one of the ways to acknowledge the work of Blue types is to do a weekly review and look at their files. In this case, you don’t even have to point out that they did good work. The simple fact that you have taken the time to look at the work they accomplished is satisfying. This works equally well for Blue and Purple types. Sitting down to go over what they have done can really recharge the batteries for these two types. However, don’t do this with other types, because it can be perceived as controlling, a loss of trust, a loss of freedom, etc.!
• Blue types have a hard time hearing compliments. They hear compliments in a specific way, not globally. If you tell them, “You did good work”, Blue types won’t hear this. My personal hypothesis is that this happens because they have been competent and high-performing since they were little. And since they were little, other people have been asking them for help: “Hey, you’re good in French! Can I sit next to you on the test?” So when someone comes up and says “Hey, you’re good at this!” Blue types will think: “Now what do you want from me? What’s all this flattery for?” In fact, Blue types don’t hear compliments, because they think that it’s not a compliment, it’s just a request for help.