Surrounded By “Colors” — Why I recommend to read “Surrounded By Idiots”
Once I was told by a colleague that — “ You speak a lot !”
Another time I was told — “ You write such long emails !”
Yet another time I was told — “ You ask so many questions !”
The context of these dialogues was either a team meeting or a technical email discussion.
I took those feedbacks and I kept doing introspection for several days. I went back to the emails to re-check if there were any irrelevant statements or questions being asked. I rewound those meeting discussions in an attempt to find any unrelated statements. I did this exercise several times.
What felt like “too much” for someone else was my attempt to justify the statement I made in a meeting or email. I always ensured not to give blank statements, but qualified statements supported by technical facts.
Should I stop explaining? Should I stop reasoning? — But that sounded technically incorrect to stop doing what I felt was right. At the same time how can I improve my daily interactions with team ?
I could clearly see conflict in these interactions with my team mates. All of these thoughts had already started disturbing me. At some point I had even started self-doubting.
It was then the book “Surrounded by Idiots” by Thomas Erikson came to my rescue. Being a voracious reader myself , I found the book interesting and was surely need of the hour for me. The author speaks about human behaviors and uses colors (Red, Blue , Green and Yellow ) to categorize personality traits into four different types.
The book did enlighten me. I became more self-aware and inclusive. At the same time, also learned that each personality type has its own strengths and flaws too.
Upon self-analysis I discovered my dominant colors — Red and Blue. My new found wisdom showed me why I look for details everywhere and tries to talk about it too. I learned why I act so meticulous, especially about punctuality — that’s the Red trait in me and “Quick” is my word. Most importantly , I understood the reason behind conflict with my team mates — they are predominantly a bunch of Yellows who are just not interested in too much of details.
It is not about who is right or wrong anymore. It is more about looking at the scenario with a fresh perspective and displaying the intelligence to rightly gauge who, when, what and how much. It is all about ,
- Knowing the people
- Knowing the right time
- Knowing the relevant information
- Knowing the right amount of information to be delivered
Self-awareness humbles you to accept own flaws and ensures you take steps to improve on those areas. It helps us look at situations in a broader perspective and fosters healthier human relationships. Self-awareness makes you a better communicator, a better problem solver and a better leader who can lead self and others.
