Susan's Toolbox

The Organized Golds are caring and concerned with the well-being of others. They show this by being highly organised and efficient. They see rules, procedures and routine as necessary to make things easier for people to understand (McKim, Detailed Descriptions of the Four Temperaments, 2013). However, these very attributes are all key learning stressors for the Resourceful Orange Temperament (Tudor & Konyu, 2011). Organized Golds do things in a particular way and this involves prioritising, planning and having timeframes. Whereas, Resourceful Oranges are multi-taskers – often doing several things at once – and they like to do things in their own way and in their own time. Resourceful Orange students may feel constrained and view the Organized Golds’ approach as “authoritarian” and perceive their feedback as criticism – further learning stressors.

So, how well are teachers of different temperaments able to provide a learning environment which engages Resourceful Orange students?
The Authentic Blue preference endows people with innate temperament traits which enable them to “read others very well and adjust their communication style to meet the situation…. They are intuitive and sensitive to the needs of others… They are empathic and very good at inspiring and motivating others to reach their full potential” (McKim, Detailed Descriptions of the Four Temperaments, 2013). Authentic Blue teachers can mirror others’ behaviour to build rapport, so they are adaptable and able to provide an empathic learning environment for all the other Temperaments.

Oops, credit for the resolutions - Brad Whitehorn, BA is the Sales & Marketing Coordinator at Career/LifeSkills Resources Inc