How does the Management by Color online tool work?
Management by Color is a web-based tool available through subscription. A registered user gains full access to the application, and starts by setting up profiles for individuals by assessing their dimensions (personality traits), letting the system generate their color profiles, and then using those profiles for team and individual comparisons.
Select Dimensions
The list of dimensions provides a range of characteristics relevant to the workplace. A dimension has a title (such as "Level of Detail"); a definition which provides further clarification (such as "The range of ways in which people process and present information"); descriptors which indicate what a low preference would mean (such as "informal, overview approach") and what a high preference would mean (such as "meticulous, precise").
The list has been compiled such that the descriptors for high and low preferences are as neutrally worded as possible. There should be no implication of a choice being good or bad based on the words used to describe a high or low preference. For example, a person whose preference for less detail is less likely to select the LOW preference if the descriptor has any negative connotation (such as "careless"!)
Setting up a profile is as simple as selecting a dimension, such as "Level of Detail", and selecting a rating LOW (which could be "informal, relaxed" to HIGH (which could be "meticulous, precise").
As there are many dimensions available for selection, it would be practical to think about which dimensions would apply to a particular role or team's responsibilities, and to base your evaluation on those that would be most relevant. The system uses three dimensions (each assigned to an RGB color), in any combination, to create the resultant color profile, so you can perform many different evaluations, depending on your requirements. We suggest a minimum of three dimensions and a maximum of eight, for meaningful interpretation.
Enter Names or Roles
Management by Color enables you to color profile actual individuals, or to profile an "ideal" individual for a particular role. We call this an "Ideal Role".
Begin by entering names of individuals and teams, or if you prefer, you can enter the name of a role (eg "Sample Finance Manager"). You can sort the individuals into teams and name the teams (again, you can have an "Ideal" or "Sample Team", which may consist of both "Ideal Roles" and actual individuals).
Once you have set up names for individuals or roles within a team, you will evaluate each one according to the dimensions you deem relevant. You can have as many dimensions as you wish, but we'd recommend a minimum of three. Why? For practical reasons, three dimensions map to the three colors of red, green and blue and provide us with a color profile when those colors are mixed, and in reality, we would seldom evaluate a person or role on one criterion, hence the usefulness of this tool!
If you are a subscriber, you can save all of the details you have entered for comparison and updating later.
Assess the Dimensions
To select the dimensions you would like to allocate to your evaluation, simply select from the list provided. It is important to ensure that you assess each person on the same set of dimensions!
Assessment is as simple as picking a number along the preference continuum, which ranges from low preference for the dimension, no particular preference for the dimension and to high preference for the dimension.
Get Input from Others
The tool allows you to invite others to provide their assessments on any individual, and their assessments will be combined to create a final outcome. You also have the choice to exclude assessments if you feel that an assessment has been unfair or is so different from others that it is likely to slant the results unrealistically.
Plot and Report
This is done automatically for you. Once the assessments are complete, the Management by Color tool will process the input and plot the results on a single color, two colors or on a color cube, showing the dimensions on the x, y and z axes, and the individual's placements on those dimensions. If you want to change the combinations of dimensions, you can return to the assessment screen and select different dimensions, make your assessment ratings, and process once again. The system will provide results in numeric, graphical and descriptive formats.
