Your Self-Paced Indigo Insights & Strategies Session
If you are here that means you have completed your Indigo Assessment. Great job!
If you haven’t completed it yet, find the link on your 5-Step Process page or email Jill@2stepexec.com
Before you begin your work on this page, be sure that you have the following:
Assessment results either printed out or accessible on a screen
Insights & Strategies Worksheets printed out:
A pen to capture your insights and strategies as you go
At least an hour of uninterrupted time to thoughtfully and openly learn more about your student or to thoughtfully and enthusiastically learn more about yourself!
IMPORTANT:
Remember, it’s intentional that you as parents allow your students to do this on their own and you do it on your own as well to allow them to think for themselves and then for you to all discuss together.
What are you supposed to do?
Simply work your way down the page, reading descriptions and watching videos.
After the first section, The Indigo Car, the following sections match a section on your Insights & Strategies Sheet. Once you read the descriptions and watch the videos for the section. Stop and think about what you learned and what it means for you.
Fill in the Sheet by writing down the results in the Your Design column and sincerely think through the questions on the Your Insights & Strategies column.
It’s important to write down your thoughts. To you it may seem that you’ll remember, but trust us, you’ll be glad you capture it in the moment so you can continue to build on your learning. There is a lot of learning in this! Also, writing things down helps your brain process better.
Finally, the page is written with reference to the student, as have been these instructions. Parents, simply read it as if it is referring to “your student”.
Ready - Set - Go!
Start here: What is the Indigo® Assessment, really?
This is the part that is not on your Insights & Strategies Sheet
Based on what you already know, take a moment and vividly imagine your car?
What’s the body type? Sporty? Lot’s of seats for other people? Pickup for large loads and work?
What kind of engine do you have? What motivates you?
How about the extras? Color? Bells and whistles or just more functional?
Whatever your behaviors, motivators and skills, your design is right. Remember that as you work through this page. You will be most energized, effective and fulfilled when you take action that matches up with your design!
Let’s see what this assessment says about you by reading the About You section on page 3 of the assessment results.
Think about what’s right about this to you? What’s your favorite part? How does this match up with your car design from above?
What’s not right to you, if anything? Take notice of words like “may”. This section helps summarize how you likely think, feel and behave, but it is not the final say on the matter. You are. However, as you work through this page, be thoughtful, enthusiastic and open regarding what you are learning.
Maybe you’ll read/watch something that helps you understand yourself better than you do right now. That’s the hope actually - for you to understand more of what makes you tick so you can make choices that fit!
Your DISC Style
This is where you will begin to use your Insights & Strategies Sheet - after the introduction part. The introduction is a teaching time to help you understand the colors and bars and numbers and letters describing your behaviors.
Turn to page 4 of your report and read this:
The DISC graph is a tool that helps to describe how a person tends to behave naturally in non-stressful conditions.
There is no “correct” score to have. Each personal style is a unique blend of the four letters used to describe a general type of behavior: D, I, S and C. Each personal style is right.
D = Dominance; I = Influencing; S = Steadiness; C = Compliance
Scores indicate which behaviors come naturally to you and what environments bring out the best in you.
There are two charts:
The natural style chart logically identifies your natural style – this is the chart we’ll use for our discussion today.
The adapted chart represents how you adapt your behavior based on current circumstances. Adapting behavior to circumstances can be essential and smart. It means you are aware that you need to adjust to others, circumstances, or environments in order to make things work best for you and others.
For example, for people who like independence and creativity, high school can be hard unless you curb some of that natural tendency to obey and work within an established structured environment. Learning to do so is smart, because appropriately submitting to authority is an important aspect of living in community well with others. It’s part of being a contributing member to our families, communities, schools and work places. Imagine if everyone just did what they wanted without considering others. Think about a sports team - how successful will they be if the players all did their own thing?
It is smart to appropriately adapt your natural behaviors.
Each of the DISC scores fall somewhere between 0-100.
Think of 50 as the Energy line. The further the measure from this line either above it or below it the more energy – or passion – you demonstrate with this behavior. These behaviors are the most intense and noticeable. People are most likely to notice these behaviors in you.
Any scores above 50 are called high.
Any scores under 50 are called low.
Scores both above and below 50 have meaning, not just those above 50.
Scores between 40-60 mean that the person’s behaviors in the given category tend to be more situational, allowing them to adapt to different styles. If your score lands in this range, your natural behaviors may not be so obvious.
So for example, someone with 95 Dominance will be energized by competitive, fast paced environments, a person with 5 will be very drained by the same scenario.
Let’s dive into them in more detail:
This is where you get to start writing on your Sheet.
Dominance, or “D”, is about how you respond to problems. Someone who is High D is likely more direct, blunt, focused on results, and into challenge and competition. Someone who is Low D is likely more deliberate and thoughtful, and prefers peaceful settings. If your D score is below 50, write that on your page and watch the Low Dominance video. If your D score is above 50, write that on your page and watch the High Dominance video.
Now, take a moment to process what you’ve heard.
How do you see this show up in you? What insights do you have?
How do you want to strategically take action with this information?
For example, what changes do you want to make at school, at work or in general that may allow you to exercise your natural dominance behavior more productively, if anything? What changes can you make that will give you more natural energy, fulfillment and effectiveness?
What does this say to you about career choices for you? About college choices? About social choices? About extracurricular choices?
Think about these things and when you are ready, write down your thoughts on your sheet in the Insights & Actions column.
Influence, or “I”, is about how you respond to people. Someone who is High I is likely friendly, talkative, enthusiastic, and likes to be around people. Someone who is Low I is more likely to be reflective, quiet, focused, and reserved. If your I score is below 50, write that on your page and watch the Low Influencing video. If your I score is above 50, write that on your page and watch the High Influencing video.
Again, take a moment to process what you’ve heard.
How do you see this show up in you? What insights do you have?
How do you want to strategically take action with this information?
For example, what changes do you want to make at school, at work or in general that may allow you to exercise your natural influencing behavior more productively, if anything? What changes can you make that will give you more natural energy, fulfillment and effectiveness?
What does this say to you about career choices for you? About college choices? About social choices? About extracurricular choices?
Think about these things and when you are ready, write down your thoughts on your sheet in the Insights & Actions column.
Steadiness, or “S”, is about how you respond to pace. Someone who is High S is likely loyal, patient, supportive of others, and likes consistency and planning. Someone who is Low S is likely flexible, active, spontaneous, and likes variety. If your S score is below 50, write that on your page and watch the Low Steadiness video. If your S score is above 50, write that on your page and watch the High Steadiness video.
Yep, take a moment to process what you’ve heard.
How do you see this show up in you? What insights do you have?
How do you want to strategically take action with this information?
For example, what changes do you want to make at school, at work or in general that may allow you to exercise your natural steadiness behavior more productively, if anything? What changes can you make that will give you more natural energy, fulfillment and effectiveness?
What does this say to you about career choices for you? About college choices? About social choices? About extracurricular choices?
Think about these things and when you are ready, write down your thoughts on your sheet in the Insights & Actions column.
Compliance, or “C”, is about how you respond to process. Someone who is High C is likely logical, cautious, focused on details, and likes step-by-step processes. Someone who is Low C is likely independent, innovative, a big-picture thinker, and a risk-taker. If your C score is below 50, write that on your page and watch the Low Compliance video. If your C score is above 50, write that on your page and watch the High Compliance video.
Last time for this section. Take a moment to process what you’ve heard.
How do you see this show up in you? What insights do you have?
How do you want to strategically take action with this information?
For example, what changes do you want to make at school, at work or in general that may allow you to exercise your natural complience behavior more productively, if anything? What changes can you make that will give you more natural energy, fulfillment and effectiveness?
What does this say to you about career choices for you? About college choices? About social choices? About extracurricular choices?
Think about these things and when you are ready, write down your thoughts on your sheet in the Insights & Actions column.
If all four of your DISC scores fall between 30 and 70, this next video is for you. If not, you can move on.
Bridges are people with all four of their their DISC scores between 30 and 70. They are adaptable and can thrive in different environments. Watch the video to the right to learn more about bridges.
Your Motivators
Take a moment to read the following and learn about what’s meant by motivator and by each of the six different motivators: Aesthetic. Individualistic. Social. Theoretical. Traditional. Utilitarian.
Indigo uses motivators to identify your “Why.” Motivators reveal the things you really care about. They are like an engine beneath the hood of a car - not easily seen from the outside, powering you from the inside. They are what makes you want to learn, what grabs your heart, and what gets you excited.
Motivators correlate directly to fulfillment and meaning and most people are happiest selecting a career based on their top two motivators. If someone ignores or dismisses your top motivators you may feel hurt and disengaged.
How do you read the motivator graphic?
Notice where your score falls above or below the smaller bar (68% of population). This reveals areas where your motivators may be outside the mainstream and could lead to passion or conflict. The further a score rises above mainstream, the more you may feel passionate about that motivator.
Go back to the very first page of your results and find your top two motivators. You may have three that are equal, but most have two that stand out above the rest.
Take notice of a couple of things. Do you have any scores that fall outside of the red bar - either to the left or to the right?
Any that fall to the right you’ll be passionate about. When you are in an environment drawing on this kind of motivation, you will thrive.
Any that fall to the left may cause you conflict. If you are in an environment demanding such sort of motivation, you will feel tension and fatigue, even inner frustration.
Now, fill in your top two motivators on the Your Design column of your sheet, read the description and watch the videos for those motivators.
Aesthetic
Desire for form, harmony, balance, or beauty.
People who have a high Aesthetic Motivator appreciate nature and beauty in the world. They are typically artistic and seek balance in their lives. High Aesthetics are greatly affected by their physical environment. The atmosphere or appearance of a school or workplace can even affect their grades or performance at work.
Individualistic
Desire for independence, recognition, or power.
People who have a high Individualistic Motivator want to be in control of their own future and frequently seek personal recognition and power. Instead of being told what to do, they want choices. They need to make sure they have freedom and choice in their career.
Social
Desire to help others or solve society’s problems.
People who have a high Social Motivator are altruistic and love to help people or a cause they care about. Their core question in life is typically, “What is my cause?” If they understand how their education will help them help others, they become much more engaged in academics. If you are a High Social, it’s important for you to figure out where you want to give back and how you can make a difference.
Theoretical
Desire to learn for the sake of knowledge.
People who have a high Theoretical Motivator love learning for the sake of learning and exploring their favorite topics deeply. If you are High Theoretical, you might run the risk of going so deep in an interest area that you lose interest in other topics. If that is the case, find a more specialized educational program or job that allows you to dedicate more time to go as deep as possible in your specialty.
Traditional
Desire to live by a personal set of principles or beliefs.
People who have a high Traditional Motivator value traditions, are driven by strong beliefs (which could be family, cultural, religious, military, self-determined, or something else), and follow their principles. If you have this motivator, look for opportunities that validate and/or allow you to share your beliefs. Look for employers that align with your way of living.
Utilitarian
Desire for a return on investment of time, energy, or money.
People who have a high Utilitarian Motivator seek practical returns for their efforts, tend to be money motivated, and value efficiency. They tend to be least served in most school environments, because Utilitarian is often the last motivator of educators. Keeping this in mind, if you are High Utilitarian, it’s important you make sure the program/major you choose helps you to achieve your personal goals as quickly as possible.
Take a moment to process what you’ve heard for each motivator. You can go back and watch the videos again if you like.
How do you see this show up in you? What insights do you have?
How do you want to strategically take action with this information?
For example, what changes do you want to make at school, at work or in general that may allow you to exercise your natural dominance behavior more productively, if anything? What changes can you make that will give you more natural energy, fulfillment and effectiveness?
What does this say to you about career choices for you? About college choices? About social choices? About extracurricular choices?
Think about these things and when you are ready, write down your thoughts on your sheet in the Insights & Actions column.
Skills
The Indigo Report lists 23 skills that are important in the world of work. The key to success is to develop and use your strengths while managing your weaknesses. Despite what our culture may seem to say about developing your weaknesses, the key to success is to develop and use your strengths while managing your weaknesses.
3 Keys from Strengths Research
You have more room to improve in your areas of natural talent than weakness.
Most people have low specific acuity or clarity about where their greatest natural talents lie. They are gifted from all external measures, but to themselves, they are normal.
When you work in your strengths, you thrive with more energy, fulfillment and fun.
The skills at the top of your skills list are the ones that come more naturally to you, thus requiring less energy on your part and are prime for exponential growth!
You may even notice why particular activities that require you to spend large amounts of time using your weaker, less developed skills not at the top your list, feel so draining! If you invest in these, you’ll get better at them for sure, but nearly as much as you’ll get better at those at the top when you invest the same efforts into them.
Your Top 5 Skills
Read through this initial stuff about skills. It’s important.
The behavior and motivation results from this assessment are not a self-assessment, meaning you really can’t trick the assessment for the results to come out the way you would like to behave and be motivated. But this skills part is a self-assessment. Your top skills are the skills you believe you are good at.
Here’s what we say about skills that you are naturally good at - keep investing in them!
Why do we say this? Because the truth is that the return on investment we get from working to improve our areas of natural strength is far greater than the return we get on working to improve our areas of natural weakness. So, we say spend more time improving what you are already good at and work to manage and support your areas of natural weakness. Mature and share your areas of strength!
Of course, some skills are necessary like time management. You’ll have to work to improve this skill if it’s a natural area of weakness for you. Just be smart - you may want to think twice about putting yourself in a position to take on a career choice where time management is top skill requirement. Same goes for other skills.
For your top skills, be smart again by aligning your top skills with the top skills required in a particular career choice.
Turn to page 8 in your results. Find your top 5 skills and write them down on your sheet.
Then, watch the video for at least 2 of your top 5 skills and consider the following questions:
How do you see this skill at work in your life? In other words, what kinds of activities are you already doing that put this skill to work? What kinds of activities can you begin to do that you may not already be doing to put this skill to work more? Remember, do more of what you do best. Manage and support the rest!
What kinds of career choices would allow you to use this skill? What kinds of career choices might not allow you to use this skill, if any?
Think about these things and when you are ready, write down your thoughts on your sheet in the Insights & Actions column.
You have come to the end of page one of your Insights & Actions Sheet.
This is a crucial point in your work. It’s time for you to name your Genius Edge™. Naming your Genius Edge™ gives you an anchor for knowing what you bring to and what you need from a team, relationship, or job to thrive.
Before you move on, take a moment to name your Genius Edge™ by thinking about what you’ve just learned – or confirmed - about your natural ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. How would you thoughtfully and enthusiastically describe your Genius Edge™ in two to three words? You may find the words are on the tip of your tongue, or you may need to sit with this for a while. Take your time. For some people this takes weeks, even months.
For example, let me share mine. This is Jill - I lead our company and my Genius Edge™ is Winsome Change Agent. I love love love setting people up for success, especially when that means encouraging them to step into something new. I naturally see people and things for what they will become while at the same time seeing them for what they currently are. I am energized when given the opportunity to come alongside them to help them successfully change and grow. The word winsome specifically applies to me because I thrive when I am just myself and serve others with a pleasant and joyful manner, especially in stressful, change-oriented situations. The thing I have to remember is that sometimes my optimism is idealistic and unrealistic. I need people in my life who I trust that will help me with the balance of optimism and reality.
Hopefully that helps with your process. It’s an anchor for me helping me walk into personal and work relationships remembering what I bring and what I need so I keep growing up and sharing the core strength that’s in me by design. It took me several rounds of 2 - 3 words before landing on this. Today, I’m glad I did the work.
You are now onto the back page of your sheet. If you haven’t already, you may want to take a break, or even come back to this part at a different time.
Up to you.
The remaining work to be done involves reading through your results and thinking about the insights you have and strategies for how you want to take action on what you’re learning. The sheet matches the sections of the report you’ll be reading. So, you can use the sheet to drive your movement through your report.
After reading over each section, spend at least a couple of minutes doing the following:
Write down your results in the Your Design column
Think about the following questions and fill in your insights and strategies for things you want to remember and do.
How do you see this show up in you? What are you thinking about that? How do you want to respond to this?
For example, what changes do you want to make at school, at work or in general that may allow you to be more effective or productive, if any?
What does this say to you about career choices for you? About college choices? About social choices? About extracurricular choices?
You’ve finally reached the end!
The work you’ve done is worth it. Now, make sure to commit to setting yourself up for success by writing down your next steps and sharing them with your parents or others in your life such as coaches, teachers or mentors who will also support you as you keep climbing!