Introduction: In my role as an HOA board member, I’ve drawn on insights from Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson to foster a collaborative and high-performing team. The book categorizes people into four personality types, each represented by a color – Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue – with distinct communication styles and strengths. This model helped our board understand each other better, allowing us to harness our differences to achieve remarkable results for our community.
The Four Colors and Their Roles:
- Red (Assertive and Driven): This personality type is decisive and action-oriented. On our board, the “Red” members helped us stay focused on goals and pushed for quick decision-making, essential for projects like security upgrades and landscaping improvements.
- Yellow (Creative and Social): The “Yellow” personalities bring energy and ideas. They played a key role in community events and communication, making our interactions with residents engaging and transparent. Their enthusiasm was instrumental in managing the HOA’s Facebook group and organizing nine community events.
- Green (Supportive and Stable): The “Green” members are patient and reliable, ideal for maintaining consistency in board processes. Their calm approach was invaluable in landscaping and financial health initiatives, ensuring attention to detail and long-term stability for the community’s resources.
- Blue (Analytical and Detail-Oriented): “Blue” personalities are logical and thorough, perfect for handling compliance and financial reporting. Their focus on accuracy allowed us to set clear architectural guidelines and process applications efficiently, achieving a 95% accuracy rate in reviews.
Applying Personality Insights to Achieve Results: By understanding each board member’s strengths, we created an environment where everyone felt valued and engaged. The Red personalities kept us moving forward, while the Yellows fostered a positive community spirit. Greens ensured steady, reliable progress, and Blues maintained high standards in our processes.
Together, this balanced approach allowed us to achieve significant accomplishments:
- Enhanced Security: From installing surveillance cameras to partnering with local law enforcement, we prioritized safety in ways that all personality types could support.
- Landscaping and Beautification: With detailed planning and consistent implementation, we beautified our common areas and kept the landscape well-maintained without added costs.
- Improved Communication: Using diverse channels, we kept residents informed and engaged, creating a transparent environment that strengthened trust.
Conclusion: Leveraging the Surrounded by Idiots framework on our HOA board was transformative. Understanding and appreciating our different personality types empowered us to work together more effectively, which ultimately benefited the entire community. At People Matter, we believe that true success comes from recognizing and harnessing each individual’s unique strengths – a philosophy that we bring to every team and project.