1. An introduction to a Red persona
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A quick glance at a Red
Fiery Reds are the most testosterone-fuelled type of all personas. Reds are highly competitive, quite domineering, opinionated, and strive for perfection, which makes them high achievers, and more often than not, takes them to the top of the pack.
Reds love debating, sometimes just for the sake of it, and bring competition into everything they do, including work and sport. They like the thrill of winning an argument, so if you were to be tempted to debate with them, it is unlikely you would walk away as the winner.
You will quite easily recognise the Red for their confrontational manner of communication, strong views and opinions on everything and anything, as well as lack of praise or compliments. They can quite easily lose their temper, but at the same time, their charm and confidence are very attractive personality features.
Reds tend to take a while to let go, relax and unwind. And even then, it is more than likely that they are really still contemplating their next exploit in their head, so don’t take it personally if you find yourself in their company just to realise that while they might be present physically, their mind is elsewhere.
Reds might be very outspoken and outgoing, but they are not the type to wear their heart on their sleeve, so don’t expect them to be able to share their emotions easily. Because of their tendency to be emotionally ‘constipated’, they don’t react well to someone else’s display of emotions. They would not want you to reveal any emotionally sensitive details of your life, they have more important things on their minds.
Reds will always appear immaculately dressed, whether the occasion is work or casual, or even in sports apparel. They are often lean in their build as they burn so much energy with their fast-paced lifestyle. Although occasionally you may find a Red whose appearance displays effects of a pressurised schedule, unhealthy diet and rigorous entertaining.
Needless to say, with all their drive and ambition, these confident and outspoken people, more often than not, excel in pretty much every area of their lives.
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2. Managing relationships with Red personas
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How Reds interact with others
Even though a Red may have friends due to mutual interests, many of them will quietly believe that they don’t have much need of friends. Red personas can be charming, friendly, personable and thoughtful. However, they are also fiercely independent and autonomous. They trust their own internal ability to make decisions and they have no particular need to look to other people.
Red personas mix with people who share a practical purpose with them, who like stimulating conversation and have the same passion and drive as they have. In sporting contexts, they may mix with a wider range of people, but be sure those contacts aren’t rated as highly as ones that match them in drive and intellect.
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Reds and timekeeping
Red personas tend to think of time as their most valuable resource and mentally compartmentalise time into small chunks. They operate as very efficient machines. They burn the candle at both ends and tend to be quite indignant with time wasters. We would emphasise here that they view time as ‘their resource’, which means you may rate lower down the order of priorities than ‘their time’.
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What Reds want from others
A Red persona is likely to be accomplished in sports, in their careers or in business. They respect people who can stand up to them but also can put up with their pushy nature. Reds are unlikely to be attracted to soft, gentle “yes-men”, and will appreciate associates who can stimulate their interest as well as keep them on their toes.
In general, Reds are more likely to be drawn to people who are similar to them in energy levels and overall outlook on life, so qualities like ambition, drive, strong values and principles, passion for something, desire to achieve your goals, will cause a Red to want to know you better.
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How to communicate with Reds
When speaking, Reds are likely to use an abundance of metaphors. They evaluate everything around them and encapsulate that information into metaphors. Due to the fact that their thinking is highly visual, they abbreviate their thoughts into concise chunks of data, and a metaphor is an ideal way of expressing themselves. Their conversation tends to be very quick and witty, and they love having intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. Win or lose, there is always something to be gained out of a verbal skirmish for a Red, even if it is just to hone their debating skills.
Reds are unimpressed with reasons or excuses, they deal in the currency of results and outcomes. Hearing about a couple of results towards the desired outcome speaks much more to a Red than having to hear excuses why a few results were not achieved. Keep your focus on the positives when you talk to Reds, but never hide or delay bad news!
Have your facts straight when you approach a Red or they will demolish you in conversation. Be clear about what outcome you want from the discussion and about how much time you need and they will respect that. If they see you as a time-waster, and it doesn’t take much for them to think like that), they will relegate you to dealing with their PA or someone else. (Unless they are young, they tend to be in leadership positions or to be running their own venture)
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3. Red personas and stress
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Reds and stressors
To be clear, items listed here may be irritating to some people and quite acceptable for others, depending who they are.
A Red persona will find people who take 10 minutes to say what could have taken a minute, tedious. They will get irate with people who are vague, ambiguous and non-committal. So the best way to get on with a Red is to have a clear idea of things before you ask something of them, as they will fire off a series of questions at you. They will take a dim view if you can’t be clear with them. If you are prone to using the silent treatment, really, don’t bother – it will have zero effect on a Red.
Also, because the Reds are quite hesitant with displays of emotions, you might unsettle them and quite simply get on their nerves by displaying too much endearment or by needing to talk about your feelings.
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Reds and confrontation
A Red persona is quite comfortable with confronting people who they see as obstructive. With their quick-witted intellect, they can throw you just enough rope to hang yourself. Before you can find an apt retort, you would be running for cover from their next cleverly constructed volley. They prefer to resolve conflicts in a constructive and swift manner, without letting emotions get in the way. If you show emotion in a confrontation with a Red this will merely strengthen their argument.
Note that they don’t necessarily aim to be mean, they simply believe that they are right, and quite often they are. It would be better to clearly state what you think the problem is, and ask them for the solution. Most often, their solutions will be fair and right. You may not like it but utilising their suggestions will most likely not harm you.
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Reds' irritating habits
To be clear, items listed may be irritating to some people and quite acceptable for others, depending on their own persona.
A Red persona can be direct and forthright to the point of being rude or abrupt. They may overlook any signs of emotion or clues that someone has been offended. As the most emotionally sterile personas on the chart, they pride themselves on being exceptionally pragmatic, decision makers and believe it, they are!
To maintain their persona, they may possess some unnerving habits: they may keep you waiting without explaining why. They can be sceptical and dismissive. They are also exceptionally good at debating and may inadvertently engage you, drawing you into this ‘sport’ of theirs, to display their superiority. Or they may do this in a group which some may find embarrassing.
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How to support a Red
If you work with Red colleagues or customers, don’t expect them to be affectionate or able to discuss their feeling about anything, as this is not something they find easy to do, unless you are very close and they are comfortable with you.
On the plus side, while they might not be likely to display any affection or emotions any time soon, they also won’t shower you with the side effects of their stresses or bad moods. They value their ability to keep their composure very highly and would consider it a personal defeat if they lost this composure. Reds are very resistant to stress and deal with pressure very well, although they may have a tendency at times to lose their composure in an immense outburst. They constantly fear that this may happen, however, they keep a tight grip on their emotions, generally keeping themselves contained at all costs.
4. Managing expectations with Red personas
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How Reds make decisions
A Red persona seeks clarity in all aspects of life. They are pragmatic and tend to sum things up quickly. Their ability to make thorough decisions is second to none.
If you want to benefit from a Red’s amazing decision-making abilities the best thing to do is make sure “all your ducks are aligned” prior to approaching them.
If you are pitching anything to a Red persona your figures and rationale will need to be water-tight or you will lose face and potentially lose the opportunity of convincing them at all. You don’t get many second chances with Reds.
Reds are able to make decisions without letting emotions get in the way, and that includes your emotions! The principles that apply in any given context is what they will apply to any given situation. You may not always like the decisions a Red makes, but they will generally be the right decisions, based on the facts at hand. Red’s are pragmatic and fair.
There is a strong element where Reds may have one set of principles for themselves and other criteria for others. They are often unaware that they do this. It may also take you years to realise that they give themselves a lot more leeway than they give to you. Reds are very convincing.
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Reds and budgets
Red personas will relate to money in the same way as they relate to time. They view money as a resource, a means to an end for obtaining the things they really want. They may accumulate extra properties or investments. As they are pragmatic but calculated risk takers, there may be times where their coffers are near empty. To them, this is acceptable as they trust in what they do.
Occasionally, Red personas can personally tend to overindulge by obtaining multiple luxury items like sports cars, motorcycles, guitars, etc. When they are in the mood to be generous their gifts will be well thought out. Depending on the context their generosity can also be calculated.
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