Treat Your Business

140 Why a green and a yellow may clash and what to do about it.

• Katie Bell • Season 1 • Episode 140

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Welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Treat Your Business Podcast! I’m Katie Bell, and today I’m flying solo for a little mini episode that dives into a brilliant question from one of our coaching clients. If you’re a leader who needs to be liked and sometimes finds those tough conversations a bit daunting, this episode is especially for you.

Episode Summary
This week, I’m unpacking what happens when your leadership style, especially if you’re a classic “yellow” like me - meets a team member with a completely different vibe, like a “green.” I’ll walk you through a real-life scenario from a client who’s just welcomed a new physio to her team and is already feeling the clash of personalities and communication styles. We’ll talk about colour profiling, strengths testing, and why your values-led culture matters more than ever when onboarding new staff.

Key Takeaways
✨ Everyone brings a unique communication style and energy to the team, and that’s not only okay, it’s essential for growth.
✨ “Yellows” (the visionaries and cheerleaders) thrive on warmth, connection, and harmony, while “greens” value order, routine, and deep one-to-one relationships.
✨ If you’re feeling a disconnect with a new team member, it’s not about fixing them, it’s about mutual understanding, setting clear expectations, and allowing time for trust and rapport to build.
✨ Boundaries aren’t a red flag, they’re often a sign of strong values and self-awareness.
✨ Onboarding should be structured, values-led, and include regular check-ins, weekly at first, then moving to biweekly and monthly.
✨ Your job as a leader is to be a bit of a chameleon, adapting your communication to suit the person in front of you, without losing sight of your own values or expectations.
✨ Don’t be afraid to have direct, open conversations. Conflict doesn’t have to mean confrontation, it’s about clarity and honesty.

Resources & Links
Enrolment now open for Sept EVOLVE Programme: https://join.thrive-businesscoaching.com/evolve-sept25 

Final Thoughts
Remember, culture is everything. As you get clearer about your values and who you are as a leader, you’ll spot who fits and who doesn’t. Don’t be afraid of change, and don’t shy away from those honest conversations. The strongest teams are open, transparent, and built on shared values.

Thanks for tuning in to this short, bite-sized episode. I’ll see you back next week for more strategies, tools, and mindset shifts to help you transform your clinic into a thriving business. If you loved this episode, please share it with a fellow clinic owner and leave us a review!

Episode Sponsor

VBS Medical Ltd – Exclusive

Treat Your Business podcast is proudly sponsored by MBST, the groundbreaking technology revolutionising recovery and rehabilitation. Offering a non-invasive, drug-free solution for musculoskeletal conditions and nerve injuries, MBST works at a cellular level to stimulate regeneration. Expand your services and deliver long-term patient improvements without increasing your workload.

Learn more at mbstmedical.co.uk. 

[00:00:00] Katie Bell: If you are a leader who desperately needs to be liked and is afraid of having maybe confrontational or strong conversations with team members, then this little mini episode by just me today is for you

[00:00:19] Katie Bell: Today's episode is sponsored by VBS Medical Limited. It's the exclusive distributor of K laser therapy and Indiba radio frequency therapy in the UK [00:00:30] and Ireland. K Laser and Indiba are non-invasive therapies that enhance and accelerate the healing process complementing standard of care. Broadening therapeutic opportunities, improving clinical outcomes, generating new profit, and distinguishing your clinic from the competition.

[00:00:47] Katie Bell: K-Laser and Indiba have a medical device regulation approval, meaning they have scientific publications to validate their clinical applications in practice. To learn more, visit [00:01:00] www.pbsmedical.com and book your free trial today.

[00:01:02] Katie Bell: Welcome to the Treat Your Business Podcast with Katie Bell. I'm Katie, and this is the place where clinic owners like you learn the strategies, tools, and mindset shifts needed to transform your clinic into a thriving business. One that gives you more time, more money, and more freedom. Born from a passion to challenge the idea that average is normal.

[00:01:25] Katie Bell: We empower clinic owners to create extraordinary businesses, incomes, [00:01:30] and lives through our world class coaching programs. We help you step out of overwhelm and into confidence, turning your clinic into a business that fuels your lifestyle, not training it. So are you ready? Let's dive in.

[00:01:44] Katie Bell: Now. I have base this episode off a question that came in from one of our clients and I thought it was a great question 'cause she was very vulnerable about her leadership style and it made me really that a part of me used to be very much like this.

[00:01:59] Katie Bell: And we have [00:02:00] lots of what we call yellows listening to this, who are very typical visionaries tend to be the leaders of their company. But they need to be liked and they want a team that is likable and warm, and that's what they build their business on. They want people that they get along with in their business.

[00:02:20] Katie Bell: So this question came in from a client and she has got a new member of staff. Who has is a green. [00:02:30] Now for those of you who came to clinic growth live, you will know what colour you are if you are red, blue, green, or yellow. And if you remember, obviously we colour test you so we know what colour you are.

[00:02:39] Katie Bell: That dictates what your communication style is like, and. Part of your personality. And so she knows that this physio that she has recruited is a green and he has a wide spread of strengths, which we do a strengths test on all of our team members and all of our members as well. So we can lead and guide them in the right way.

[00:02:58] Katie Bell: But she's [00:03:00] a yellow, desperately needing to be like and liked and joined his induction. She went through the values in the clinic and how, how they're expected to behave and what the clinic's reputation is built upon. And she made it really clear that warmth, connection, and personality is key to the reputation and the success of this business and exceptional service to their patients.

[00:03:22] Katie Bell: So this is week one. Okay. He started and he is done. Great. Patients seem happy, but [00:03:30] she feels. Not the patients. She feels he's a little intimidating. He has that slightly glazed unfocused eyes when she talks to him. And she openly said, that's a me issue. I know. But I find it intimidating and frustrating talking to someone with that look as I feel that they aren't listening or worried that they just think I'm an idiot.

[00:03:50] Katie Bell: This is definitely a me problem, she said. She also went on to say he was really frustrated in his old job with back to back 30 minute appointments. His efforts to create [00:04:00]content were ignored and therefore he left now. One of her neighbours or clients or something saw him a few weeks ago. It was old job.

[00:04:08] Katie Bell: And she said she could tell he wasn't happy and she wants to absolutely be sure that this appearance was because of where he was. It's not just him. And she didn't want her patients to have that same experience. So having done his induction, witnessed the rest of the, her team interacting, being warm [00:04:30] banter she feels like what else I need to do to reassure her that he's going to live up to that value or that expectation.

[00:04:40] Katie Bell: And I was going to be nervous. And I think, there's. This is literally week one. So we've got this situation where we have a very warm leader, a yellow leader, and yellows. We are high energy. We positive people. We see the good in everybody. We are [00:05:00] cheerleaders. We have a billion ideas.

[00:05:03] Katie Bell: We're not that great at executing them. We like to be liked, we need to be d. Now, this is. Very different to how a green person shows up. There's no one better way or worse way to lead. But we all communicate with a different communication style. So the client went on to say that she led a training session and all the teamwork found it really helpful.

[00:05:29] Katie Bell: They were [00:05:30] really active part of the session, but he hung back and he didn't engage that much. And he said something like. Will all the training sessions just be you leading, because I prefer everybody contributing type sessions. So she said. He's obviously keen to exercise his preference, being assertive about it, which she also struggles with.

[00:05:48] Katie Bell: But she took it as a dig. So he'd not looked at his HR documents before his first day made it abundantly clear. He doesn't communicate about work things outside of work time, [00:06:00] so she couldn't organize his uniform and all of those kind of things. So there's some flags there, isn't there? If we think about this and the client basically said, how do you deal with people that don't vibe like you or not on the same energy level as you or feel like, because like maybe a yellow and a green are quite different communication styles.

[00:06:23] Katie Bell: She feels like she's been made to feel like a bit of an idiot, or he is being awkward already. He's [00:06:30] not being very warm and personable. So I thought, you know what, I'm going to talk about this on the podcast because you are all going to have, you are not going to like and be like best buddies with all of your team members, but you have to really like who you work with.

[00:06:47] Katie Bell: Like I would say, you don't have to be best friends, you shouldn't be best friends. You don't need to be friends with people, with your work colleagues, but you really need to like them. So this is a real [00:07:00] thoughtful and self-aware message from this client because she wants to know how we integrate someone into our values led culture.

[00:07:09] Katie Bell: Team culture, when you are a yellow or your a colour, and they're a different colour. And connection for yellows is everything. But for greens it's not. So when we looked at his green style. And we looked at his strengths test. [00:07:30] He likes discipline, so he likes order routine and clarity. Okay. Yellows are not orderly, routine or clear people.

[00:07:39] Katie Bell: He's a relator, so he prefers deep one-on-one connections over big group dynamics, and it takes time for 'em to warm up and let others in as a relator. He has a learner in his third skill. So he is motivated by growth and new skills, but he might disengage if learning doesn't feel interactive or challenging.[00:08:00]

[00:08:00] Katie Bell: His four skills, beliefs. So he has strong personal values, but that can come across as stubborn or inflexible. So he has very clear boundaries around when he's going to communicate better work and not. In my opinion, the whole I don't communicate about work outside of work is probably a very strict boundary that as a yellow, and I know this client very well, she struggled with placing those boundaries.

[00:08:26] Katie Bell: So this is going to trigger her quite a lot. And we [00:08:30] want to ensure that we can navigate this and we set up structure for his onboarding that is very clear expectation of what is needed. Why we need him in before work starts at this time. It might be a pay, you know it's paid, but it's part of your onboarding so we can get things in place for your start of work.

[00:08:50] Katie Bell: And now his fifth skill is achiever. So he wants to get stuff done. He can feel frustrated when pace or quality is lacking. He might appear blunt or overly [00:09:00] direct. What this is telling us, when we really get to know this person, green and needs of his strengths, he's not rude, he's not lazy, he is not disconnected on purpose.

[00:09:09] Katie Bell: Now. We don't know him that well yet, but he's probably hyperfocused on delivering high quality work. He's going to be finding his feet. He doesn't yet trust the culture enough to fully soften and show his warm aside and his traits can clash with a yellow who are looking for open, warm feedback that you can easily [00:09:30] read.

[00:09:30] Katie Bell: So as a yellow, we crave harmony, we creative connection. We want others to show you warmth. . We would read lack of enthusiasm or engagement as rejection, and therefore we can sometimes over accommodate and then get resentful if it's not reciprocated. Why is his boundaries and slightly cool approach feel jarring, even if they're not a red flag?

[00:09:51] Katie Bell: Is it just a different personality type? So then I thought, okay, how can I be of best service to our listeners today because. One of the things [00:10:00] I see as the biggest gaps in leadership is people don't know how to have a clear, direct conversation. They're too afraid of what they're going to say. So I wanted to give you some suggested approaches that if you've got this situation as a leader, where you've got somebody that you like, we just have different personality types and I don't know how to lead and manage them in the best way, then what can you do about it?

[00:10:24] Katie Bell: Wanted, first of all, this is not about fixing him, it's about gaining a mutual [00:10:30] understanding and setting some shared expectations. So how about. I've really enjoyed seeing how you're settling in and the positive feedback from patients is a really great sign. As we're a close knit, warm team and something that matters hugely to us is how we show up for each other and for our patients.

[00:10:48] Katie Bell: So I wanted to have a quick check in this week to talk about how things are feeling from your side and make sure we're supporting you to thrive in this kind of environment. So we're framing it as [00:11:00] integration, not trying to correct him. We want to reaffirm your culture always, but without making it personal.

[00:11:06] Katie Bell: So, , Let's go. Our patients come back time and time again here at this clinic. Not just because of what we do, but how we make them feel. And that often for us looks like warmth, openness, humour, creating a space that doesn't feel overly clinical. Been at the heart of our success for many years.

[00:11:24] Katie Bell: So we're always observing how that shows up in each team member's style and in a way that [00:11:30] feels authentic to them. So what would help you feel more at ease in a team like ours? What's helped you feel settled so far? And is there anything that's made you feel unsure? How do you normally build rapport with clients over time?

[00:11:45] Katie Bell: And what kind of learning or feedback style works best for you? And then exploring the training comment, so you could say, you mentioned preferring more interactive training sessions, and thank you for being honest. I'd love to explore how we can [00:12:00] blend different styles in the future, but I just wanted to check in how that first session landed for you overall.

[00:12:06] Katie Bell: Now, this is giving you intel without defensiveness, without thinking. You really pissed me off and you said something that's triggered me. Most people. Who say things like that aren't trying to offend, they're just trying to feel heard. So

[00:12:21] Katie Bell: he might be thawing out. He's a week in observing, learning and working out how [00:12:30] much of himself he can bring in. Yellows we're like, hi, I'm here. Wearing my heart on my sleeve, all things laid out, nobody needs to guess how I'm feeling 'cause I'm showing it all the time. Greens are not like that.

[00:12:44] Katie Bell: They're much more reserved characters. They can typically be more introverted than a yellow. So it's, we've gotta keep our eyes open. We've gotta make sure, unless we see real patient care, red flags or team friction. [00:13:00] We've gotta give him time to grow into this role. But here's what I'd like to say for all of you, is that you've gotta hold your boundaries too.

[00:13:10] Katie Bell: You're not wrong to want warmth if that is one of your key values and key behavioral expectations within the clinic. But just be clear. It's that it's part of the job here and is capable of that, but not in your style. He needs to find his own way [00:13:30] forwards. And this can be the reason why it is so important for all of you to not just like you need to be recruiting, onboarding, training, and firing based on your company values. And expectations of the role. If you are not getting clear on those, then hires are not going to last. [00:14:00] And when you bring somebody in, if you don't colour test them, you can use whatever personality task you love to do.

[00:14:05] Katie Bell: Colby Clifton, strength Finder. I'm a high six working geniuses. There's billions out there. Do whatever works for you. We use two very specifically because we have a lot of knowledge around them and we know how people show up with those certain strengths and communication styles. But that's the depth that I go into before I even hire them.

[00:14:26] Katie Bell: I know what their skill top five skills are. Strengths [00:14:30] are. I know what colour they are. And I know therefore what likely communication style they're going to have where they're going to best fit within the team and how I need to lead, manage, and hold them accountable. Because as a leader, you are a little bit like a chameleon in that you have to change your communication style to who is in front of you.

[00:14:52] Katie Bell: So you can't just be a really bold, direct red to somebody who is a blue because. They will [00:15:00] just want to leave the company. You can't be your outgoing, fluffy yellowness with a green who won order routine clarity logic process. Now it's about recognizing who we all are within the team and actually we have a lot of humour around what colours we are.

[00:15:22] Katie Bell: But having that level of self-awareness is what makes you a great leader. Leaning into what makes you [00:15:30] great, but also understanding everybody else's personality traits. Communication styles will help you lead, manage, and hold people accountable. That means you're going to get the best from them. It means that you then don't have to avoid or awkward conversations and not really say what you are thinking because you're afraid of upsetting somebody.

[00:15:50] Katie Bell: The most important. Concept that makes a team really strong is the ability to be open, honest, and transparent, [00:16:00] and not avoid conflict. Conflict doesn't have to be you said this and I said this. We've, I've told you this a million times. Conflict is about having direct, open, clear conversations with people so that , they are absolutely clear on your expectations and what is not working or what is working.

[00:16:17] Katie Bell: And also they have the opportunity to say that back to you.

[00:16:22] Katie Bell: So that very specific example was about. A leader who's a yellow, recruiting somebody who's green and having very [00:16:30] different personality types. But after week one, feeling like there was some red flags there and didn't know really how to move forwards. And this is why our onboarding. Process is so important and why we would encourage a weekly check-in and then a biweekly in month two, and then a monthly check-in in month three, and then move to what we call quarterly conversations and then yearly reviews so that there is a consistent structure, there is a consistent feedback loop.

[00:16:58] Katie Bell: And [00:17:00] using those weekly check-ins in the first month to think about their colours, their strengths, and. Really lean into values led training so that they've got the opportunity to understand how this business runs, to showcase those values to be more vulnerable and open and honest and warm up to your culture because culture is everything.

[00:17:28] Katie Bell: And as you get more clear [00:17:30] about your culture and your values and who you are as a leader and what makes you great. You will naturally have people that stand out in your organisation that are just the wrong people. They might be in the right seat. Your organisation might need that role, but you have recruited too quickly.

[00:17:48] Katie Bell: You haven't been clear on what your values are. You haven't onboarded them in a way that reflects those values 'cause you've had no clarity on your values and what your business stands for. And these [00:18:00] people are going to stick out like a saw thumb. Our values are everywhere in our clinic. They are on the wall.

[00:18:06] Katie Bell: As you walk into reception, our reception teams sit in front of this bespoke wallpaper that has our values on there. Our staff bulletins are values led. Our hiring process is values led, our job advert is values led our performance reviews, are values led. Everything is about the culture.

[00:18:26] Katie Bell: So as you lean into this more, don't be afraid [00:18:30] of people leaving your organisation or removing people from your organisation because they're not a cultural fit. Change your energy. As you get more clarity on this, you are going to go through a period of change that can feel scary, that can feel uncomfortable, because everybody's telling me that recruitment is really hard right now.

[00:18:49] Katie Bell: We have never been in a position where we've had more people wanting to work with us, so I'm not sure I believe that, but the people that want to come and work for us have specifically said, I wanted to [00:19:00] have a chat with you because your job advert was all about values, all about how your business does business.

[00:19:06] Katie Bell: It wasn't really all about the role. And so we have set off on a path and on our trajectory is that's the expectation. So it becomes really easy or easy and much easier much easier to manage people, to lead people, to hold people accountable because you can reflect back always as to how does that.

[00:19:29] Katie Bell: [00:19:30] Showcase our value of exceptional or our value of warmth, whatever it is that this client said that those were the key thing, connectedness, key things that were important in how her therapy show up in her business. So who have you got in your business? They're the wrong people. They might be in the right seat, or they might be in the wrong seat.

[00:19:49] Katie Bell: Who are you as a leader? What colour are you? What are your key five top five strengths? And most importantly, who are you [00:20:00] leading across your organisation? Do you know them? Do you really know them? And if you don't, you need to. I hope you've enjoyed this little short bite-size episode. I will see you back next week for more of the Treat Your Business podcast.

[00:20:17]

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