'Using Insights Discovery to perform with flying colours' by Nicole P

At International Beverage we have a long-standing mantra that people are growth. That’s why, when we embarked on our 2025 growth plan, we began to look at how our people could work more effectively. We challenged ourselves to dig deeper and explore what makes people tick, what motivates them and how they interact with others, so that everyone in our business brings out the best in each other.

Introducing Insights Discovery

That’s where the Insights Discovery tool comes in. I’d first experienced it as a graduate and fell in love with its simplicity and effectiveness. It enables everyone in a business to better understand themselves and the people around them as individuals and as leaders. And its secret? It uses a system of colours that is not only clear and useful but fun and empowering for people to apply in the workplace. Here’s how it works.

Discovering your true colours

The core idea is that people’s personalities are a mix of four colour energies: Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green and Cool Blue. After answering a 25-question survey, participants are given a unique colour profile that decodes and defines their behaviour.

Leading with Blue means you are more likely to be cautious, precise and like a lot of detail; for Yellow you’ll be sociable, enthusiastic and all about the bigger picture. Those that lead with Red tend to be more competitive, determined and purposeful; whilst Green means you’re more caring, encouraging and patient.

The benefits for business

It’s easy to see that having a mix of colours would be essential for most teams and projects. And for me, implementing Insights Discovery has been revelatory and highly impactful in helping our people perform better. Here are the top benefits so far.

1. Personal empowerment: nearly everyone has discovered something new about themselves and now has a better grasp of how they function at work. This self-knowledge is very empowering, as is knowing that every personality type is valued by our business. And the profiles are deployed strategically, so there’s no risk of anyone feeling pigeonholed.
2. A common language: colour profiles create a new language that allows people to talk more openly and honestly in our business. We’ve found that challenging conversations become easier, freeing us up to have more positive and productive discussions about the different ways that people learn, communicate and thrive in their roles.
3. Supporting growth: this is a tool that ensures our people grow with our business. We don’t want anyone left behind, and it helps us bring out the best in every team member, and to ensure they feel heard and valued. It means we can create a better mix of people for more successful, balanced teams.
4. Managing change: change is something that individuals respond to in very different ways: from excitement to total fear. When it happens in business however, there’s an expectation that everyone will be on the same journey. Colour profiles give managers the insight to communicate change and engage with different types of people in the right way.