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7,1 Strength and Shadows 7,2 SGL Gold Circle 7,3 Team Energy
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Secret 7,3 · Relations / Results · Personal Chemistry

Team Energy

EQ, not IQ, often decides whether a team thrives or breaks down. The colours determine the team energy — and three real teams show what a combination of colours can build, and what it can quietly take apart.

Blue Energy creates good chemistry in interaction with Yellow Energy. Purple Energy creates change-makers in collaboration with Red Energy.

The same circle again, and this time ten arrows radiate outwards and reach every one of the four quarters.
The Winning Team, drawn as ten profile arrows — one of the three real cases below.

The secret

Leader, task, and team composition

The energy within a team of 8–12 people depends on three things — the leader, the task, and the team composition. Of these, the leader is the most important. Next comes the mix of colleagues in terms of temperament and team colours. The most effective team includes all colours, with a majority aligned along the same axis as the leader. This is where initiative and power reside, while those on the opposite axis serve as helpers and advisors.

Copy the SGL circle and insert Profile Arrows that illustrate your team.

Intro film coming

The place for this secret’s intro film is reserved here. It fills in when the recording arrives.

In practice

SGL as a Management Tool

For project and management teams, results are what count. To achieve extraordinary results, the team combination itself is often the key factor. Below are three real examples of different team combinations — and what results they produced. Once you have read them, mark which one your own team is most like.

Three colleagues stand at the centre of the SGL circle. Only four arrows leave them, and three of those crowd together into the blue quarter. The fourth reaches out alone across red. Not one arrow points into purple or into yellow.
Four profile arrows in all: three crowded into blue, one alone in red — and nothing reaching purple or yellow.

1. The Stagnation Team

After a company reorganisation, members of a management group at mid-level came to us frustrated with the new structure. Nothing worked as expected. Motivation dropped after only a few months. When we looked at the team profile, we found:

  • Blue Quality Completer (Director)
  • Blue Quality Completer (Assistant Director)
  • Blue Quality Evaluator (Assistant Director)
  • Red Resource Investigator (Assistant Director)

Our analysis showed: in the PPP-Circle, the team had no members from the Purple or Yellow temperament groups — and no “ideal partner” roles.

Result: loss of creative energy, and over time, total professional and creative stagnation.

The same circle and the same three colleagues, now with six arrows. One runs out horizontally across red, labelled Leader. A single arrow rises into blue. The remaining four fan out downwards into yellow. The purple quarter is empty.
Six arrows: the leader alone across red, one rising into blue, four fanned into yellow — and purple still empty.

2. The Operation Team

A highly qualified team in the oil sector asked for help during a team day. Despite great efforts, progress was slow and teamwork felt heavy. Their team composition was:

  • Red Resource Investigator (Team Leader)
  • Blue Quality Completer (Leader’s challenger)
  • Yellow Vulnerable Team Workers (the rest of the team)

Our analysis showed: the leader’s ideas were not met by any intuitive (Purple) colleagues. The challenger complained about too many sudden impulses, while the Yellow team workers only acted when they felt completely safe.

Result: the leader ended up doing most of the work himself, and appeared controlling and authoritarian — reducing creativity even more.

Our advice: replace two of the Yellow members with Purple, intuitive professionals as soon as possible.

The same circle again, and this time ten arrows radiate outwards and reach every one of the four quarters: one into blue, two across red with the leader labelled, five fanning across purple, and two into yellow with the admin leader labelled.
Ten arrows into all four quarters, none left empty — and two labelled arrows, the leader’s and the administrative leader’s.

3. The Winning Team

This was one of the strongest teams we ever worked with — responsible for key innovations in North Sea oil production. Their composition:

  • Red Resource Investigator (Director)
  • Red Instructor (Young female engineer)
  • Purple (Five highly qualified professionals)
  • Yellow Team Worker (Administration manager)
  • Blue Quality Evaluator (Professional)

Our analysis showed: the project team was full of energy and creativity. But after a reorganisation, the director was reassigned, and the Blue evaluator took over. Soon after, the energy collapsed and the team fell apart.

Our advice: the results showed that victory is high risk. Its purpose was fulfilled — the goal had been achieved. Create a new project team.

Which of the three teams above is your own team most like?

The next secrets begin with Secret 8 — The Triple Test / TTT. Team energy tells about the possibilities; the Triple Test tells about the facts. Become aware, and move on.

An open notebook and two sharpened pencils on a dark desk under the pool of light from a lamp, the page still blank.
The exercise wants a pen and paper, not a keyboard.

Your turn

Home Lesson 7,3

Find your team energy.

  • Copy the SGL circle and insert Profile Arrows that illustrate your team.
  • Compare the results with the analyses above.
  • What is your team most similar to? — mark it above.
SGL Secrets — For those who are in need, and those who want a lot!

Next · Secret 8

The Triple Test / TTT

Continue to Secret 8 →