What colour is your workplace environment?

The red zone/green zone idea is a simple way to understand the ‘vibe’ and culture of a workplace. Even just reading the red zone characteristics is enough to you’re your stomach churn – it’s so sad and soul destroying. The green zone is awesome though. They are like two different people – the red person is immature with zero self esteem, and the green person is secure and mature. Here are the descriptions:

Red zone environment:
Low trust and high suspicion
High blame
Alienation
Risk avoidance
Cheating and greed
Threats and fear
Anxiety
Guardedness and withholding info (see ‘Audit your secrets’)
Rivalry
Hostility
Denial (see ‘Don’t avoid the yuck’)
Sarcasm (which can be a form of bullying)
Tendency for people to hide mistakes

Green zone environment:
Honesty
High trust
Friendship and laughter
Optimism and excitement
Co-operation
Dialogue
Broad perspectives
Shared vision
Open to feedback
Flexibility
Risk taking
Tendency to learn from mistakes
Facing difficult truths
Sense of contribution
Ethical behaviour
Friendly competition
Mutual support
Sincerity

It is pretty obvious what kind of environment you should be building in your workplace. Perhaps the red zone characteristics are hard to pinpoint as they may be a bit more subtle than the blunt words above – so think very carefully. Identify any behaviours, attitudes, actions or ‘norms’ within your workplace that fit any of the things on these lists. Give your staff a copy of the lists and ask them to do the same. In a green zone people can thrive, they will be healthier in body and mind and capable of achieving higher levels of success. Any red zone behaviours (no matter how well hidden) need to be weeded out honestly and addressed – go green instead.