Personality frameworks are widely used in organizations to support leadership development, communication, team effectiveness, and self-awareness. Among the most commonly used tools are True Colors, DiSC, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). While all three aim to help people better understand themselves and others, they differ significantly in design, application, and practical impact. 

This article reflects the author’s professional perspective, informed by direct experience using True Colors, DiSC, and MBTI in organizational and leadership development settings. The observations and comparisons presented are based on practical applications with leaders and teams and are intended to share experiential insights.

True Colors

A Simple and Powerful Model for Self-Awareness and Inclusion

True Colors is a temperament-based framework that organizes personality preferences into four color groupings: Blue, Gold, Green, and Orange. Each color reflects a set of core motivations, communication styles, and behavioral tendencies.

Key strengths of True Colors include:

• Immediate accessibility. The model is intuitive and easy to understand, making it effective across all levels of an organization.
• Non-judgmental language. Neutral and inclusive color schemes reduce defensiveness and encourage open dialogue.
• Focus on motivation and values. True Colors goes beyond behavior to help individuals understand why people think and act the way they do.
• Strong application to teamwork and leadership. The framework naturally supports conversations about collaboration, decision making, conflict, and trust.

Because of its simplicity and emotional safety, True Colors is particularly effective in environments where psychological safety, inclusion, and shared language matter. Participants tend to remember, use, and apply it long after the session ends.

DiSC

A Behavior Focused Tool for Communication and Performance

DiSC categorizes behavior into four primary styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. It is widely used in sales, management, and performance-focused environments.

Strengths of DiSC include:

• Clear insight into observable behavior and communication patterns.
• Strong applicability for coaching, feedback, and performance conversations.
• Useful language for adapting communication styles to different situations.

However, DiSC primarily describes how people behave rather than why they behave as they do. Some participants also experience the labels as evaluative or hierarchical, which can limit openness in certain group settings.

MBTI

A Deep Framework with Complexity and Limitations

MBTI classifies individuals into one of sixteen personality types based on preferences across four dimensions, such as introversion versus extraversion and thinking versus feeling.

Strengths of MBTI include:

• Rich language for self-reflection and identity exploration.
• Depth that appeals to individuals who enjoy psychological theory.
• Long-standing recognition and familiarity.

At the same time, MBTI presents challenges in organizational use. The model is complex, requires significant facilitation time, and can feel abstract or overly technical. In practice, participants often remember their four-letter type but struggle to translate it into everyday workplace behavior.

Comparing the Three Frameworks

Why I Believe True Colors Often Delivers the Greatest Impact

In organizational settings, the most effective frameworks are not the most complex, but the ones people actually use. True Colors excels because it creates a shared language that feels human, accessible, and affirming. It supports inclusion without requiring deep psychological knowledge and enables meaningful conversations quickly. Leaders benefit from understanding how to motivate and support different temperaments. Teams benefit from appreciating differences without labeling them as strengths or weaknesses. Individuals benefit from clarity without being boxed into a rigid type. True Colors strikes that balance exceptionally well. For organizations seeking a framework that is easy to adopt, inclusive by design, and immediately applicable to leadership and collaboration, True Colors remains one of the most effective tools available. 

Contact Eugenia Lunden to get more information.