While the Ruby Red relationship tends to be built on the accomplishment of a task, the Azure Blue relationship is built around persuasive and caring. The Azure Blue leader looks to establish relationships with people who share their interests—and in particular their personal values and life purposes. One of McKenna and Pugno’s (2006, p. 82) health care leaders puts it this way:
“The key to making any organization successful is for its leader(s) to inspire followership – get people pulling together to accomplish something they all see as important and meaningful. . . . Open communication is essential for establishing that kind of a positive work environment. . . . [I]t is important to treat others as you want to be treated. All of us want to be respected as adults. We want to be trusted, and kept informed. When leaders are candid, honest, and straightforward, people tend to be very loyal to the organization and its leaders. For example, I hold bi-weekly staff meetings with our senior management team. They know that I expect them to immediately go back and share the decisions and information from those meetings with their employees. . . . Strong leaders also provide clear direction for others. When we told our employees about the financial challenges our organization was facing, we also let them know their help was needed. . . . What a great way to help people see that their hard work is not only appreciated, it is rewarded! [William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, Pediatric, Preventive and Emergency Medicine Physician, President Medical Group Management Association]”
The best working environment for someone with an Azure Blue orientation is one that is infused with a strong and highly supportive culture. Karen Horney would suggest that the Azure Blue leader tends to move toward other people when there is anxiety and tension in the relationship. This moving towards might be done in an effort to comfort or nurture the other person—or it might be done to somehow smother the other person with “kindness.”
In moving toward other people, the Azure Blue leader is likely to find a source of joy in building commitment to a vision—either alone or with other people. The primary source of energy for someone with an Azure Blue orientation is imagining what “could be”. The major focus of attention comes down to the devoting of energy to and nurturing of a specific relationship. One of McKenna and Pugno’s (2006, p. 88) health care leaders even evoked the image of a “servant leader” (Greenleaf, 1970) when describing the ways leaders should relate to those with whom they are working:
“I believe in servant leadership. I believe leaders have to really want to serve those we want to lead. Leaders must be seriously interested in our employees – I mean, to know if they’re recently lost a parent, to throw a baby shower for them, and celebrate their successes over meals. When we share in one another’s lives, we convey that we truly care about their needs. Otherwise, claiming to be a servant leader is just empty words. [Reverand Pamela S. Harris, MD]”
The strength of an Azure Blue orientation is providing service to other people. The Inspiring Blue leader has a calling—and this calling is centered on service (not production or profit). We turn again to one of McKenna and Pugno’s (2006, p. 73) leaders:
“I meet with hundreds of physicians each month, and I believe deep in my heart that the majority of physicians have a lifelong passion for medicine. For most physicians, it’s not a job, it is a calling. Most physicians have a deep love for patients; they genuinely care about quality and outcomes. [J. Peter Geerlofs, MD Family Physician Chief Medical Officer, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.]”
