When Insights invited Me Learning to take part in The Gift of Discovery, their global corporate social responsibility initiative, we saw a meaningful opportunity to support one of our long-standing charity partners.

Having worked with YMCA DownsLink Group since 2017, we’ve witnessed the incredible work they do to support young people across Sussex and Surrey. Offering this development session felt like a fitting way to give back to an organisation whose mission closely aligns with our own values.

YMCA DownsLink Group delivers vital services that help young people access safe housing, mental health support, and pathways to brighter futures. Their teams work tirelessly in often challenging environments, and we were eager to offer something that could have a meaningful and lasting impact on their internal collaboration and wellbeing.

What Is Insights Discovery?

Insights Discovery is a personal development tool that uses a simple but powerful four-colour energy model to help individuals understand their behavioural preferences. While everyone uses all four colour energies, we each draw upon them in different proportions, shaping how we communicate, make decisions, and engage with colleagues.

The Four Colour Energies

Fiery Red: Direct, action-oriented, and focused on results.

Sunshine Yellow: Sociable, enthusiastic, and creative, thriving on collaboration and big-picture ideas.

Earth Green: Calm, considerate, and supportive, bringing harmony and empathy into team environments.

Cool Blue: Analytical, precise, and methodical, ensuring clarity and accuracy in decision-making.

Insights Discovery does not categorise people. Instead, it highlights the unique blend of strengths individuals bring and encourages teams to value and harness their collective diversity. This shared understanding creates a strong foundation for effective communication and improved collaboration.

A Gift with Real Impact

The Gift of Discovery is designed to bring Insights Discovery to charities, non-profits, and social enterprises that may not otherwise have access to this kind of development opportunity. Under the programme:

• Licensed Practitioners volunteer their time.
• Insights provides Discovery Personal Profiles completely free.
• Organisations benefit from personalised development without budget barriers.
• Clients deepen relationships and create shared value in their communities.

For Me Learning, participating in the programme allowed us to reinforce our long-standing relationship with YMCA DownsLink Group, increase our CSR impact, and create a real-world example of how Insights Discovery empowers teams.

Delivering the Session

Ahead of the workshop, the People Team completed an online Insights Discovery assessment, generating personalised profiles that outlined each person’s unique colour-energy combination. These profiles sparked conversations even before the session began, giving colleagues an early glimpse into their preferences around communication, decision-making, and workplace behaviour.

On the day, Roger delivered a 2.5-hour interactive workshop at YMCA’s Hove office. The session was designed to blend education, self-reflection, and lively activities, ensuring the learning felt engaging, insightful, and immediately applicable.

Bringing the Colours to Life

During the workshop, Roger guided the team through:

• The psychology underpinning the Insights model
• What their colour combinations say about their preferences
• How different energies show up in workplace interactions
• How to adapt styles to create smoother communication
• Group exercises exploring team strengths and potential blind spots

The room quickly warmed with recognition and laughter as colleagues identified themselves and each other within the model. People shared moments of clarity about why certain conversations felt effortless while others required a shift in approach.

Positive Outcomes for YMCA DownsLink Group

The immediate impact was clear. Delegates reported:

• Greater awareness of how their colleagues prefer to work
• Increased confidence in adapting their communication
• A stronger sense of team cohesion
• A shared language to support ongoing collaboration

For a team supporting multiple functions across the charity, this newfound clarity was especially meaningful. Flexing communication styles will help them coordinate more effectively, minimise misunderstandings, and maintain smooth working relationships across departments.

To capture the team’s experience, Katie Waters, L&D Partner at YMCA DownsLink Group, shared her reflection on the day:

“The team thoroughly enjoyed the Insights session with Roger; not only was it fascinating but it was also a wonderful way of bringing us together as we’re all so busy it can be hard to take this time. We learnt a lot about one another and ways we can best work together going forward. Our team is made up of people who have worked here for many years and people who are brand new; it was one of our team members second day! It was so interesting and revealing; I would highly recommend it to any team.”

Strengthening a Meaningful Partnership

This Gift of Discovery session was more than a development activity, it was a contribution to an organisation we’ve proudly supported for over seven years. For Me Learning, it deepened a valued partnership and reaffirmed our commitment to helping purpose-driven organisations strengthen the teams behind their vital work.

As a programme, The Gift of Discovery stands out for its blend of social impact, partnership building, and personal development. We were delighted to bring this opportunity to YMCA DownsLink Group and look forward to continuing our journey together.

Strengthen Your Team with Insights Discovery

The YMCA team left the workshop not just with personalised profiles, but with practical strategies, renewed empathy, and a stronger foundation for collaboration.

If you’d like to energise your organisation, enhance communication, and bring out the best in your people, get in touch to explore how Insights Discovery can support your team: roger.ayres@melearning.co.uk

Learn more about our Behavioural Learning solutions.