It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights. I grew up watching the Muppets, and across several movies, TV series, and specials, they have taught me many important life lessons that have just stuck. Different people need different things from you. Optimism is contagious. Chaos and failure are part of creating something great. Friendship means showing up. You don’t need to be good at something to love it. But above all else, embrace your weirdness. When Canadian actor and producer Seth Rogen announced that he was backing a reboot of the classic Muppet Show, I couldn’t have been happier. At a time when the world is pretty chaotic, we’ve never needed the Muppets more than we do right now. Or as Kermit wisely said in The Muppets Take Manhattan, “That’s what we need! More frogs and dogs and bears and chickens and… and whatever!”
Because my mind is always in personality mode, I can’t help but think of the personality types of the many characters. Truthfully, my mind is usually in Muppet mode, so I’m usually thinking about what people would be like as Muppets. Despite being made of felt, ping-pong balls, and old coats, the Muppets are quite deep, with complex backstories and a lot of personal growth. This is personality in action, with an occasional projectile.
Despite Kermit the Frog singing that it’s not easy being green, he’s actually Authentic Blue. Kermit leads with values, relationships, and a deep concern for how everyone is feeling, usually all at once. He’s the emotional glue holding the show and the group together, which explains why he’s always overwhelmed. Kermit doesn’t want control; he wants harmony. Unfortunately, he is managing the Muppets.
Miss Piggy is unmistakably Resourceful Orange. She is expressive, bold, spontaneous, and fully committed to whatever emotion she’s having in that exact moment. She lives in the now, follows her instincts, and brings intensity to everything, including the smallest inconveniences. Her confidence isn’t strategic; it is a lifestyle choice.
Fozzie Bear is Authentic Blue. He wants connection more than laughs, which is handy, because most of his jokes don’t land anyway. His comedy is less about punchlines and more about inviting everyone to belong, whether they asked to be included or not. Fozzie measures success not by whether the audience is laughing, but by whether he survives the experience with his dignity mostly intact.
Gonzo the Great is pure Resourceful Orange. He is driven by experience, curiosity, and personal truth, especially when that involves chickens, cannons, or questionable physics. Gonzo doesn’t ask whether something makes sense; he asks whether it feels right. He walks a fine line between the question of “Should you do this?” and “Can you do this?” His answer is always YES!
Scooter is Organized Gold, and without him as the trusty stage manager, the show would collapse into noise and chaos within minutes… well, even more noise and chaos. He values structure, responsibility, and clear expectations, which is why his nerves are pretty much always shot. Scooter doesn’t crave attention; he craves things running on time. A brave dream in the Muppet world. Despite it all, he’s Kermit’s right-hand man and gets the job done no matter what is (literally) thrown at him.
Sam Eagle is also Organized Gold, but with a much stronger emotional attachment to rules. Sam believes in standards, propriety, and the moral importance of doing things the “right” way, even when it is the least popular way of getting things done. Sam treats every tiny breach of decorum like a crisis, and he would absolutely host a lecture on proper etiquette during a fire drill, and he’d still expect everyone to attend.
Rowlf the Dog is an easy Inquiring Green. He’s reflective, thoughtful, and enjoys ideas, irony, and dry humour more than being the centre of attention. He sits on the edge of chaos, adding just enough to stir the pot with a bit of commentary but staying far enough from it to keep from getting sucked in. He understands the Muppets on a deeper level and provides a balance to the chaos.
The Swedish Chef is Resourceful Orange in its most hands-on form. He learns by doing, adapts on the fly, and trusts the process, even when the process got off the counter and walked out the door. Planning and language comprehension is optional; engagement is 100% mandatory.
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is Inquiring Green, driven by curiosity, ideas, and optimism about what could work; results are secondary. He is future-focused, fascinated by experimentation, and completely unfazed by evidence. His enthusiasm is sincere, making Beaker’s fear justified.
Beaker, meanwhile, is Authentic Blue. He is emotionally aware, deeply loyal, and highly sensitive to what’s happening around him. Beaker stays not because the experiments make sense, but because relationships matter. His loyalty is unwavering despite his stress level being astronomical.
I could keep going with all the frogs and dogs and bears and chickens and… and whatever in the Muppet universe, and I could write page after page about my favourite Muppet, Sweetums, but like every episode, movie, and special, there needs to be an end. We can learn so much from the Muppets, but the most important takeaway is don’t be afraid to show your true self, and you’ll find that rainbow connection.
Brad Whitehorn – BA, CCDP is a lifelong Introvert, and the Associate Director at CLSR Inc. He was thrown into the career development field headfirst after completing a Communications degree in 2005, and hasn’t looked back! Since then, Brad has worked on the development, implementation and certification for various career and personality assessments (including Personality Dimensions®), making sure that Career Development Practitioners and HR Professionals get the right tools to do their best work. Brad is also on the board of directors for the Career Professionals of Canada, and an advisory committee member with the Career Development Professionals of Ontario.
