Forum Replies Created
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Strengths:
One could say that they may compliment each other with their tendency to use different voices, although this clearly will cause tension, which may help with good diagnosis of problems and discussion around solutions.
They both have Diagnose and Med/High and therefore share the aim of correctly diagnosing the issue. They also have med/high Challenge and so are both comfortable challenging the direction the thinking is going in and changing course if needed.
They both use more Probe under pressure which may work to revisit the diagnosis more deeply and come to a shared understanding.
Tensions:
Victor is highest on challenge so it would seem that Simon makes an initial proposition and Victor challenges which must be frustrating for Simon. Two of the voices Victor goes to after challenge is Diagnose and Evaluate. Simon uses Diagnose and Evaluate first so will have carefully considered his position first so agin may be frustrated when Victor pulls him back into the diagnose space if Simon has expended energy on this already. If Victor goes from Challenge to Advise or Direct it may be that he is directing the solution and it not allowing Simon provide solutions himself.
Whereas Simon reverts to Inquire voice if his main voices aren’t working, Simon reverts to Direct or Advise so when tension arises Simon relies on asking more questions to seek more understanding and Victor decides for them both what the answer is.
Hypothese:
Victor prefers positioning and controlling voices using Inquire to back up his directness, perhaps using questions more to forward his position than deepen understanding. When under pressure he dials up his controlling voices which excludes others from being involved in the decision making.
Simon uses Diagnose then Articulates his findings then advocates for them if the articulation isn’t landing. If this doesn’t work he goes back to exploring further with the Inquire voice, which I suspect is more genuine than Victor’s Inquire voice. Under pressure Simon get frustrated and uses more of the same voices which is likely to have a negative effect, he could try using different voices as louder versions of what hasn’t already worked is unlikely to positively impact Victor. Simon uses Direct and Probe more when under pressure but because they are low and in a pressured situation they are likely to be less skilfully used and seen as too little too late in the interaction.
Lines of Inquiry:
How do they make decisions, individually and collectively?
Which of these voices, if any, are internal as perhaps some of these if used internally would be better used externally so that the other can understand their thinking process?
How do they both feel when they interact? What frustrates them? What is working well between them that they can build on?
How do they use questions? How well do they listen to each other?
What do they want from the interaction?
Development:
Victor could perhaps make the decision more frequently to move into Diagnose after Challenging so that he meets Simon where he is and they can move jointly from there.
Victor could provide space and encouragement for Simon to articulate his conclusions before stepping in to provide the answers.
They both could be encouraged to use Probe earlier in the discussion, working on this as joint development as these are both under used voices.
Similarly both encouraged to use Inquire as it is intended at the start of the discussion to uncover the information needed to diagnose together.
Perhaps they share out roles in a discussion/make it more formal e.g. they Inquire/Diagnose/Probe together and then Victor Evaluates, Simon Articulates and Advises and Victor Directs.
Victor could do with better understanding of using the Inquire voice and Simon the Direct voice including how to signpost so that they get permission from the other to use that voice.Inquire: How would you like the meeting to work?
Probe: Is there anything else we need to include?
Evaluate: If I am facilitating and you are leading the meeting won’t we need someone to take the minutes.
Diagnose: We have the roles defined and the agenda which would indicate that we are ready, does everyone agree?
Advise: I suggest we video the meeting to share with those who can’t attend.
Direct: It’s my responsibility to ensure there is due diligence so we need to include a vote.
Challenge: I think there is a misunderstanding, I’d like us to look again at the plan.
Articulate: Lets’ summarise where we are and what the next steps are.
Advocate: My position is that we agree on the changes with the proviso that they stay fixed for 3 years, anything less is not a good deal.
1. What are your hypotheses?
That Becca is invested in her role and takes her responsibilities seriously. She drives things forward and is direct and challenges, showing leadership and providing advise. She seems low on talk and high on action based on articulate being her lowest voice and Controlling voices being her highest. When under pressure she pulls back a bit and provides arguments for her decisions perhaps needing validation at these times.
2. What lines of enquiry would you follow?
I’d like to know more about her role and when and where the pressure is. I’d like to know how she is viewed by colleagues, do they appreciate her contribution and how she makes it. I’d find out why the exploring voices are low use and whether she chooses not to use them or can’t access them when she needs them.I’d discuss the positioning voices and whether these are a source of alternative or supplement at times to the Controlling voices.
3. What questions would you like to ask Becca?
When is she under pressure? Does she take too much on as she shoulders a lot of responsibility?
Is what she does appreciated or do people feel that she is too direct and not collaborative enough? Is she seen to make good decisions or would it be more impactful if she spent more time in the Exploring phase? Is there a role for more Positioning voices in her role and if she used them when could she use them what might be the impact?Q1. What hypotheses do you have about how Marcia’s profile helps her to be effective in her role?
She has high scores on Exploring voices which would have served her well as a palliative care nurse.When under pressure once she has finished exploring she moves to providing advice and provided these voices are external people will be able to see where her advice is coming from.
Q2. What hypotheses do you have about her how profile might cause her difficulties in her role?
Now that she has changed into a change management role she may need to use more voices and consider sharing her thinking with others so that they buy into her conclusions. It may be that she takes longer to make decisions and stays in exploring longer than needed which may frustrate colleagues.At times she may need to access controlling voices to push things through which she has less access to.
Q3. What sort of conversation might you expect to have with Marcia?
I’d like to understand the differences in the previous and new roles and how that is affecting her and the adjustments she is and would like to make – this may highlight the changed requirements. I’d ask about stakeholders and how she works with them, what’s working and not.I’d ask what purpose Exploration serves for her and discuss the impact it has on others – particularly in reference to the type of people she has to deal with (ie. different) In her nursing role exploring voices would have been needed but in the new role over use of these – which may just be the same use but in a different context – may be seen as interrogating and patronising. I’d find out where her pressures are and how she is dealing with them and discuss how effective the voices are and what adjustments could be made. I’d be interested to know why she is avoiding controlling voices and whether she feels she needs them and if so when so that we could decide some development for that.
Q4/Q5. What voice/s do you think it might be helpful for her to develop? In what ways
Consider using Challenge voice instead of Advise when not under pressure to see the impact as this is a medium voice for her and is in the Controlling area. Consider times when controlling voices might work and ways that are comfortable for her to practice using them.
I’d suggest she accesses one of the positioning voices more so that she can explain her thinking and provide a bridge between exploration and solutions.What do you hypothesise from Yvette’s triangle?
That Yvette is a quiet member of the senior management team. This may be that she acts as a facilitator and her balance is appreciated but it may mean that this affects the perception of her as a good performer.
That she has access to all 9 voices so it may be easier for her to dial them up when needed.
What does Yvette’s comparative track tell you about her tendencies under pressure?
She tends to dial up both the exploring and positioning voices and lose access to controlling voices. As both Advocate and Inquire are high and secondarily Articulate and Diagnose I wonder whether she expresses all 4 and yo yo’s between them or some of them are inner voices. How this manifests could be very different depending on whether these are inner and outer voices e.g. she may put forward a position having analysed it internally or she may ask questions and form an opinion internally that she then articulates – or does this openly.
What are your hypotheses and lines of enquiry to explore Yvette’s profile?
How does the management team operate and what is her role in it? Are her skills and voices used effectively on the team? What voices would serve her better?
What causes her pressure and explore how she uses the voices and which are inner and outer?
What holds her back from using controlling voices and explore when it would be appropriate to include them and how she would be comfortable doing this?1. That there are several voices with similar scores on the track so Jack has several decision making points. This is worth exploring as it may be useful or distracting for him.
His top two voices are positioning so this would seem to be his starting point.
5 of the 8 voices are higher than average. Is he using all these externally or are some internal and therefore which ones are which.
2. His voices seem to fit his role although he is lower on Exploring voices and I wonder if he should be using more of these, diagnosing and seeking others views more.
3. Jack’s role may be influencing the voices that he uses as a consultant and it would be interesting to know if these come naturally to him or use a lot of energy.
4. Cultural use of voices e.g. different context requirements. Why the business has asked him to do the profile? How successful his repertoire is at work and suitable alternatives.Q1. Patronise, over analyse and criticise.
Q2. I tend to switch off and disengage
Q3. It’s deliberate because I prefer this to attacking, which I used to do more.
Q4. It stops the interaction. In some cases this is the best result and in others not – as nothing gets resolved and either the moment is lost or has to be revisited.