Forum Replies Created
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What are the potential strengths in the relationship?
Simon has abundant experience to draw from to balance his profile, he would be quite dynamic in an environment that supports his goals.
Victor would be an excellent mentor for Simon to learn to take bigger risks.
Simon would be an excellent ally for Victor in that he could bounce his ideas off Simon to analyze and do some of the critical thinking and due diligence Victor isn’t particularly fond of.
Victor’s confidence would serve Simon, and Simon’s patience would balance Victor’s abruptness.What are potential areas of tension in the relationship?
Simon wants clarity but also stops asking questions when he feels pressured.
Victor’s direct and candid approach puts pressure on Simon.
Victor’s demeanor may feel minimizing to Simon, leading Simon to verbalize his thought process in an effort to feel understood. If Victor has a sensitivity to verbosity to begin with (as Articulate is his lowest scoring voice), this could create a volatile chain reaction.What are your hypotheses?
Victor is looking for much less planning, thinking, talking, and validation and FAR more action. He’s accustomed to high pressure, high performance, and high rewards and doesn’t necessarily see the value of slowing down, nor the negative impacts of his approach. I’d be curious about Victor’s sensitivity to Articulate in particular. I suspect Victor expects a fast pace and doesn’t have the patience to hear someone’s thought process.
The challenge I see with these two profiles is that as Victor continues to pressure Simon, Simon is likely to stop asking questions and start positioning. Simon is hardly in the medium range, so when he feels attacked or criticized, he’s likely to avoid risks and stick to the socially safer voices. This is the exact opposite impact Victor is expecting from his strong controlling cluster. Yet, the harder Victor pushes, the more Simon shuts down. Victor has a hard time trusting Simon because Simon doesn’t demonstrate his expertise when called upon. Simon doesn’t step up to the task because he doesn’t understand Victor’s expectations and is likely growing frustrated from unsuccessful attempts to connect with Victor and build a relationship.
What lines of enquiry would you follow?
I would invite Simon to consider his thought process in a comfortable environment, working with a client on their portfolio, for example. In that scenario, the voices of Probe, Evaluate, Direct, and Advise are all critical to the success of his role, so connecting him to his own lived experience may lend some quick clarity and a boost of confidence, both of which are likely needed. With his confidence and clarity elevated, I’d then ask him to walk me through the difference between a conversation with Victor and a conversation with another influential figure in his life, demonstrating Probe and Evaluate and observing for sensitivities. I might even offer him advice and see how he responds. How open is he to feedback, when there is no threat or control.For Victor, I might start with asking him he achieved his success. I’d listen for clues as to his values and belief system and step closer into his past experience with Diagnose and Articulate, in particular. Upon turning the topic to Simon, I’d start with asking what Victor values about Simon. Where might he see a version of himself? What might that version have needed? And how might that have changed his trajectory? This activity would be in an effort to build those empathy muscles through self-reflection. Once we made one step forward with Simon, I’d want Victor to imagine that benefit being spread to the rest of his team. Imagine if all of your producers were performing at their best, how might that effect your company’s goals this year? Next year? What behaviors might change and in what direction? Once Victor sees the value of empathy in pragmatic terms, he may open up to the idea of it’s worth.
What development recommendations would you make for Victor and Simon?
Simon: pick one overuse and one underuse voice and practice bringing them into the middle range. I might suggest he prepare for his conversation with bullet points and a strategy to keep it short and simple, but invite those who want the details to an offline conversation. This might help him build credibility and then trust with Victor.Victor: I would encourage to slow down of course, but more so focus on the impact and the why. I would want to see him build a few techniques that allow people the spotlight without sending him into boredom. For example: “Option B sounds interesting, Simon. How about a 30-second highlight?” I would also work with Victor closely on signposting in order to soften his delivery and put less pressure on his team.
INQUIRE: Catch me up on you! | What resources would you suggest? | How might we approach…
PROBE: Go on… | Tell me more about that. | What happened next?
DIAGNOSE: What happens when… | If A, then B | When we apply too much pressure, the result is breakage.
ARTICULATE: What I heard you say is… | In summary… | Let me mirror back…
ADVOCATE: I am big fan of… | From where I stand, this is our top priority. | It’s time we do the right thing here.
ADVISE: I suggest we explore new routes to market. | If I were in your shoes, I might consider…
CHALLENGE: Is that an established fact or an assumption? | Before we continue, let’s recall the specification. | Is that the only option?
DIRECT: Put your safety glasses on. | After you finish, close your notebooks. | Please make certain this is completed first.
EVALUATE: On one hand, I can see their perspective and the potential impact. On the other, the risk seems high. | If we plant tomatoes here, they will be more protected from the weather. If we plant there, they’ll receive the ideal sun. | Each option has pros and cons, for example…What immediately caught my attention with Yvette’s triangle was the lack of bold. I thought to myself, ‘now there’s an interesting human, I wonder what’s holding her back.’ Though Yvette’s triangle is of limited use in that it doesn’t draw our attention to a specific voice or area, it does clue me in to a more systemic problem. What is stopping Yvette from using her voices? A lack of confidence? Skill? Desire? I would not expect to see such low use of all voices on a profile for someone in Human Resources, so I’d be keen to learn what a day in her life feels like.
Reviewing her comparative track, Yvette’s Challenge, Probe, & Direct voices shrink or fall away completely. She may stop exploring and controlling and double down on positioning. Yvette’s Advocate voice interests me as it seems to be the one she’s using most. I wonder if her attempts to add her perspective to the conversation are rewarded. Does she feel heard? Understood? It’s not a sharp uptick in her pressure profile, though it’s the most significant increase.
I could imagine a situation where Yvette isn’t feeling particularly valued or comfortable being herself, which will make it quite difficult to perform in her role. I may start a session with Yvette by asking her how she feels about this Away Day the Managing Director is planning; might it improve the communication challenges the team is experiencing? I’m very curious as to the dynamic of the team and her role in it. From there I’d shift my line of inquiry with having her describe how she felt reviewing her profile. What story does it tell? Where does she see herself in the results? These questions may help me understand where Yvette’s mind was at when she completed her self assessment. Was she thinking primarily about this position or is this a typical pattern for her? Does she find this approach fulfilling? Successful?
What story would she like her profile to tell? I’d like to create a sense of where Yvette might benefit most as a starting point, so I’d appeal to her intrinsic motivation by getting her fired up about why she chose HR as a profession. How she felt when she landed this great job! and what she is excited to achieve as their team grows and matures. If there’s friction, it’ll come out in her limiting thoughts.
What types of situations hold her back from using her voice? What types of situations might push her to the extreme of any voice? How do extreme voices make her feel?
Once Yvette opens up on any of these avenues, I’d encourage her to visualize the impact she would like to affect in her position and reverse engineer a plan together from there.
I would focus on the positives of her profile. She is already in a great place to observe the flow of conversation around her and begin tuning into the nuances of tone and pitch and volume. This practice in identifying what the voices sound like in her specific team will lend her the insight to perform well in her role while also building the confidence to raise her voice.
Becca’s Evaluate voice may be internal as it appears very high under pressure, becoming her clear dominant voice, while Inquire drops from her repertoire. As an educator and a first responder, that may well make sense. I imagine she scans and naturally assesses the environment during a crisis, making quick decisions based on her extensive experience. This inner dialogue would understandably sound quite harsh as the stakes are as high as life and death. I would ask her to walk me through her thought process, tell me a story that comes to mind of this voice in action. If the story starts with the scene of a crisis, I’d continue with that line of inquiry and see what she doesn’t uncover through talk.
The bigger story picture fascinates me. Her VoicePrint profile fits her background and experience. I might challenge her to welcome the growth opportunity of sharing her passion by drawing attention to the effects of incorporating some of those socially safer voices, particularly in a Program Manager position where her stakeholders range from families in crisis to international ambassadors. I may encourage her to leave her expertise at the door by inviting her to experiment safely and brainstorming ways she can practice new voices to achieve new impacts.
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Q1. What hypotheses do you have about how Marcia’s profile helps her to be effective in her role?
As a process improvement manager championing the adoption of a new patient care pathway, Marcia may generate momentum quickly with her tendency to begin with exploration. She may also generate rapport quickly by articulating what she learned, creating a sense of clarity and trust. Furthermore, as people get to know her, they may find she is steadfast and consistent in her approach, even under pressure.Q2. What hypotheses do you have about her how profile might cause her difficulties in her role?
Marcia may be challenged in making decisions and taking action. She does a lot of exploration and a fair amount of positioning, but her lowest three scores on her track make up the controlling cluster. The Direct, Evaluate, & Challenge voices are all important for moving action forward and maintaining the momentum she creates.Q3. What sort of conversation might you expect to have with Marcia?
I suspect Marcia would begin most conversations investing heavily in the relationship and showing interest by keeping the conversation going. My guess is time could go by quickly and effortlessly and I would leave feeling refreshed and revitalized. I also might wonder what, if anything, will come of our great conversation.Q4. What voice/s do you think it might be helpful for her to develop?
Controlling Cluster: Evaluate, Direct, ChallengeQ5. In what way/s?
A heavy emphasis on explorative talk was essential for Marcia in palliative care and she became accustomed to this method producing successful results, even under pressure. Moving into this new role will require her to develop new skills. I would likely ask her how she feels about each of the voices in the Controlling cluster to gain a sense of her comfort, bias and eagerness to experiment.I may also ask about her (project) stakeholder communication strategy. In what ways does she tailor her conversations for her audience? We may learn she uses the same sequence and approach universally, likely causing frustration for those expecting progress, results and deliverables whilst being highly effective for peers and colleagues.
I would also ask what effect she would like to leave her audience feeling. Between her comfort level and desired impact, I’d suspect she would gravitate toward Challenge. Logically, Challenge may be ideal for her to develop quickly, as she has some experience and now awareness with its use. It is also most closely aligned to her role and responsibilities managing up.
Q1. What catches your attention about the shape of Jack’s profile?
Bottom left heavy. Top voice significantly exceeds the second and third. Overall a large range between low and high scores.Q2. What impressions do you find yourself forming about Jack from his profile?
I am very curious about Jack’s experience with Direct voice as the rest of the bottom and left triangle are quite high. I also caught my own “woah” at such a high Advocate score, in part because of my own experience with that voice as well. I immediately wondered what Jack’s reaction would be.Q3. Which aspects of the context do you think might be important in this case?
Jack’s previous roles and career evolution will be helpful to coach Jack through understanding how the Track came to be, as well as consider what may be successful going forward in new roles and teams.
The geographic elements may be particularly helpful when experimenting with strategies.Q4. What issues might you be looking to explore with Jack?
Rather than starting on the results, I’d likely start with Jack’s impression of their successes and challenges in communication and see if that doesn’t percolate some reflections and insight. I would have Jack lead the conversation as much as possible, assuring we cover the earlier mentioned points in Q1, Q2, and Q3.