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What struck me about Becca’s profile is the sense of someone very solution focussed working under pressure. Bearing in mind her role with a humanitarian charity working in disaster zones this is understandable.
The nature of her work means that compliance, standards and clear courses of action are needed at all times, and I imagine that Becca feels a huge sense of responsibility to get it right. However, her controlling voices are so prevalent that even when not under pressure she is overusing them and is likely to be perceived as demanding, dictating and attacking, and perhaps as patronising at times. When under pressure her evaluate voice which is normally quite balanced shoots up to the very high end of criticise. This may suggest that if people are not in agreement, or if she has to assess or deliberate under pressure, she struggles to maintain balance. Interestingly under pressure her advise voice seems to be dialled down and becomes less patronising, which may hint are her feeling less sure of certain things when under pressure. It’s also notable that under pressure Becca advocates more, but her articulate voice is absent. This may suggest that under pressure she struggles to remain neutral and matter-of-fact. Having said that, even when not under pressure articulate is the voice that she uses least.
Becca’s exploring voices are generally underused, although she does inquire more under pressure.My hypothesis is that people may find Becca challenging to work with and somewhat intimidating, and I wonder if she struggles to bring people on board. Her underuse of exploring voices suggests that she does not seek the views of others, may not be interested in their opinions and that reaching a shared understanding or agreement is not a priority. At the same time, I can imagine that she is highly effective at getting the job done, and is not afraid of making difficult decisions, even if these are not always popular.
In conversation with Becca I’d be curious to explore her working relationships with her colleagues and partner organisations, what she feels is working well and what could be improved. I would want to find out how aware she is of coming across as critical and dictatorial, and what impact this has on her role and working relationships. I’d like explore how aware she is of how she converses when under pressure, and the impact this may have on others. If bringing people on board and strengthening working relationships is a priority, we could look at how developing her exploring voices could help with this. I’d be curious about differences in her internal and external voices and would imagine that a 360 profile could be an important developmental step. I’m aware that I may feel some bias going into this conversation and may make assumptions about Becca which I’d need to be mindful of.
Q1. – Probably Patronise, with dictate a close second
Q2. – It depends on the person and the context. If I feel patronised, I may react by going on the attack or with some people being patronising back. If I feel that I’m being dictated to, I may shut down or disengage. In both cases, I will not really be listening to what is being said. If I manage to catch myself before reacting, I may do the opposite and make a point of going to inquiry.
Q3. – Reactions are largely instinctive, with perhaps one or two exceptions with a person who is regularly a bit patronising.
Q4. – There is often no constructive outcome, and we will not really be listening to each otherMarcia’s exploring voices are strong and dominant. This may indicate that she focuses on the needs of others and understanding these in depth, which would align with her previous experience as a nurse and her work in palliative care. Strong exploring voices may suggest compassion and empathy, a strong interest in others and a desire to really understand their needs in order to help, without putting herself front and centre. This would have helped her be effective in her previous roles. In her current role, use of inquire, diagnose and probe can also be helpful in bringing people on board with change. She moves from exploring voices to positioning voices, and the fact that she has a strong understanding of how people think and feel before articulating or advising may also be effective in building trust. Her direct voice very rarely makes an appearance, and overall, her controlling voices are less evident, which is likely to have pros and cons.
On the flip side, under pressure Marcia’s exploring voices veer towards interrogating, intruding and over analysing. It may be that her previous roles make her comfortable to ask certain questions than people may find intrusive, and when she senses resistance she becomes pushy and overbearing. There is sometimes a fine line between advising and patronising, and it appears that under pressure Marcia can come across as patronising. I wonder if this happens when she feels that people don’t fully understand her positive intent, or when she is feeling less confident. In her new role, Marcia may need to dial up her challenge, evaluate and direct voices to bring about change and make decisions, even if these come less naturally to her.
In a conversation with Marcia I would expect her to be self-reflective, although as her tendency is to use exploring voices, she may find it challenging to be more at the receiving end. I’d be curious to explore her insights when looking at her profile. Does she recognise herself? Has anything surprised her? How are her strong voices and her previous experience positively impacting her new role? What may be hindering her? What does it mean in her new role to avoid or underuse Evaluate and Direct? I would also be curious about her own self awareness when it comes to how she uses exploring voices under pressure. I’d expect the conversation to explore her new role in some depth and look at how she is managing the transition. A lack of confidence may be contributing to the way she is using some voices under pressure.
In terms of voices that she needs to develop in her new role, in order to champion a new system and bring about change, she will need to become more comfortable evaluating and directing, and challenging when necessary. We could explore whether there are any situations in or out of work where she uses these voices more, and look at situations and scenarios where she can begin to experiment with these voices.Q1. – Very strong use of advocate – suggests that Jack comes in with strong views for or against. He shares his personal views, then considers whether to advise or challenge depending on the response. Stronger in positioning and controlling triangles, and his strong use of an exploring voice is probe, which sits on the socially risky side.
Q2. – I’m immediately aware of bias in the impressions that I form just from the profile. I think Jack may be quite intimidating, not a very good listener, typically ‘American’ and maybe a bit bombastic. I imagine him to be an older person and an expert in his field, who has been brought in for his expertise and is perhaps not very interested in what the less experienced people he’s working with think.
Q3. – One of the most important aspects of the context strikes me as being the cultural one, and the question of how Jack’s approach will be received in South- East Asia. I also wonder if there will be any bias towards him as an American. The fact that he is a consultant, brought it to advise in the short term, is also important to the context, as perhaps a lack of time, and a feeling that his role is to advise and find solutions is impacting his approach. His age and years of experience as a senior executive position him as an expert, this is important context too. And why has he been asked to complete the VoicePrint?
Q4. –What resonates? Any surprises? What is working well? What is challenging? How does he feel he’s being received by the people he’s working with? (Something here about why he’s been asked to complete the profile), Cultural implications? Explore differences between his approach as a consultant and when he was in employed senior roles? Which voices may be useful to develop and which ones to dial down? How can he experiment with this? What would a good outcome for him be?
Patronise
I may ‘over challenge’ and go on the attack, but at the same time switch off from listening to what the person is saying
Instinctive reaction
It prevents the interaction from having a positive outcome – chances are that neither of us are really listening to each other