The Diagnose voice in its functional version:

“I can see a bigger systemic pattern here in terms of how feedback loops might or might not be working.”

“I notice that we had an unexpected spike in our figures in the Ireland team this quarter, I’ve had a look….so I wonder…”

“What else do we need to take into consideration before we can sign this off?”

“Okay so we’ve established that…but that still leaves the question, which of our promotional activities is delivering the best value for money?”

“So how does what you’re telling me now relate to what we were talking about at the start of the session?”

“I can see that our revenue was up last year but our profit was down quite significantly; could it be something to do with…?”

“So if the weather really does affect sales, what sort of results do we expect at the end of this month?”

“Something doessn’t feel quite right; just as I observe this team I have the feeling that they’re not ready for feedback.“

“I’ve looked at the dog’s body language and heard your description of what happens when the dog reacts; yes, there is a tendency for anxiety here…”

“I’ve noticed I’ve been feeling much healthier of late, I have been had a look at my diet and I have been working on my exercise, but also looking at the bigger picture…”

“I’ve just been going round in circles on this. Um, I’m just looking at the team and their energy is low. I’m looking at the work we’ve been doing with them so far. I’m thinking through what we might do later on in the workshop. I’m just a bit worried that…”

“What defects are created when the front end of the machine makes that noise? I’m kind of thinking we should be looking at that bit underneath the big fly wheel but maybe, maybe, I don’t know…there are all sorts of noises…”

“What if I can’t find a parking space? And then what if the train is late? And then what if I miss the connection?”

“Well yes, I have already got three quotations and they’re all pretty similar and all within our budget and this isn’t a particularly large piece of expenditure, but there are two other potential suppliers that I’d quite like to contact to find out what their prices might be like.”

“The question of timings seems to be the priority but before we turn to that, I want to consider quality and costs.”

“Who’ve you thought about asking to do the work? Have you included everyone in the back shift and thought about the feelings of those you’re not asking?”

“Yes, I’m seeing and hearing your response and your dog’s response to the stimulus and trigger…Is it that the pressure that you’re putting on the leash is also increasing the dog’s reaction to the stimulus in this environment?”

“Shouldn’t I be further along at this point in my life? I mean, if I look at my friends they’re all married and settled down…”

“What other questions will they ask me? Oh my goodness, maybe I just need to spend some more time thinking aboutall the people in the room and all the questions they could possibly ask me, I’m just not sure.”

“There’s a pattern in this team that they tend to be outcome focused and extraverted and I’m seeing that showing up in a number of places; there’s lots of different behaviours but really what you can see is that drive and energy to get stuff done.”