Know Your Voice. Experience The Impact.
Have you ever wondered:
“Why do some people just rub me the wrong way?”
“Why does my boss come across as “mean”?
“Why does my friend need to know ALL the details?”
When we encounter different personalities, we often choose to either ignore (“I’ll let it slide.”) or retaliate (“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”). In the long run, though, it will hurt you and those around you. If you’re a manager or leader, you’ll probably lose people, dollars and energy.
In the past, I’ve been exposed to assessments such as Birkman, Enneagram, DISC, StrengthsFinders, and 16 Personalities. They were all helpful in creating self-awareness. But, In 2023, I got certified in the 5 Voices through GiANT Worldwide. With the 5 Voices, I’ve found it even more effective because it’s STICKY - relatively easy to remember and use on a daily basis which produces high impact.
So, what is the “5 Voices System”?
The 5 Voices System was created by Steve Cockram. He was a consultant for the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI is very comprehensive, but hard to use on a daily, practical basis especially when you need to work with other people. So, the 5 Voices was created to focus on Leadership, Communication, Motivation, Tendencies and Influence.
There are 5 Foundational Voices. There are the Nurturer, Creative, Guardian, Connector, and Pioneer. It’s important to know that each person possesses all of these voices and has a particular “voice order”. But each person will have one of these voices as their “Foundational Voice” that they filter all the other voices through. Here’s just a snippet about each:
Nurturers are the relationship oil on a team. They value people over profit. They value everyone’s contributions and respect everyone’s opinion. They allow everyone to be heard. But, this also means that they may not comfortably speak up about their own opinions. However, Nurturers actually represent 43% of the population - which is a lot of people - so, if Nurturers are thinking about something, they’re probably representing the views of a large chunk of people. Nurturers need to know that their opinions and competence matters. So, encourage and affirm them to share their thoughts first before the other Voices.
Creatives are the people of integrity and authenticity. They have an internal wiring as conceptual architects to identify patterns and connect ideas. This allows them to envision a better future and challenge people to be even better than they are now. With that foresight, they are also the ones who see dangers first. If there’s something “out there” that seems to misalign with the organizational mission, vision, and values, they will sense it. With all that is going on in their heads, though, Creatives have a harder time articulating and communicating succinctly. It may be hard to understand what a Creative means at first. But, stay curious and ask the Creative more questions to pull out that golden nugget of wisdom or idea.
Guardians are disciplined, committed, and values being an excellent steward of resources. They will get things done and deliver on time and on budget. They operate and make decisions through logic and systematic processes. They are the ones who will ask the hard questions such as “Have we counted the cost in this strategy?” or “Is this the best thing to do NOW?”. When you’re working on changing something, make sure you invite a Guardian from the beginning. They will ask for the details (a lot of details), but remember that they just want to know what the expectations are and how to succeed. It may go slower, so be patient. But, having Guardians help you think through ROI, milestones and success criteria will ensure that you’re going to get good results.
Connectors are extremely relational and can sustain the largest number of relationships. They can find a connection point with most people. They are gifted communicators and storytellers. They can be very inspirational. They love to work collaboratively and win together as a team. They tend to integrate their work and play all throughout the day, though. So, Connectors need to find solid time and space to rest and to also do deep, focused work. To help Connectors stay enthusiastic, celebrate their achievements and avoid a lot of routine and monotonous work.
Pioneers are future-oriented, visionary, and the most strategic. They are able to align resources (people, finances, systems) to achieve that vision. They will also make the hard decisions and remove obstacles that are getting in the way of their vision. They love intellectual challenges and can come across as lacking compassion. But, beware - challenging their competence is like challenging their identity. When working with Pioneers, back up your ideas/proposals with expertise, data and examples to demonstrate your competency. Don’t be afraid to push back, but stick to the issue objectively with examples and information.
Oh, being a part of this world with so many different personalities can be so glorious, BUT, it can also make life, well, complicated. We’re not all the same, and it should be celebrated. Instead, we find ourselves perplexed, frustrated, avoidant, resentful…and the list goes on. But, we can CHOOSE to “override” our personality tendencies, learn to act differently and create outstanding results.