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Hosted by Masi Willis and Shannon Scott, Lead Like You Mean It is a leadership podcast for those who want more than inspiration—they want impact. We’ll help you lead from the inside out, with tools that stick and some truth that stretches you.
Everything Made Beautiful (00:02.092)
Welcome back to the Lead Like You Mean It podcast. Yes, glad to be back with all of you guys today. We are definitely on a roll. We are talking about the five voices. If you have not listened to our previous three episodes, you will want to do that. That's episodes seven, eight, and nine. But here on episode 10, we're going to talk about our third.
of the five voices. But before we do that, Mace, remind us real quickly of the six assumptions we want to be sure are in place when we're talking about five voices. Okay. And before I get in there, can I be a little bit funny? Well, you're always funny. So please continue. So I am because we are in the Caymans and we did let our listeners who are those diehards know
We can assume, since we're talking about assumptions, we're about somewhere around first to October-ish. Right, yeah, I think we're in October. And our SEC football. we don't know anything. We don't. Because we're recording this in August. Right. The first game has not even been played. So one of us is probably unhappy right now. And I think, if I'm right,
Georgia may have just played Alabama. Well, I can also tell you that I know that Florida has the hardest schedule in the SEC, maybe in the country. Yeah, for the second year in a row, let me just say.
If Georgia has just played Alabama, then there has been some significant feelings expressed. I'm sure. I'm sure. So for those who are diehards and you love college football as much as we do, and you're wondering why we're not talking about the result of Saturday's game, it's because this is August. Yes. We haven't even gotten to the first game of the season, which is coming up this Saturday for us. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Bull peanuts. Yes. Bull peanuts.
Everything Made Beautiful (02:06.354)
rum point tomorrow early coming to run point lay on the beach and then coming home for kickoff for Georgia first and then Florida second. So anyway, football call out. Yeah, we'll have to remember we have gone back in time as they're listening to this podcast and we you know, we do love our diet coke and our sweet teas and all the Georgia peach things we love. So let's talk about five voices. So let's just think about
The five assumptions I want to make sure you're clear on, I'm going to go through them pretty quickly. We have all five voices. Unlike other assessments which might say, you you can't draw from anything, we are all five. The order that they come in really, really matters. Some voices are more natural to us than others. We have a natural first voice.
And it is just an unconscious competence. We just do it. We don't even know how that voice is so natural to us. Our second and third voices are more like a lens. Think of them as a pair of glasses that bring sharpness to what your natural voice is or uniqueness to that natural voice. Your fourth voice is your blind spot. Who's it blind to? You, just me. So the fourth voice is a blind spot. And the fifth one is a nemesis. It doesn't mean that you can't
get it, can't draw from it, you can't utilize that voice. It's just going to take time and effort and a little bit more brain power and energy to get to it. So we are all five voices. We have one that is our most natural. As we mature in the knowledge of voices, not in our age or in our exposure in life, but more just the maturity of understanding.
five voices, you will begin to value the contribution of each voice and what it brings. We have been influenced by nature, nurture, and choice in life. What's natural to us, think of it as your dominant hand, you just sign your signature like nobody's business. Think about nurture as more like taking that pen and put it in your non-dominant hand.
Everything Made Beautiful (04:17.718)
It takes more of your brain, you have to shift your body. You might even get a crooked back for a little bit, but you can use that nurtured voice. It's just gonna be more energy. And then there has been choice in our life that may have impacted us, whether it's been done to us or it was a choice we made in life, whether it's trauma or the loss of something or something your parents did that really impact how you choose to live life can impact it.
The fifth assumption I want you to think about is do not assume that you know someone's foundational voice. Do not say, oh, I bet they're a guardian when you don't know that. So do not assume it, do not weaponize it, do not use it against anyone. And then finally, don't assume that you understand what the words mean. Each one of these words is unique, defined by us and not assumed by.
whether you live in the Western world and think pioneer is one thing or you live in Italy and a creative would have built the Sistine Chapel. So let us define the words for you do not assume or want to put them into a format. Try your hardest to undo if you think a guardian is more like a soldier or warrior. Let us tell you what that is. It's good. So we're going to talk about our third of the five voices today.
And that is the Guardian. I don't think this term was really popular several years ago. I think Guardians of the Galaxy made it more popular. And so more people are familiar with and use this term than might have initially. But talk to us about the Guardian in the context of Five Voices. Yes, the sweet Guardian. I love them. They are the champion of due diligence.
They're all about resources and efficient systems and processes. They really do champion those specific things. They are relentless when it comes to the commitment to ask the difficult questions. They really, really are guarding the company, the bottom line, the profit. They'll seek to honor the past as teams look towards the future. So they will go back to what the historical data is.
Everything Made Beautiful (06:37.984)
and what has always worked sometimes can get in that rut of like it's not broke so why fix it. They will honor the past as they start looking towards the future. They accept as personal commitment they wanna make sure they deliver everything on time, on budget, no matter what. They detach their decision making from personal sentiment. They really are like I can't feel right now.
through this decision because I'm guarding what we're doing and it can't matter how I feel, I've got to protect this and go towards it. So in that, they sometimes can be a little bit risk adverse because they do not want to take risks around what they're doing. They are the, let's have a pilot program or let's test the spicy chicken sandwich in Nashville or.
What is option A? What is option B? What is option C? Because once they actually look at it, they want to make sure the risk is worth the investment. And then finally, they really respect logic, order, systems, repeatable processes. I often say that Guardian is our moneymaker. Because once your Guardian has all the information they need, they will deliver.
They have that shield that's like, I'm not moving forward until I can complete this. And if you do not give them time to ask all their questions and gather all their data, when something goes wrong, you'll see the guardian come, could come out and say things like, well, I could have told you that because I said we need to do this, this and this, right? So those are their strengths. There are a few challenges. I will say this is my second voice.
And it is a very, very, very easy to access second voice for me. I am a perfectionist. Those of you familiar with the Enneagram, I'm an Enneagram one. And so I access my guardian a lot. I'm also a female who has worked a long time. And a lot of times in order to work in corporate America and in ministry context where programs come the same time every week,
Everything Made Beautiful (09:01.688)
you have to get real good at guardian type work. And so a lot has probably been nurtured in me. I think that the nurturer first voice is more my nature and the guardian second voice is a lot of nurture. I've learned to do it because I had to do it, but it is definitely the lens through which I process my nurture in the world as well. When Maisie talked about
delivering things on time and on budget. I will stay up all night if a deadline is coming before I will say, hey, I just wasn't able to get to it. Is that okay?
While I'm sure bosses love it, it can be something that is not personally healthy if it's done over the long haul, but I feel that deeply on time and on budget. feel that deeply. Well, I like to think of it, like I said earlier, as the lens through what you look through. And when you think about the fact that what the nurture champions is relational, you know, harmony, if harmony is going to be tested by a lack of processes,
It really is that nurture first voice going, I'm going to put the lens second voice of the guardian around to create systems that will make the experience for people better. Now the guardian first voice, they're really not considering that nurture as their first voice. They truly are looking absolutely able to remove their personal sentiment because they really want to cross all their T's, dot their I's and make sure it's done. I used to work,
lead a team and one of the logistics coordinators name was Charlie and he was awesome he would come in and ask me now may see these 22 trucks I've got to get to this warehouse like I need to know the route we're going and I would answer all of his questions and I would say Charlie you got everything you need my yeah I might have to come back with you for something and I'd let him go away figure out his questions he'd come back he'd ask me more questions I may see when do we get this hallway and when do we get this back entrance
Everything Made Beautiful (11:07.724)
Charlie would ask me questions. I didn't have this language then. And sometimes it'd be like, why does Charlie have so many questions? It didn't bother me at the time, because there were a thousand other things to be doing. And you knew he was doing his job and he was working. Well, and once Charlie had all the questions answered, I never worried about anything going wrong or happening. Were there going to be mistakes? Yes, I'm not saying guardians are perfect, but he crossed all his T's, his I's, had his questions answered.
and then he was going to own it to the finish. Whatever problems went wrong through his role, he was problem solving. He never turned and looked at other people. However, there are challenges with the Guardian Voice. Because they desire for truth and right decisions, they sometimes can override feelings of others and can really feel interrogated, interrogative, and then they lack, at times lack tone and tact.
because they really want to get to the factual bottom line truth. And so they will start drilling and can cause issues with their relationships and the effectiveness with others. They are the third most heard around the table. The creative is the nurturers, the least likely to be heard because they don't speak. The creative is the second least likely to be heard.
because they're so confusing in the way that they speak. And sometimes we just write them off and brush them off before we can actually get everything out of them. The guardian is the third likely to be heard because we actually want to give up on all their questions. We are just like, what? Debbie down or don't invite him to the meeting. We're just in creative mode. We're in, you know, we're in this mode of collaboration and that guardian is going to come in, ask way too many questions. Let's just.
Let's just don't invite them. And don't you think sometimes that that guardian propensity to ask a lot of questions can be received as they're not on board with the vision. They're not behind what we're doing because they're asking all these questions. They're just being contrarian for the sake of it or argumentative for the sake of it. But that's not the case. Yeah. And I love that you said that because in the future it's why Five Voices is literally that blueprint. It isn't the house.
Everything Made Beautiful (13:31.501)
Because when we know this about these voices, it really helps us pick up tools in that we would be facilitating and coaching moments to say, inside of a collaborative meeting, we need to define what this meeting is so that the guardian understands, I can't really ask a thousand questions because they're not going to have a thousand answers because right now they're just ideating. And I might have three or four pillars to that they might want to.
put down throughout this creative session, but I really don't need to poke holes quite yet. So that is definitely what ends up coming of the Guardian. So your second voice is the Guardian. So why don't you tell us like, what percentage do you represent? And then go ahead and tell me what your first and second voice represents if you add them together. So Guardians are the second highest percentage of the population at 30%.
So if you think of nurturers that we talked about in the first of our voices as 43 % of the population, and guardians as 30 % of the population. Now, 73 % of the overall population are nurturers and guardians. Remember we talked about creative was 9%, pretty far down there. The other thing to consider is that guardians and nurturers are present voices. So,
That just means we're thinking about today and how we're going to do all the steps to get to future innovation. The other three voices are future voices. They're going to see what's coming and then back their way into it. So 73 % of the population overall, which means a high percentage likely of your team are present voiced nurturers and guardians.
So with all that you've heard about the nurturer and about guardians, this is really, really critical for leaders of teams because the majority of people are those present voiced. One is very much people focused. One is profit focused. Some of us are first voice people and focused and present and second voice profit and present. Neither of us are future. And so sometimes
Everything Made Beautiful (15:50.904)
friction that you're feeling in an organization or friction on a team with a really high visionary leader is because the majority of the population is thinking present and thinking processes and people and sometimes that can feel like Not on board or not on board with a vision for a visionary leader I'm laughing because it makes me think about the church environment that you're in and how we could put this into play even even in you know, the
the sector of tires or some type of different organization is like the present voice people are thinking about we've got kids camp and kick off for going back to school and we're doing a volunteer backpack stuffing event this weekend to make sure all of our kids in our area who aren't don't have the privilege of getting that. And then this future dreamer.
head pastor or creative directors like, hey, so I was thinking about the series of Christmas and we're like, Christmas, we still got Labor Day, we still got Halloween, we still got Thanksgiving, like we are not at Christmas. The kids have not even gone back to school. Yes. So you can see where conflict would happen or even in like out in the marketplace where, you know, you might be running a manufacturing or distribution company right now while your leader is a visionary, a pioneer or future thinker.
And they're like, we should expand to or think about other warehouse locations and everyone else like, we've got to get our gross profit where it needs to be right here before we start thinking about the future. So it's where that frustration sometimes is felt in misunderstood. We go home and we, we do that gossip thing. We're like, my gosh, can you believe they keep coming to the table with all these crazy? They are so oblivious. what we are dealing with. They're going to bed dreaming about the future. It's cause they don't have to do anything today.
All those kind of really hard things happen. So yes, the guardian is that 30%. And if you take the first three voices and you add them together with the nurture and the creative, 82 % are in those voices. And there's a fact that Google did an Aristotle project where they interviewed 180 of their teams internally to determine the dynamics that create high performing teams.
Everything Made Beautiful (18:14.446)
And what they found is that communication relationship, alignment, execution, and capacity actually made up high performing teams. But what happens is they were really only performing at about 60 % of their ability, a little bit less than that. So they're leaving 40 cents to the dollar on the table. And one of the things that they determined was that out of that 60%, why they were performing at a lower rate is because 82 % of the voices or the people
around the table did not feel heard, valued, or appreciated. 82 % are your nurturers, your creative, and your guardians. So we shut them down around the table, and our next two voices will be very revealing of what the makeup of the rest of them are. And so we really have to watch for the guardians that we...
We know they're risk averse and we know that they can show up and be negative or seem as though they're being negative or bringing this really excessive challenge that you're like, come on, back it down, dude. Don't come with 20 questions, come with A. Or come on, Debbie Downer, like, sweetheart, can you just walk in and say something positive? Just watch out for that challenge. And the one thing that we can do to empower them, what would you say? Welcome the critique.
It will not feel like critique if you've welcomed it. It will not feel like challenge if you're saying, hey, I know that of all of us, you're the one thinking about the due diligence on this project, so we welcome you. This is the meeting where we want you to be fully guardian and ask us all the questions. Then the guardian will naturally not be as excessive in the critique and the people hearing the critique won't receive it as a challenge.
And this is where we grow in maturity because I told you that the guardian is my nemesis voice and When we talk about the voice next week I will share a little bit of a problem in my voice order that I struggle with But now that I really value the guardian voice I speak that a lot like hey I've gotten to this place of this future thing I have going on I really need to bring a guardian to the table or I bring Shannon because I know her second voice is so strong, but even that
Everything Made Beautiful (20:34.584)
first voice guardian, they really can do the due diligence to look at the structure of what the things I'm creating, help me put them into a process, help me get them efficient. And because I welcome it and invite it, it does not bother me. It is an encouragement for me, but that is a maturity that I got to. Not in a maturity, I was like, Macy's so great. No, more of like I began to value what was just this almost.
kryptonite in me as my nemesis voice. You know the other thing I've noticed about you is because you so dislike guardian work, your assumption is that you need to be apologetic if you ask me to engage in guardian work. And so I work day in and day out with a first voice guardian. She cannot wait.
to take a whole pile of details and organize them and put processes around them. I know you wanna die. But you know, it's interesting for me because Guardian is my second voice. I like doing details and the organizational structure around them because I do love what it does for the environment and for people. But knowing I can let her do that, lets me sit really.
profoundly in my nurture and not have to pick up as many of those details now, but don't apologize to your guardians when you ask them to create processes in systems, because we love it. And to close out, really, I'm thinking there's people listening to me right now and they're saying, yeah, Macy, you're not telling the truth because we'll talk about my first voice next episode, but I have so often in my life been pushed into guardian work. I often get,
hired for my natural first voice. But then culture often doesn't want to pay for that natural first voice, which is very powerful and necessary. But then you start pushing people into present voiced work, which is not natural to me. And so when we get to the voice next week, I'll help you understand for those of you that might know me personally and have understood my history and work I've done.
Everything Made Beautiful (22:51.15)
why I can often be mistaken for loving those details and those processes and those things that you so love through the lens of your nurture voice. All right. All right. That is our third voice. Next week we'll do voice number four. Don't forget if you're wondering, I wonder what my voice is. This is all really interesting. Ooh, I'm starting to hear stuff that sounds a little bit like me. There's a free assessment that you can take in the show notes.
but we really encourage you then to take a next step. Reach out to Macy, find out what a next step for learning more about the five voices in your context might be. And in the meantime, before we see you next week in your context, in your sector, in your sphere of influence, our challenge to you is to go out and lead like you mean it. We'll see you next time. Bye.