5 Voices

12Leading Effective Change

Picture yourself in front of a group of people, whether it is your team, family, or a volunteer group at your church or community group. You are standing there about to share some really important changes that are about to take place. Or, you may be sharing a vision of the future from your perspective to get everyone on the same page as you. There are several possibilities for how this could go. Perhaps you'll see nothing but blank stares. Or you will see heads nodding, or both. Perhaps you are surprised, after you paint a glorious picture of the future, that nobody seems motivated to take action, or seem to have not even heard you at all. Why is that?

The best leaders have the ability to communicate vision clearly and effectively, while leading people through the necessary changes in a way that allows as many people as possible to feel supported in the process and does not squander resources along the way. Sound impossible? It's not, but it requires that leaders create an environment where everyone can effectively hear the vision or idea, adapt to it, and offer his or her own suggestions. We're going to show you how to do that, how to take your understanding of your voice and tendencies and learn to communicate, make changes, and cast vision.

Here's a question for you. Which voices do you think make the most effective communicators and why? You might say, “Connectors, because they tend to be storytellers.” Others may say, “Pioneers, because they're ...