Introduction

Many people have run the gauntlet of personality tests and have come away feeling labeled as a color or a set of letters or some animal, without proper understanding of how personality wiring is mixed with historical experiences and personal choices. The truth is that we are amazingly complex people, much more so than a simple online test can show us.

All people should be able to contribute freely using their authentic, natural voices without being marginalized or maligned. Not the voice they feel they ought to or should use but the one that truly reflects who they really are. But this rarely happens. In this book, we attempt to help you do two distinctly powerful things: discover your voice and communicate more effectively.

And so, we have simplified the complicated personality process by creating the 5 Voices—the Pioneer, Connector, Guardian, Creative, and Nurturer—to help you understand who you are and what it sounds like to be on the other side of your voice. We will help you explore your natural wiring along with your historical upbringing and how your personal choices affect the way you behave today. The 5 Voices gives you room to understand your voice order and explore how each different voice contributes to what people actually hear and experience. The intentional change that happens first in you will impact all those around you, whether you are a leader or simply a busy adult who wants to improve your influence and effectiveness.

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