Shaun McCarthy, Human Synergistics Australia

Hi, I’m Shaun McCarthy, CEO of Human Synergistics Australia and New Zealand. Those who know me well, know that I am actually a Researcher by trade, with a passion for leadership and organisational culture.

For over 30 years I’ve been leading a group of people helping organisations build a performance culture by providing leaders with the skills and resources to achieve excellence. It is my time-honoured goal to remain true to the global Human Synergistics mission; Changing the World—One Organization at a Time®. Whether it’s about leadership, group or organisation development, our goal is to ensure that companies are well equipped to have a positive impact across all levels.

What inspired this blog might you ask? Well, after being a consultant for nearly 40 years, there's a lot in my head clambering to get out – not to mention a great deal of research and insight to back my knowledge.

And then, there is the increasing change of pace brought on by the advances in technology. It seems that now is no better time than ever to join the emerging trend of social media, thus the creation of our new blog – Culture 2.0.

The way we consume information and media is changing rapidly, so has the constant demand to retain information around the clock and on the go. This demand undoubtedly, has an effect on ourselves as leaders and those whom work for us. Which brings me to social media.

It’s all around us and it’s beginning to shape the way organisations run their business. We’re seeing the use of Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging being a driving force for innovation and growth. Why not encourage our team to share ideas and great work with its key stakeholders? What do we have to lose by initiating two-way conversations and getting instant feedback to help us meet the needs and requirements of consumers? It seems like a no brainer. However, what is the impact on productivity and performance amongst our employees? That’s another topic altogether which I will touch on in future blogs.

However, we must not just leave these social conversations in the hands of others. An interesting piece of research I came across on the Harvard Business Review, www.hbr.org revealed that CEO’s reluctance to embrace social media may be changing. IBM recently surveyed 1,709 CEOs and found that although a small number are participating in social media (just 16%) the study predicts that the percentage could grow to as much as 57% within 5 years. Not only this, social media will become one of the two most important forms of engagement with employees and customers – face to face interaction being the first priority. Well there you go, perhaps now is the time to get on board and follow suit...?

I would be doing myself an injustice if I failed to mention the biggest event in the Human Synergistics’ calendar - our 2012 Conference, The New Performance Edge: Rise of the Conscious Organisation.  As I briefly touched on earlier, there are a number of pressures that influence how leaders run their organisations today; the economy, advances in technology, redundancies, increasing sales targets…the list goes on. As leaders, we often find ourselves struggling to come up with our best thinking or finding the inspiration to produce our best work. Where do you do your best thinking? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Me, personally, I get my best ideas when I'm in the shower or having a shave! That's what we at Human Synergistics, call the ‘Aha! Moment’.

With the help a couple of very talented women (who said it was a man’s world?) we’re launching a world-first that is set to change the way business leaders operate - linking Neuroscience and leadership theory. Our Program Director, Corinne Canter from Human Synergistics and acclaimed Consulting Neuroscientist, Dr Trisha Stratford from the University of Technology in Sydney, will join me at the conference to launch our new program, Extreme Thinking.

All will be revealed on September 4 but for now, I’ll leave you with some food for thought. What if you could find a way to unlock your visionary, innovative thoughts in a deliberate way, on a more regular basis? How successful could this make you and your organisation?

I hope to see you there.

Shaun.