Culture Insights Blog

Published on 15 Apr 2015

This writing on Avoidance is due to be published today. I am only just doing it at ten in the morning while I am actually at a meeting in Auckland with 20 other people. It must be obvious to anyone who is observant that I am not fully present in the moment. The group is missing out on my creativity as I tap away on my laptop.

Published on 07 Apr 2015

In describing ourselves as moderate to high in Dependent Style, we are saying we do not believe that our effort makes a difference. While this belief can be ingrained in our thinking, it can also reflect contextual situations in our lives which make us feel that we are not able to set and achieve our own goals.

Published on 31 Mar 2015

If we describe ourselves as being moderate to high in Conventional Style, we are telling ourselves that it is important to do the 'right thing' in terms of 'what others think' and according to the 'rules'. We metaphorically stand with our back to ourselves and our innate creativity and look externally for guidance.

Published on 25 Mar 2015

If in our LSI 1 we describe ourselves as moderate to high on Approval Style we are telling ourselves that it is more important to please others than to please ourselves. Visually I can picture our unique and creative self facing the world with anticipation and creativity.

Published on 10 Feb 2015

Mergers, acquisitions and other forms of strategic alliances generally have two dimensions which are crucial to their success1. The operational dimension, that is the business case for considering the merger in the first place, and the cultural and people dimension.

Published on 03 Feb 2015

Have you ever thought to obtain a tangible measure of your organisation's culture? We all have a sense of it, but how well can we pinpoint exactly what's going on and more importantly what's driving it.

Published on 22 Jan 2015

During the 2012/2013 year, 16,024 Australian leaders and managers completed the Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI), with a view to gaining awareness of their current effectiveness and insight into their potential to be more effective in their role. In most cases, these leaders and managers were part of a development program positioned to improve the performance of the individual, team or organisation

Published on 13 Jan 2015

Here at Human Synergistics much of our work centres on helping individuals build greater levels of self-awareness. We consistently find the higher our self-awareness the more likely we are to have a constructive impact on others in our lives. So where does mindfulness sit in relation to self-awareness?

Published on 02 Dec 2014

Most people would agree that integrity is at the core of every good leader, but what about humility? What springs to mind when you hear the word? Respect? Weakness? Power? Think about those people in your life who you have found most influential and inspiring, were they marked with humility?

Published on 27 Nov 2014

The idea of change is a hot topic amongst organisations today. But what role does stability play? Research by Noel Burchell and Darl Kolb* sheds light on this, suggesting that stability is an equally important factor in executing the long term success of a business. Stability should not only be seen for its association with conformity, control, formalisation, hierarchy, status quo and standardisation.