#Blogs

How do you deal with tensions that, at first glance, seem impossible to reconcile? For Ivo Brughmans - author of (De)polarisatie, philosopher, and management consultant

How do you design your leadership development program? How do you evaluate it — and, most important, how do you redesign it?

Groups do not just think together; they also remember together. Transactive memory is the shared system that helps people know who knows what

How do you design your leadership development program? How do you evaluate it — and, most important, how do you redesign it?

Most leaders step into a new role with the same script: listen, observe, meet stakeholders, and unveil a plan somewhere between day 60 and day 100. It sounds sensible, but it has a hidden flaw: by the time the leader “understands” the organization, many people have already drawn conclusions about the leader—and often, those conclusions are wrong. In complex, fast‑moving organizations, leaders cannot afford to wait months to truly know what’s going on.

Organizational change efforts fail at staggering rates - 30 to 70% - primarily because they sideline the human element: individual and collective reactions. Over two decades of research underscores this, yet forward-thinking approaches like employee participation can rewire brains for adaptation, unlock novel collective insights, and dramatically improve outcomes. Platforms such as CircleLytics provide a scalable antidote to flawed top-down methods, enabling timely, consistent, and fair people involvement.

People often have good ideas, concerns, or experiences to share, yet stay silent in meetings, workshops, and other public settings. That silence is rarely a sign of indifference. More often, it reflects a mix of psychological, social, and organizational barriers that make speaking up feel risky, uncomfortable, or simply not worth it.

Organizations are often described as either hierarchical or networked, but in reality, most successful organizations need both. Hierarchy brings clarity, accountability, and direction. Networks bring energy, adaptability, and the ability to solve problems across boundaries. The question is not whether hierarchy or network is better. The real question is how leaders use both in a way that helps people work together effectively.

In the world of co-determination, the Works Council (OR) of HasKoning Nederland BV stands out as an example of effective, inclusive representation.

In many organizations, it is not complexity itself that derails decisions and change. It is our reflex to oversimplify that complexity, to deny it, or to push it out of sight. That reflex feels efficient in the boardroom, but it is costly on the work floor.