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open culture
The Silent Killer: people risks and culture

By Nicole Barrett, Psychologist | May 16, 2018

A prevalent theme that continues to bubble up at the moment is workplace culture. In the wake of the emissions conspiracy, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess has stated that creating an open and transparent culture is a key priority for the organisation...

organisational culture
Culture: A Problem for Senior Leadership

By Nicole Barrett, Psychologist | Dec 6, 2017

There's a pattern I've noticed of late. The number of leaders willing to assess their organisational culture is growing ... hooray! The bad news is that while leaders are warming to the idea, and reviewing culture diagnostic reports, they tend to...

open culture
An Open and Closed Case for Culture

By Nicole Barrett, Psychologist | Nov 16, 2017

How many times have you heard the definition of culture as being, "the way we do things around here"? Whilst this simplistic view of culture serves a purpose; minimizing the complexity of such a multifaceted construct is of little help in terms of...

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stuck in the mud
Stuck in the Mud: the problem with middle management

By Nicole Barrett, Psychologist | May 16, 2017

I'd like you to consider the concept of 'middle management mud'. You know, that group of people 'stuck' between meeting the demands of senior leaders and the needs of the people that they lead? Whilst I totally empathise with their plight, and the...

role of the safety person
Transforming the Role of the Safety Person

By Nicole Barrett, Psychologist | May 15, 2017

Let's talk about the role of the safety person. I say 'person', because labels such as safety leader, safety manager, safety advisor and safety officer conjure up specific images and expectations about what these people do which may or may not be...

anxiety of safety
The Anxiety of Safety

By Nicole Barrett, Psychologist | Mar 6, 2017

For nearly 20 years I've been on projects designed to assess and improve culture and collated data from over 6000 surveys, 700 interviews and 100's of focus groups in the energy, construction, aviation and oil and gas industries as well as local and...

leadership of change
Coaching for Impactful Leadership of Change

By Nicole Barrett, Psychologist | Sep 9, 2016

Researchers and change practitioners know that successful management of change requires more than a list of activities that form the basis of an overarching project plan. Yet, despite having a solid understanding of both theory and methods, the...

consultation or collaboration
Consultation or Collaboration: why it's important to know the difference

By Nicole Barrett, Psychologist | Jun 18, 2016

Time and time again, I hear employees express their opinion about 'one directional' change events and feelings of 'being done to' with regard to new systems and solutions being pushed upon them. Yet ask a Project, Change or People Manager and...