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1. The HBDI Individual Thinking Styles Profile

What is the HBDI®?

The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) is the world’s leading thinking styles survey It identifies your preferred approach to emotional, analytical, structural and strategic thinking. It also provides individuals with a significantly increased level of personal understanding.

The HBDI® was developed by Ned Herrmann in the 1970s. Twenty years of research and innovation stand behind the validity of the HBDI®.

Over two-million people worldwide have undergone HBDI® analysis. It is used by over one third of all Fortune 100 companies.

The HBDI® is not just another assessment tool—it picks up where other assessment tools leave off.

Where most assessments end with a single report, the HBDI® offers a valuable range of applications. Identifying your thinking style preferences is only the first step.

How does it work?

The HBDI® identifies and measures the strength of preference for each of the four distinct thinking styles. These correspond to the cerebral hemispheres and the limbic system of the brain.

The two left side structures combine to represent what is popularly called left brain thinking. The two right side structures combine to represent right brain thinking. The two cerebral structures combine to represent cerebral thinking and the two limbic structures combine to represent limbic thinking.

The HBDI®, through its series of 120 questions, is capable of measuring the degree of preference between each of the four individual thinking structures (quadrants) and each of the four paired structures (modes). This results in a four quadrant profile, which displays the degree of preference for each of the four quadrants—your HBDI® Profile.

Scoring results are free of value judgement and cultural bias. Because it is a self-analysis, most people immediately recognise their results as accurate.

The HBDI® Profile package includes a full color profile, accompanying interpretation booklets that explain the profile and scores in detail, and a discussion of the implications that your results have for business and personal life.

Specific business applications

Individual, group awareness and cohesion

Giving individuals awareness of their thinking preferences increases personal and on-the-job effectiveness. Understanding how others think can have a big impact on productivity and team effectiveness.

Career development

Increase job fit. Decrease turnover and job dissatisfaction. Scan for high-potential leaders and factor thinking preferences into their career paths.

Communication/Conflict resolution

Analyse your messages and their match to the thinking styles of your internal/external target audiences. Diversify and balance your communications to reach all audience segments. Reduce conflicts stemming from contrasting communication styles. Ensure effective communication with anyone, about anything, at any time.

Sales and marketing effectiveness

Apply thinking styles to shape market research, gain new insights into target markets and analyse trends. Factor customers’ tendencies and preferences into sales/negotiation methods.

Culture change/Organisational learning

Assess thinking styles across learning populations. Tailor learning to match learner preferences. Factor thinking styles into your strategies for managing culture change, mergers and acquisitions.

Strategy development

Map thinking styles of executives who shape strategy. Tailor you strategy development process to turn differences from a liability into an advantage. Enhance clarity, confidence and consensus.

Creativity and innovation

Compose R&D groups, task forces and other groups to blend out-of-the-box thinkers and risk-takers with those demonstrating preferences toward analysis, planning and implementation.

2. The HBDI Pair Profile

The HBDI® Pair Profile is an in-depth analysis of any two individuals and their thinking preferences, offering valuable insights into interpersonal and workplace dynamics. The report identifies potential areas of synergy and conflict, (under everyday/normal conditions and under stress)—invaluable data that will help any two people prepare for successful interactions and long-term relationships.

Here’s how the HBDI® Pair Profile works

Two individuals (ie manager/employee, coach/coachee) must first complete their individual HBDI® assessments, and have profile results debriefed by a certified HBDI® Practitioner. An individual understanding of the Whole Brain Model© and thinking preferences, and of individual HBDI® Profile results, is a pre-requisite for HBDI® Pair Profile analysis.

This HBDI® Pair Profile is a 12-page analytical report, exploring areas of synergy and dissonance within a ‘pairs’ relationship. It provides valuable commentary on likely causes of ‘synchronisation’ and friction, and tips and techniques for more effective communication between the pair.

Pair Profile Applications

The HBDI® Pair Profile is designed to build on the insights that an individual receives from their own HBDI® profile. The HBDI® Pair Profile looks specifically at the insights to be gained by comparing and contrasting two individual profiles. It can be used very effectively for three primary types of ‘pair interactions:

Induction - We do not know each other at all. Applications include:

• new hire
• new team member
• new partner
• new boss/leader
• new coach
• mentor.

Synergy - We know each other and get along well, but would like to improve. Applications include:

• peer-to-peer
• leader and direct report
• team members
• coach and coachee
• mentor and mentee
• facilitator and participant.

Conflict - We know each other and have some issues to resolve. Applications include:

• peer-to-peer
• leader and direct report
• team members
• coach and coachee
• mentor and mentee
• parent and child
• facilitator and participant.

3. The HBDI Team Profile

The HBDI® Team Profile is an in-depth analysis of an entire team and the individual members' HBDI™ Profiles. The HBDI® Team Profile is a powerful catalyst for discussion and provides an in-depth understanding of the team and its effectiveness.

The HBDI® Team Profile includes eleven reports and is filled with a variety of data sets to explore, compare, and contrast. While each person’s thinking preferences are represented, they are all displayed confidentially. Only HBDI® Certified Practitioners are given a legend, so there’s no danger of disclosing information that is to be held in confidence.

As you go through the various reports included in the HBDI® Team Profile, be on the lookout for sensitive or potentially challenging topics. The value of these reports is that they are data driven. The data often helps to remove the emotion from sensitive areas. If individuals have a good grasp of their personal profile and its implications, they will be in a better position to fully understand the HBDI® Team Profile.

Sample pages from the HBDI™ Team Profile:

GreenLeaf Consulting helps people and organizations to gain greater insights into how people prefer to think, learn and communicate and through our customized training interventions we enable them to harness the power of their thinking for improved productivity, creativity and fulfillment.

Download a Brochure or contact Cynthia for more information