Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®)
Trusted by 200+ Organisations
The HBDI® assesses the thinking styles of individuals and teams. The Whole Brain® Thinking approach assists organisations, teams and individuals to measure and harness cognitive diversity.
Whole Brain® Thinking Programs Trusted by 200+ Australian Organisations
Helping Australian organisations unlock cognitive diversity through accredited HBDI® profiling and Whole Brain® Thinking programs for over 14 years.
What is Whole Brain® Thinking?
As the basis of Whole Brain® Thinking, HBDI teaches you how to communicate both with those who think the same as you and those who think differently.
Once someone understands their thinking style preferences, the door is open to improved:
- teamwork
- leadership
- customer relationships
- creativity
- problem-solving
- other dimensions of personal and interpersonal development
The 116-question HBDI assessment evaluates and describes the degree of preference individuals have for thinking in each of the four quadrants, as depicted by the Herrmann Whole Brain® Model.
More than thirty years of research and innovation stand behind the HBDI, which was developed in the 1970s by Ned Herrmann (then a manager at General Electric).
Who is the HBDI® for?
Research has shown that we can all learn to diagnose and adapt to the thinking preferences of others. Presenting information in a way that recognises, respects and is compatible with different preferences is crucial to meeting colleague and client needs.
The Start Thinking™ program is recommended for:
- Executives;
- Senior leaders;
- Managers;
- Teams of all levels
Over 3 million people around the world have taken the HBDI. Leading academic institutions and organisations of all sizes and industries, including 97% of Fortune 100 companies, are using the HBDI and Whole Brain® Thinking techniques to get better results in their mission-critical areas.
HBDI® program options
Start Thinking™
Research has shown that we can all learn to diagnose and adapt to the thinking preferences of others. Presenting information in a way that recognises, respects and is compatible with different preferences is crucial to meeting colleague and client needs.
The Start Thinking™ program is recommended for:
- Executives;
- Senior leaders;
- Managers;
- Teams of all levels
Over 3 million people around the world have taken the HBDI®. Leading academic institutions and organisations of all sizes and industries, including 97% of Fortune 100 companies, are using the HBDI® and Whole Brain® Thinking techniques to get better results in their mission-critical areas.
The power of this program is not just in the process – it is in the underlying principle: that making sales is all about communication and relationships.
At the end of this program your team will:
- understand themselves better, especially how they think and communicate
- know how to use this model and approach clients in new ways
- quickly build trust and demonstrate value, the way the client needs to hear and see it presented
Underpinning a sales process with the HBDI® and a Whole Brain® approach will give your team the ability to connect, respond, influence and relate to existing and potential clients with ease. This results in higher levels of trust, a better ability to ‘flex’ in response to the audience and increased conversion rates.
3 Simple Steps to HBDI®
Step 1
Book a consultation with one of our senior learning specialists.
Step 2
Work with us to create a custom plan based on what you need.
Step 3
Deliver the program, along with evidence it creates real change.
Connect with us
Talk to us about the results you need. We’ll show you some options for getting there. And then together we’ll deliver a program your people will love.
What is the Start Thinking™ program?
Start Thinking™
Quite simply, how we think determines how we act, and how we act determines how well we perform. This is the premise of the Start Thinking™ workshop. In this half-day, face to face session we will introduce your team to the concepts of Herrmann Whole Brain® Thinking and explain how they can be applied to the varied challenges of business life.
By learning to recognise and understand thinking styles and preferences, they’ll experience an immediate improvement in their ability to communicate, to collaborate, to generate ideas, to solve problems and make decisions.
It’s the start of a process that will not only transform them as individuals, but create the groundwork for organisational change that will lead to better outcomes and results across your business.
Start Thinking™ is the first step in transforming your business by transforming your people.
Start Thinking™ Program Overview
Topics Covered
This workshop explains the theory, through activity and experience.
Participants will:
- Be debriefed on their HBDI profile and learn to interpret the data.
- Explore quadrant clusters, strengths and frustrations and personal work preferences.
- Learn to recognise other people’s thinking preferences and what they mean.
- Apply an understanding of thinking preferences to business challenges.
Learning Outcomes
Participants in Start Thinking™ will:
- Understand the Whole Brain® Model and the concept of thinking preferences.
- Understand their HBDI profile and preferences and the impact it has on their role and the team.
- Understand how to spot and understand other people’s thinking preferences.
- Understand how to use this knowledge to work more effectively as a team.
- Apply insights from their thinking style to specific business opportunities.
- Understand how thinking preferences impact your leadership style.
Program Additions
We can tailor follow up sessions for your specific organisational context as required. As an example, many clients choose to follow the Start Thinking™ program with Communication and Teamwork sessions.
ThinkAbout™ Communication
Many of our day-to-day business problems can be solved by simply improving our communication.
Whether we are having conversations internally or talking to customers, it’s critically important that we can ‘get through’ to people who have different thinking styles to our own.
Many organisations are now using Whole Brain® Thinking to create a ‘common language’ that makes it easier to reach a shared understanding.
During this half-day workshop, participants examine the way their thinking preferences affect the way they communicate. They’ll then learn to communicate more effectively by employing the Whole Brain® Communicator to align their messages with all four quadrants of the brain.
During the workshop, participants will:
- Explore the impact that thinking preferences have on the way in which people communicate.
- Learn how to communicate more effectively by aligning how they both speak and listen to their audience’s thinking style.
- Practice having a Whole Brain® conversation when there is no time to prepare.
At the end of this workshop, participants will:
- Use the Whole Brain® Model to understand how other people communicate.
- Recognise their own communication style and appreciate the impact it has on their audience.
- Recognise and understand the ‘language’ that someone else is using.
- Use the four quadrants of the Whole Brain® Model to communicate more effectively.
- Use the Whole Brain® Model to avoid misunderstandings and miscommunications.
- Reach a wider audience by communicating in a Whole Brain® style.
ThinkAbout™ Teamwork
When workload exceeds the capacity of an individual, we usually form a team to get the job done. But getting a group of people to act effectively together is not easy.
People think differently, with different priorities and a desire for different outcomes. Managing these differences is critical to success and this is where the Whole Brain® Thinking Model proves to be an invaluable tool.
Our aim is not to create teams of like-minded individuals. Far from it. One study revealed that teams with a full range of thinking preferences are 66% more effective! Our aim is to help you take full advantage of different thinking styles by aligning them in such a way that the team enjoys the synergistic effect of becoming greater than the sum of its parts.
During the workshop, participants will:
- Explore the advantages of Whole Brain® Thinking within teamwork.
- Use the HBDI® Team Profile data to understand how interactions within the team create both strengths and challenges in terms of performance.
- Identify the necessary measures the team must take to employ a Whole Brain® Thinking approach to its interactions and work.
- Use the Team Planning ThinkAbout™ tool to identify tasks by quadrant so that they can be assigned more effectively.
At the end of this workshop, participants will:
- Understand what they individually bring to a team and know their specific contribution.
- Understand what others are bringing to the team and value their specific contributions.
- Know how to analyse a team profile, understand the implications for collaborative working and plan team activities.
- Recognise and understand the effects that specific tasks will have on the team and be prepared to deal with them.
Testimonial
“Understanding my way of approaching challenging situations has helped us to come up with strategies that play to the strengths of different members of the team. We know who the right people are to go to for any specific concern. It has helped us become a more collaborative, communicative, and successful organisation.”
Our promise to you
- The best solution for delivering your desired learning outcomes.
- Highly experienced and accredited consultants, facilitators and coaches.
- Proprietary methodologies based on the latest research and experience from world-leading consultants.
- Evidence-driven program design. You always know what results you’re getting.
- Dedicated support team. We love to help you succeed.
- Open and honest communication. Our mantra is “clear is kind”.
- You define what ‘value’ means. We deliver.
Phillip Ralph
Want to See the HBDI® Profile in Action?
Download a real sample of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) report and see exactly how thinking preferences are mapped across the Whole Brain® Model.
This example outlines quadrant scores, preference codes, pressure responses, and work elements to give you a clear picture of how the HBDI® drives individual and team insight.
If you’re exploring the Start Thinking™ program or considering HBDI® for leadership, communication, or team performance initiatives, this report shows exactly what you can expect.
