The Human Synergistics Circumplex
See What Drives Performance
The Circumplex is a powerful visual model that helps you see, measure, and change the thinking and behavioural styles that drive performance—across individuals, teams,
leaders, and organisations.
Simple, intuitive, and backed by decades of research, it turns complex behavioural data into clear, actionable insight.
Trusted By
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Why the Human Synergistics Circumplex
Make the invisible visible
Allows you to ‘see’ the thinking and behavioural styles that are driving the performance of people and groups in your organisation, as well as the organisation itself.Create a shared language
Align individuals, teams, and leaders with a common framework to understand, discuss, and improve behaviour and culture.Focus development where it matters
Identify the styles that drive effectiveness—and those that may be limiting performance—so you can take targeted, meaningful action.Designed for development
Our Circumplex and diagnostics are designed to provide a foundation for change – a picture of now – allowing you to see improvements over time.How the Circumplex Works
A simple model with powerful insight
A ground-breaking innovation when it was developed 50 years ago, and regularly reviewed and refined since then, the Circumplex has been applied and endorsed by millions of clients around the world – a true testament to its validity, relevance and value.The Circumplex is typically incorporated into Human Synergistics’ measurement tools such as the Organisational Culture Inventory®, Life Styles Inventory™, Group Styles Inventory™ and Customer ServiceStyles™ Survey.
A simple model with powerful insight
As you can see in the image, it breaks down the factors underlying performance effectiveness (at individual, group and organisational levels) according to 12 behaviours or styles. These behaviours or styles are further grouped according to three general style clusters:- Constructive styles encourage the attainment of organisational goals through people development; promote teamwork and synergy; and enhance individual, group and organisational adaptability and effectiveness.
- Aggressive/Defensive styles lead people to focus on their own needs at the expense of those of their group and organisation, and lead to stress, turnover and inconsistent performance.
- Passive/Defensive styles lead people to subordinate themselves to the organisation, stifle creativity and initiative, and allow the organisation to stagnate.
How Human Synergistics helps
Our Integrated Approach
Our Integrated Diagnostic System uses the Circumplex to display visual feedback for individuals, teams, managers, leaders, and organisations, enabling you to use a common language at all levels.
Our Consultants
Our consultants are recognised world-class professionals with extensive experience in the process of creating sustainable performance. They can work directly with you to help you achieve genuine change.
Become Accredited
Empower your staff or yourself with our industry recognised accreditation and application workshops. We give people the skills to transform organisations from the inside out.