From the Cave to the Roof – Navigating Organizational Behaviour

A week is a long time in politics (as we are about to find out).

It is also a very long time in events that cover human behaviour and organizational culture.

Last week I was stuck in a cave looking at the shadows (see prior blog).

This week I was on the sun enlightened top floor, engaging with those who bring humility, curiosity and academic rigor to their work.

The 6th Behavioural Transformation & KCL / LSE Aldwych Behavioural Collaboration (ABC) took place alongside the Anatomy Theatre & Museum at the KCL. As such the dissection of behaviour seemed appropriate.

That said, the last anatomical slice and dice demonstration took place in 1997, and we usually like to analyse our people ante-mortem, rather than post.

I would therefore highlight that the Anatomy Theatre was itself built above the Gilbert Scott Chapel, which in turn sits above the Great Hall. And above it, on the roof (visible through the glass canopy of our venue) an old observatory.

And somewhere up there the remains of a shed in which Nobel Prize Winner Edward Appleton conducted research on the ionosphere, that eventually led to the development of radar.

So we were up on the light filled top floor, looking outwards. Questioning, detecting patterns & anomalies, applying the scientific approach to the mysteries of human behaviour.

Many thanks to Sanchayan Banerjee and Matteo Maria Galizzi and Philipp Thamer and all the presenters and participants for a great two days, their excellent presentations, and most importantly for the dedication and expertise they bring to the subject.

It highlights once again the urgency of bringing leading behavioural expertise and insights from academia into those areas of corporate & institutional life where there remains a gap.

And for some industries to encourage movement from illusory shadows to reality.