LAK Group

Human Synergistics

Session Focus: <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/angie-zeigler">Angie Zeigler</a> will build on the foundation of the Chicago keynote to explore in greater depth why values often fail to translate into behavior. She will lead a peer discussion on identifying the cultural forces that quietly accelerate or undermine performance.
For talent leaders, the biggest culture risk isn’t unclear values—it’s the widening gap between the values on the wall and the behaviors employees experience every day.
In this follow-up live discussion, Angie Zeigler, head of culture practice with LAK Group, builds on the Human Synergistics keynote to explore why well-intentioned values initiatives stall—and what actually drives culture change at scale. Drawing on decades of research and real organizational data, Angie shares practical stories of how organizations that prioritize and reward specific, constructive behaviors are significantly more successful in closing the engagement gap.
This discussion is designed for leaders who want to move beyond culture statements and into the real work of aligning values, behaviors, and results.
Human Synergistics' research makes visible what most leaders sense—but struggle to diagnose.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-44495" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CHIE2025-Kern-Keynote-80-vs-25-percent-slide.jpg" alt="Michael Kern presenting a slide showing a contrast between “&gt;80%” and “&lt;25%” to illustrate gaps between stated values and lived behaviors." width="1920" height="1133" />
What this data reveals is uncomfortable—but actionable. Most organizations believe they are values-driven, yet fewer than a quarter consistently experience those values in daily work. That gap isn’t cultural “noise”—it’s a performance signal.
In this discussion, leaders will examine how everyday behaviors, systems, and incentives quietly reinforce—or undermine—the culture they say they want, and where small, targeted shifts can create outsized impact.
Who Should Join
This discussion is designed for leaders responsible for shaping culture, performance, and behavior at scale—across HR, talent, learning, and the business. If you’re wrestling with gaps between stated values and what actually gets rewarded, or trying to understand which behaviors accelerate performance—and which quietly undermine it—you’ll be in good company.

How This Works
Each discussion runs for 50 minutes and blends a short framing insight with open, peer-driven exchange.
There are no slides to sit through and no pitches—just focused conversation designed to surface what’s working, what’s not, and what leaders are trying next as culture and performance collide in real organizations.

Join the ELE Conversation
These every-other-Friday discussions are part of ELE’s ongoing peer exchange for leaders shaping talent and work in the AI era. Come ready to listen, contribute, and learn alongside peers testing ideas in real organizations and sharing what they’re learning.
Recordings are posted to <a href="https://www.ele.llc/insights">ELE Insights</a> within 2–4 business days.

From Values to Behavior: Navigating Superheroes and Saboteurs

single-event

future of work

Your Teams

Learning Circles

digital transformation

innovation

angie.zeigler

upskilling

performance improvement

talent development

Complimentary

online event

complimentary event

Culture Change

employee engagement

collaboration

accountability

Performance Improvement

Engagement &amp; Culture

continuous learning

reskilling

L&amp;D

matt.sernaker

organizational culture

HR leaders

AI in HR

Strategic HR

workplace adaptation

knowledge sharing

Culture Transformation

Values Alignment

actionable insights

practical strategies

employee trust

practical insights

leadership behavior

cindy.pinkstaffmiller

cathleen.cooke

1Q2026

performance culture

cultural diagnostic data

targeted intervention

organizational systems

HR processes

culture risk

culture reality check

AI and learning

AI reskilling

reframing hr

Get a quick taste of Human Synergistics’ Subarctic Survival Simulation—then step back to reflect with peers on why immersive experiences like this are so powerful for leadership development and change readiness. In just 45 minutes, you’ll see how decision-making under pressure connects directly to strategy, collaboration, and preparing leaders for what’s next.

Survive to Lead | What a Survival Simulation Reveals About Leading Through Uncertainty

experiential learning

Leadership

leadership development

CHIE2025

decision making

Change Readiness

Leadership Training

High Performing Teams

michael.kern

human synergistics

immersive learning

survival simulation

leading through uncertainty

strategy execution

collaboration skills

Zurich North America

American Medical Association

Upsurge Advisors

GenAI isn’t just another tool—it’s a way to rethink how your team designs, delivers, and measures talent development at scale. In this interactive lab, we’ll cut through the noise and spotlight how GenAI tools can accelerate key L&amp;D workflows. You’ll map a real-world use case, experiment with prompting, and walk away with a 30-day starter plan for applying AI inside your team. Expect practical insights, real-time demos, and a collaborative challenge that shows how GenAI can simplify and supercharge your L&amp;D work.

This is a deep-dive, hands-on laboratory designed for senior L&amp;D leaders ready to move past theory and integrate Generative AI directly into their core talent workflows. This session focuses on turning whiteboards and rough ideas into polished, personalized learning programs with unprecedented speed and efficiency.

We will focus on the single biggest challenge for GenAI in L&amp;D: creating rapid output without sacrificing critical human expertise and strategic alignment.

You will walk away with immediately applicable playbooks to:
<ul>
 	<li>Implement the "Whiteboard to Workflow" Model: Learn a precise, scalable process for using GenAI to accelerate your development cycle—from identifying a capability gap to launching high-quality content—cutting weeks out of your standard design process.</li>
 	<li>Master Advanced Prompt Engineering for L&amp;D: Go beyond basic prompts to engineer workflows that embed your organizational voice, validate against internal subject matter expertise, and generate content aligned with your specific business context.</li>
 	<li>Balance Speed with Control: Discover practical methods for maintaining quality control and ethical oversight when leveraging AI for content creation, personalized learning pathways, and performance support.</li>
 	<li>Move to a Data-Driven Design: See how integrating GenAI into talent mapping allows you to instantly pivot and personalize learning offerings based on real-time data and emerging organizational needs.</li>
</ul>
This is not a demonstration; it’s an implementation session. Bring your curiosity and be ready to build a new operating model for your talent development function.

AI Practical Lab: Using GenAI to Supercharge Talent Development Without Losing the Human Touch

Integrated Talent Management

Digital &amp; AI

strategic alignment

kate.haney

julia.meyer

rebecca.benson

personalized learning

operational efficiency

AI Implementation

Ethical AI

nicole.defalco

prompt engineering

GenAI in L&amp;D

high quality content

data driven design

talent workflows

L&amp;D operating model

integrated talent

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AI isn't just changing how we work; it is fundamentally redefining what work is and how it is valued. In this strategy-focused session, Marinus van Driel delivered a crucial framework for senior HR leaders to move beyond reacting to AI trends and instead proactively build a talent strategy designed for the future of work.

The central insight was clear: Agility is now the primary defense against market disruption, and AI is the engine that either enables it or exposes the lack of it.
<h3>Key Takeaways for Senior Talent Leaders:</h3>
<ul>
 	<li>The Valuation Shift: Understanding how AI changes the economic value of human work. Leaders must proactively categorize roles based on whether AI will augment them (requiring capability-building) or transform them (requiring upskilling and talent mobility).</li>
 	<li>Reframing AI: Capacity, Not Headcount: Attendees learned to reframe AI from a cost-reduction threat to a capacity unlock tool. This requires prioritizing investment where the benefit of AI is largest—freeing up high-value talent to focus on strategic, human-centric contributions.</li>
 	<li>The Agility Playbook: Aon shared collected wisdom on intentional next steps, including the critical need to:
<ul>
 	<li>Build AI Literacy across the organization by intentionally letting teams "learn by doing."</li>
 	<li>Establish Governance that guides ethical use without creating organizational bottlenecks.</li>
 	<li>Prioritize small, intentional starts that map existing efforts and build momentum.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
This session armed senior HR, Talent Development, and L&amp;D leaders with the strategic perspective necessary to turn the complexities of AI and the future of work into a competitive advantage.
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📚 Related Reading:

<a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/bookshelf/strategy-and-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Strategy and Change: How to Succeed in the Face of Accelerating Disruptive Innovation</a>

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AI, Agility, and the Future of Work | Solving Talent Strategy Challenges with Aon’s Talent Team

Strategy

Future of Work

Change Management

Talent Strategy

resilience building

risk management

marinus.vandriel

AI and agility

organizational disruption

adaptive organizations

leadership choice

AI enhancement

ELE Group, LLC

Most L&amp;D teams are trapped in a cycle of being expected to deliver champagne results on beer budgets—a cycle that is unsustainable in the age of rapid organizational change. This hands-on AI Practical Lab provided a clear escape route, demonstrating how senior leaders and L&amp;D practitioners can immediately adopt an Agile Producer Mindset to radically reduce content development time and cost using AI tools.

The session focused relentlessly on velocity and impact, proving that high-quality training materials can be produced in a fraction of the time typically required.
<h3>Key Takeaways for Senior L&amp;D Leaders:</h3>
<ul>
 	<li>The Agility Mindset Shift: The primary learning was moving from a traditional, linear development model to an Agile Producer Mindset. This means prioritizing speed and iteration, viewing raw data (like a 60-minute Zoom call) as a raw material that AI can instantly synthesize into a polished deliverable.</li>
 	<li>The 15-Minute Playbook: Attendees witnessed a real-world, impressive demonstration of how the speakers turned raw insights into a polished, high-impact playbook in less than 15 minutes using simple AI tools. This showcase challenged leaders to redefine their team's content production benchmarks.</li>
 	<li>The Practical AI Toolkit: This was an implementation session, not a theory class. Participants were given a plug-and-play template and introduced to specific tools and prompt engineering techniques that can be used to:
<ul>
 	<li>Turn raw data into stories that build trust and connection.</li>
 	<li>Overcome resource constraints and demonstrate undeniable value through tangible, rapidly generated deliverables.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
This session armed L&amp;D leaders with the practical steps needed to break the resource cycle, making their teams a source of high-speed, high-quality content that truly supports the business strategy.

AI Practical Lab: The AI-Powered L&D Playbook | High-impact training materials on a shoestring budget

learning technology

rapid prototyping

AI tools

generative AI

ashanti.morgan

angelica.janina.stilling

roberto.seif

AI practical application

L&amp;D playbook

high impact training

agile producer

learning content creation

L&amp;D budget

L&amp;D operations

For senior HR and Talent leaders, the single biggest culture risk isn't a lack of declared values—it's the massive, draining gap between the values on the wall and the behaviors on the floor. This misalignment actively undermines performance and erodes employee trust, creating a confusing and exhausting work environment.

In this practical, research-backed session, Michael Kern, Consulting Director at Human Synergistics, leveraged over 40 years of groundbreaking culture research to reveal a hard truth: Your organizational systems and leaders' everyday behaviors, not your mission statement, are the true curriculum for your culture.
<h3>Essential Takeaways for Aligning Culture and Performance:</h3>
<ul>
 	<li>The Culture Reality Check: Attendees moved beyond surface-level surveys to understand the deep, diagnostic data that reveals the gap between the "Ideal" (what people value for success) and the "Current" (what people actually experience). You can't change what you can't measure with precision.</li>
 	<li>Identifying Superheroes and Saboteurs: Michael provided a framework for senior leaders to identify the forces—both people and organizational policies—that are either driving the desired culture ("Superheroes") or actively undermining it ("Saboteurs"). This is the critical step to move from generalized observation to targeted systemic intervention.</li>
 	<li>The Three-Part Alignment Strategy: The session detailed the essential alignment needed to bridge the values gap, focusing on:
<ol start="1">
 	<li>Leadership Behaviors: Shifting from mere approval of values to actively modeling the desired culture every day.</li>
 	<li>Organizational Systems: Revising HR processes, recognition programs, and performance management to reward value-aligned actions.</li>
 	<li>Values: Ensuring the stated values are clear, actionable, and connected to business outcomes.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
This keynote was a powerful call to action for leaders ready to stop declaring their values and start living them, creating a truly congruent, high-performing organizational culture that drives measurable results.

Reconnecting Values to Culture | Navigating the World of Superheroes and Saboteurs

Cognitive Advisors

This session provided a compelling case for reimagining leadership—and the role of L&amp;D—in today’s volatile world. Marty didn’t just talk agility—he showed us what it means to think in systems, learn in loops, and lead like nature.

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“Our role isn’t just building skills—it’s helping leaders shift mindsets.” -- <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/marty-rosenheck" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marty Rosenheck</a>
</blockquote>
<img class="aligncenter wp-image-43015" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Rosenheck-15-MAY-2025.jpg" alt="The Agile Leader: An Adaptive Systems Approach to Thriving in Complexity" width="990" height="557" />
That shift starts with seeing organizations not as machines to optimize, but as living systems to cultivate. Where old models of command-and-control break down, complexity invites us to lean into purpose, autonomy, and continuous experimentation.

<blockquote data-start="1050" data-end="1175">
“Safe-to-fail experiments are key. Try small things, see what works, amplify what does. That’s how adaptation happens.” -- <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/marty-rosenheck" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marty Rosenheck</a>
</blockquote>
🧠 Key takeaways for senior HR and talent leaders:

<ul data-start="1232" data-end="1587">
 	<li class="" data-start="1232" data-end="1296">
Treat your organization as a living system, not a machine.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1297" data-end="1364">
Use safe-to-fail experiments to learn and adapt in real time.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1365" data-end="1437">
Build trust-based networks that support horizontal knowledge flow.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1438" data-end="1510">
Anchor decisions in a shared, meaningful purpose—your new compass.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1511" data-end="1587">
Rethink your role: HR and L&amp;D as evolutionary leadership facilitators.
</li>
</ul>
💡 Try this with your team:

<ol data-start="1621" data-end="1964">
 	<li class="" data-start="1621" data-end="1685">
Launch a micro-experiment—test an agile practice in one area.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1686" data-end="1753">
Map your internal communication network—what’s flowing (or not)?
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1754" data-end="1818">
Audit your purpose: is it clear, lived, and decision-driving?
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1819" data-end="1892">
Build a coalition of open-minded leaders willing to try something new.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1893" data-end="1964">
Reframe your L&amp;D goals—are you building skills or shifting mindsets?
</li>
</ol>
This isn’t just a leadership upgrade—it’s a systems-level redesign. Are you ready to move from control to cultivation?
🔁 Let’s continue the conversation on <a href="https://www.ele.llc/idea-exchange" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ELE Idea Exchange</a>—what’s your role in evolving leadership?

From Values to Behavior: Navigating Superheroes and Saboteurs

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