The Group Styles Inventory (GSI) is the only research-based tool that provides a valid and reliable measure of how people in groups interact with each other and work as a team to solve problems.
Extensively researched and internationally proven, this assessment provides group members with a ‘safe’ way to talk about their behaviour and how it affects the group’s performance. Through highlighting styles of interactions that are helping or hindering their teamwork, it empowers them to change the way they approach problems and interact with each other — leading to better cooperation, communication and consensus, more innovative thinking, and higher quality solutions.
How it works
The GSI is designed for both temporary and permanent groups that are responsible for solving problems and making decisions. It can be completed by team members after they have solved a problem (to identify the behaviours that facilitated or inhibited their performance) or mid-way through solving a problem (to identify and practice more effective ways of interacting with one another and approaching the problem).
The use of the GSI involves three major steps:
- Individual group members respond to 72 statements describing the styles exhibited by the group while solving a problem plus a few questions focusing on team effectiveness, solution acceptance, solution quality, and team synergy. This takes about 15 minutes.
- The team members score their own surveys and profile their individual results on the Human Synergistics Circumplex to provide a picture of their own perceptions of the group and its styles. This takes 10 to 15 minutes.
- The descriptions of members are combined to generate an aggregated profile displaying the group’s styles and a bar chart summarizing their collective assessments of performance.
The data can also be collected and processed electronically. The GSI surveys are available online and on almost any digital device, as well as in hard copy.
Complementary tools
We recommend that you use the GSI in conjunction with the Life Styles Inventory™ and Organizational Culture Inventory®. Together, they provide an integrated approach to developing Constructive personal styles, group interactions, and organizational cultural norms. You can also use the GSI for team development in combination with the Survival Simulation series or any of Human Synergistics’ business simulations or Challenge Series exercises.
The benefits for your organisation
The GSI is an excellent tool for helping teams and groups solve problems more effectively. It’s particularly valuable for team development initiatives, such as:
- measuring and monitoring team performance
- creating a team environment that encourages innovation and idea-sharing
- sharpening team members’ analytical skills
- developing consensus-based decision making
- achieving synergy and higher quality and acceptance of group decisions
Make the GSI part of your drive for change
Source: Human Synergistics International
Interested in using the GSI?
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Accelerating Interest Based Problem Solving
The GSI is perfect to include as part of your Interest Based Problem Solving training.
