Working papers

KDVI's Organisational Culture Transformation Framework

KDVI's Organisational Culture Transformation Framework

The purpose of this paper is to provide our clients with an understanding of our approach to organisational change and culture transformation. First, we describe the underlying challenges that organisations face, where change is the norm rather than the exception. We then propose that, by addressing both manifest and underlying factors, KDVI’s interventions go beyond a simplistic quick fix. Next, we provide an overview of the theoretical foundations of KDVI’s approach to organisational culture transformation, which lead to six concrete change principles that guide our work. We then map these principles into a general roadmap for a culture transformation programme in terms of phases and timelines. In the final section, we highlight the specific change levers that make KDVI’s approach unique.  

Find out more

a reminder that democracies are very fragile configurations

Let’s Install Leaders for Life! Why Get Hung up on Democracy? A Modest, “Swiftian” Proposal

Following Jonathan Swift’s satirical example of a “modest” proposal, this paradoxical article examines the question of having leaders for life. Throughout, it employs the tools of satire to outline the presumed advantages of a leaders-for-life system, revealing that, in reality, it is fraught with danger. In a circuitous way, the article makes clear that having leaders for life is an invitation for social unrest and economic decline. By presenting a number of examples of leaders for life, it becomes clear that the overriding concern is the ever-present danger of the abuse of power. Without the existence of term limits, there will be an increased prevalence of rights abuses, secret or arbitrary arrests and detentions, restrictions on freedom of expression, and police brutality. Furthermore, it is suggested that kleptocratic practices are par for the course.

INSEAD Knowledge, Jul 2020

Find out more

"Sexual dynamics in the boardroom"

The Sexual “Cloud” in the Executive Suite

This working paper explores how people today are very much governed by the same sexual desires that drove our primitive ancestors.

INSEAD Working Paper, May 2015

Find out more

"Aging and quality of life"

Old Ages is No Place for Sissies

This working paper deals with a rather taboo subject: the consequences of prolonging life into extreme old age, now possible with advances in medical procedures.

INSEAD Working Paper, Apr 2015

Find out more

"Fairy tales for today’s executives"

Fairy Tales for Executives: Story Telling as a Catalyst for Change

This working paper looks at how fairy tales—when applied to the realm of executive leadership—act as a shortcut to moral lessons, illustrating the dangers of leadership and various ways in which executives can derail.

INSEAD Working Paper, Mar 2015

Find out more

"Executive coaches as modern day shamans"

The Shaman, the Therapist, and the Coach

This working paper discusses various similarities and differences between the healing practices of shamans and the work of therapists and executive coaches.

INSEAD Working Paper, Sep 2014

Find out more

"Overview of the psycho- dynamic approach to leadership study"

Psychodynamic Approach

This working paper provides an overview of the psychodynamic approach, including historical underminnings, its key concepts, and includes three case studies with which to apply the psychodynamic approach as well as a short self-assessment on leadership archetype.

INSEAD Working Paper, Jun 2014

Find out more

"Group coaching for team alignment"

Vision Without Action is a Hallucination: Group Coaching and Strategy Implementation

This article discusses how to get things done by applying the group coaching methodology.

INSEAD Working Paper, May 2014

Find out more

"In search of introspection and reflection"

Doing Nothing and Nothing to Do: The Hidden Value of Empty Time and Boredom

In this working paper, the author argues that doing nothing and being bored can be invaluable to the creative process.

INSEAD Working Paper, May 2014

Find out more

"Dreams as entry points to executive subconscious"

Dream Journeys: New Territory for Executive Coaching

This working paper addresses how leadership coaches should also pay attention to their clients’ dreamtime to help executives with their journey into their own interior.

INSEAD Working Paper, Feb 2014

Find out more

"Death anxiety and succession issues"

Death and the Executive: Encounters with the “Stealth” Motivator

This article takes a clinical lens to explore death anxiety as a motivational force, how it affects behaviour in organisations, and how we metabolise the feelings death evokes.

INSEAD Working Paper, Feb 2014

Find out more

"Forgiveness as a business tool"

The Art of Forgiveness: Differentiating Transformational Leaders

This working paper explores the subject of forgiveness and its importance in the context of leadership.

INSEAD Working Paper, Apr 2013

Find out more

"Attachment theory applied in an org context"

The Attachment Imperative: The Kiss of the Hedgehog

This working paper explores the evolution and function of attachment in the context of adult relationships.

INSEAD Working Paper, Apr 2013

Find out more

"Play therapy as a means of individual reinvention"

Get Back in the Sandbox: Teaching CEOs how to Play

This working paper argues that the proclivity to play remains an essential part of our make-up throughout our life and that we should make greater efforts to retain play as a mode of learning and the source of creative production.

INSEAD Working Paper, Dec 2012

Find out more

"The victim syndrome in org contexts"

Are You a Victim of the Victim Syndrome?

This working paper explores the victim syndrome within an organisational context, and provides a checklist to identify people who are victims of it.

INSEAD Working Paper, Jul 2012

Find out more

"Identifying and dealing with SOBs"

The Psychopath in the C-suite

This working paper explores ways of identifying and dealing with SOBs—Seductive Operational Bully—from an organisational and individual perspective, and recommends a clinical orientation to organisational diagnosis and intervention.

INSEAD Working Paper, Jul 2012

Find out more

"Psycho- dynamic aspects of effective leadership"

Psychodynamic Issues in Organisational Leadership

This working paper explores the psychodynamic aspects of effective leadership.

INSEAD Working Paper, Dec 2011

Find out more

"Creating tipping points for change"

Coaching’s “Good Hour”: Creating Tipping Points

In this working paper, the author explores the tipping point phenomenon and its different facets and effect on change.

INSEAD Working Paper, Sep 2011

Find out more

"Rescuer syndrome and excessive helping behavior"

Leadership Coaching and the Rescuer Syndrome: How to Manage both Sides of the Couch

In this article the author explores the problem of excessive helping behavior—The Rescuer Syndrome—with particular reference to executive coaching.

INSEAD Working Paper, Dec 2010

Find out more

"Why do women still fail to secure top positions in the workplace?"

People-friendly Organizations: Why we Need an Alternative Default Model

This paper deals with the issue of whether the kinds of organisational structures and practices that attract women might also benefit men, and ask whether the male-oriented default position of organisational design has had its day.

INSEAD Working Paper, Nov 2010

Find out more

"Leadership development for long term change"

Transformational Leadership Development Programs: Creating Long-term Sustainable Change

This working paper argues for leadership development programmes focusing on creating long term change rather than quick fixes.

INSEAD Working Paper, Sep 2010

Find out more

"How to groom organisa- tional stars"

Reaching Stardom: How to Identify and Develop Top Performers

This working paper addresses nascent stars: What makes those that turn into butterflies so special? What makes them so successful? What are the qualities that turn them into top performers?

INSEAD Working Paper, Jul 2010

Find out more

"Profiel fo a tansfor- mational leadership programme"

Sustainable Effectiveness of a Transformational Leadership Development Program: An Exploratory Study

This paper explores the impact of a transformational leadership development program on the lives of its participants after a one year interval.

INSEAD Working Paper, Mar 2009

Find out more

Organizational Culture, Leadership, Change, and Stress

Organizational Culture, Leadership, Change, and Stress

This paper discusses the internal and external pressures that may trigger organisational changes and explores the four stages of the organisational change process.

INSEAD Working Paper, Feb 2009

Find out more

"What do executives want out of life?"

The Many Colors of Success: What do Executives want out of Life?

This article is based on the responses of 160 senior executives to questions of what success means to them.

INSEAD Working Paper, Jan 2009

Find out more