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Michael Henderson - Corporate Anthropologist | Why High-Performing Organisations Think Differently
Description
What if culture doesn’t eat strategy for breakfast after all?
In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with organisational culture expert and corporate anthropologist Michael Henderson to unpack one of the most misunderstood concepts in business: culture.
With more than 40 years’ experience and over 300 culture transformation projects completed across four continents, Michael brings a distinctive lens to leadership, performance, and organisational effectiveness. Drawing on his background in anthropology, he challenges conventional thinking around strategy, performance, leadership, and human behaviour at work.
This conversation explores why culture is really about meaning and performance, how organisations can “out care” the competition, and why curiosity, language, and human connection still matter more than ever in modern business.
From high performance and customer intimacy to leadership capability and conflict resolution, this episode offers a thought-provoking and highly practical perspective on what drives successful organisations.
What You’ll Learn
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Why Michael believes culture doesn’t “eat strategy for breakfast”
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The difference between performance and high performance
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How anthropology changes the way we understand organisations
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Why meaningful work drives stronger perfor