Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI®)
A 360° view of leadership behaviour
LSI® is a research-backed diagnostic that helps leaders see how their thinking and behaviour impact performance, relationships, and culture. It combines self-assessment with confidential feedback from others to create a powerful, practical platform for development.
What is the Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI®)?
The Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI®) is a leadership and personal effectiveness tool that measures how people think and behave at work. It gives leaders a clear picture of the styles they rely on most – both the constructive ones that support performance and the defensive ones that can hold them back.
LSI® uses two complementary inventories:
LSI 1 – a self-assessment of your own thinking and behavioural styles
LSI 2 – confidential feedback from the people you work with, such as your manager, peers and direct reports
Together, these results are displayed in a simple circumplex profile that makes it easy to see patterns, talk about them openly, and focus development where it will make the biggest difference.
Why LSI® matters for leaders and organisations
The real value of LSI® is that it doesn’t just describe personality – it shows how everyday behaviour is experienced by others, and what that means for performance and culture.
For leaders and organisations, LSI® helps to:
Build deeper self-awareness – leaders see the impact of their behaviour through their own eyes and the eyes of others.
Highlight constructive and defensive patterns – making it easier to recognise what’s helping and what’s getting in the way.
Connect behaviour to results – linking styles to trust, engagement, decision-making and team performance.
Create a shared language for development – so coaching conversations and feedback feel more objective and less personal.
Support culture change – by aligning individual leadership styles with the constructive culture the organisation is trying to build.
How the LSI® process works
LSI® is designed to be straightforward for leaders and their stakeholders, while still creating rich insight.
1. Set up and complete the inventories
Each leader completes LSI 1 (self-assessment), and invites key stakeholders – such as their manager, peers, direct reports and other colleagues – to complete LSI 2 (feedback). All responses are confidential and completed online.
2. Receive the LSI® Circumplex profile
Results from LSI 1 and LSI 2 are combined into an easy-to-read circumplex profile that shows the leader’s constructive and defensive styles, and where perceptions align or differ.
3. Debrief and turn insight into action
In a one-to-one coaching debrief, we unpack the profile, explore what it means in the leader’s current role, and agree on a focused development plan with practical next steps.
What the LSI® Circumplex shows you
The LSI® Circumplex organises 12 thinking and behavioural styles into a simple visual map. It shows which styles a leader most relies on, and how strongly they are experienced by others.
Constructive styles
These styles are associated with higher performance, better problem-solving and stronger relationships:
Achievement – setting challenging goals and working towards them effectively
Self-actualising – being open, creative and growth-oriented
Humanistic-encouraging – supporting and developing others
Affiliative – building trust, inclusion and collaboration
Defensive styles
These styles often emerge under pressure and can limit effectiveness and culture:
Passive-defensive – such as Approval, Conventional, Dependent and Avoidance behaviours that can reduce initiative and accountability
Aggressive-defensive – such as Oppositional, Power, Competitive and Perfectionistic behaviours that can create fear, conflict or reactivity
By seeing both constructive and defensive styles in one visual, leaders can quickly identify where small shifts in behaviour will have the biggest impact.
How MetaPeople uses LSI® with leaders and teams
At MetaPeople, LSI® is not a stand-alone report – it’s a foundation for real development work.
Executive and performance coaching
We use LSI® as a starting point for one-to-one coaching with senior and emerging leaders. The profile gives us a shared, objective language for talking about behaviour, impact and change – and for building a focused development plan.
Management development programs
We integrate LSI® into GrowingSuccess as part of a structured management development journey. Participants use their LSI® results across the program to link everyday management habits with more constructive ways of leading and working with their teams.
Team and culture work
For leadership teams, we use LSI® alongside culture diagnostics (such as OCI® and OEI®) to connect individual styles with the broader organisational climate. This helps leaders see how their collective behaviour supports – or undermines – the culture they’re trying to build.
Workshops and programs that use LSI®
Here’s how we use LSI® in workshops and programs to move from insight on the page to real shifts in everyday management behaviour.
LSI® works best when it’s supported by coaching and a structured learning experience. We integrate LSI® into workshops and programs that help managers turn insight into everyday habits.
A behavioural leadership development workshop built around the Life Styles Inventory® (LSI®). Designed for leaders who want deeper self-awareness, stronger impact under pressure and a clear, constructive pathway for growth.
LSI® with MetaPeople isn’t a tick-the-box profiling exercise. It’s a behavioural development experience that helps managers connect real feedback with how they show up day-to-day – and what they can change.
LSI® Leadership Workshop and Debrief
The LSI® Leadership Workshop turns individual profiles into shared insight and practical action. Each manager completes LSI 1 and LSI 2, receives a one-to-one debrief, and then comes together with their peers to explore what constructive behaviour looks like in their day-to-day role.
The pathway is designed to move from insight to applied behaviour:
Pre-work: Each participant completes LSI 1 (self) and LSI 2 (feedback) online.
Individual debrief: A 60–90 minute one-to-one coaching session to unpack results and identify key development themes.
Group workshop: A facilitated session where participants connect their LSI® insights with how they manage, lead and work with their teams.
Optional follow-up: Additional coaching or integration into programs such as GrowingSuccess to embed new habits over time.
Delivery options
Half-Day Workshop + LSI Debriefs
Half-day LSI® introduction & team workshop
2 × 1-hour private LSI® debriefs for each leader
Ideal for most leadership teams
Two Half-Days
(1 Month Apart)
Half-day workshop
Two private debriefs
Second half-day regroup
The most effective structure for behaviour change
Full Day Workshop + Coaching
Full-day workshop
Two private debriefs
Optional follow-up coaching
Best for organisations with limited availability
Delivery: On site Australia & NZ
Who this is for
Managers and leaders who want honest, data-based feedback on their impact
New or first-line managers building their management style
Experienced managers who want to shift unhelpful patterns and reset how they lead
Executives preparing for major shifts or higher responsibility
Organisations wanting evidence-based, constructive leadership development
What leaders walk away with
Deep self-awareness
Understanding their own patterns, blind spots and strengths.
Improved leadership impact
More constructive communication and better behaviour under pressure.
Behavioural clarity
What to keep, what to improve and what to stop.
Team alignment
A shared language and common expectations.
Better decision-making
Less defensive reacting, more constructive responding.
Clear next steps
Practical commitments and ongoing accountability.
Why LSI® with Chris Harper is different
The LSI® is powerful — but only when supported by real coaching. With more than 4,000 hours coaching leaders and 25 years working with executives across industries, this workshop blends insight with practical behavioural change. Leaders leave with clarity, confidence and a concrete pathway for growth.
Experienced LSI® coaching
Behaviour-first, not theory-first
Psychologically safe facilitation
Deep understanding of leadership behaviour under pressure
Follow-up ensures changes actually take hold
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the common questions organisations ask when they’re considering LSI® for their managers and leadership teams.
FAQ 1: What is the Life Styles Inventory® (LSI®)?
LSI® is a research-based tool from Human Synergistics that measures how people think and behave at work. It helps leaders understand the impact of their styles on performance, relationships and culture.
FAQ 2: What’s the difference between LSI® 1 and LSI® 2?
LSI® 1 is a self-assessment completed by the leader. LSI® 2 is confidential feedback completed by colleagues such as managers, peers and direct reports. Used together, they provide a 360° view of behaviour and impact.
FAQ 3: Can this workshop be delivered online?
The LSI® group workshop is delivered in person to support psychological safety and high-quality discussion. Individual LSI® debrief coaching sessions can be delivered via video, depending on the leader’s preference.
FAQ 4: Do participants need to complete pre-work?
Yes. Each participant completes their LSI® assessments (LSI 1 and LSI 2) before the workshop and debrief, so the session can focus on insight, application and action.
FAQ 5: Is LSI® suitable only for senior leadership teams?
No. LSI® is well suited to senior leaders, middle managers and first-line managers who want to understand their impact and develop more constructive ways of managing and leading others. It can be used with individuals or intact leadership teams.