INSIGHT IN ACTION is run by Dr Corinna Arndt, a social scientist, executive coach, and trainer.

Corinna holds a DPhil in Politics and International Relations from the University of Oxford and a Masters in South African and Comparative Politics from the University of Cape Town.

Corinna specialises in people and organisations, especially organisational culture and processes of change. She has a long track record of studying organisations in depth using ethnographic and other qualitative research methods. Her additional post-graduate training in counselling, coaching and psychoanalysis allow her to weigh in on the psychological aspects that are fundamental to peoples’ decision-making and group dynamics.

Corinna is an effective communicator with a previous career as an award-winning foreign correspondent. She has trained journalists and political communicators in various countries. Being a professional writer means that her analyses, briefings and reports are clear, succinct, free of jargon, and actionable.

As an executive coach and facilitator, Corinna works within a systems-psychodynamic framework drawing on a range of psychoanalytic theories and the Tavistock tradition of studying groups and organisations. Her approach is highly flexible and tailored towards the individual client. She is passionate about supporting people and organisations through processes of change: focussed on what is happening in the moment, but never losing sight of the long-term.

As a consultant, Corinna believes strongly in knowledge transfer and sustainability. Too much money is wasted on once-off, ill-informed interventions that often do more harm than good. At INSIGHT IN ACTION, consulting work starts with listening to and learning from the client. Any recommendation is based on solid research and collaborative engagement, not on convenient assumptions or ready-made “solutions” that may (or may not!) have worked elsewhere. Drawing in an external consultant can make a lot of sense, but it needs to have the added benefit of equipping clients with insight and skills that make them more resourceful and resilient in facing future challenges, long after the current problem is solved. Knowledge transfer is therefore an integral component of all INSIGHT IN ACTION services.

Depending on the task at hand, Corinna draws on an international network of experienced colleagues with specific sector experience and strong backgrounds in research and facilitation of organisational processes.