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invitation-only pilot

See the system. Lead differently.

This pilot is available by invitation only. Your participation helps validate a tool built to develop the next generation of systems-aware HR leaders.
The HR Systems Thinking Assessment (HRSTA) is a new tool built specifically for HR leaders and executives. It measures something most assessments skip entirely.
What is the HRSTA?

The GARDEN Framework™

The GARDEN Framework™ represents a cyclical model of systems thinking. Each dimension builds on and informs the others, shaping how you make sense of and respond to changing conditions.
  • It is grounded in the GARDEN Framework™ from Growing Forward: An HR Guide for Adaptive Talent Management (2025) and designed to help you understand not just where you are, but where you can go.
  • The HRSTA is not a personality test. It is not about how you prefer to work.
  • It measures how well you see your organization as an ecosystem and how effectively you act on that sight.

Recognizing Patterns

Rather than evaluating performance, The GARDEN Framework™ is designed to help you recognize patterns in how you observe, interpret, and act within complex systems, and to identify opportunities to deepen your impact.

"You can't fix your way to a thriving organization. You have to grow it."

- Adena Johnston, Growing Forward (2025)

Six dimensions. One integrated picture.

G (gauge) - Reading organizational patterns beyond surface metrics and identifying how talent systems connect to business outcomes A (appreciate) - Building from existing organizational strengths rather than defaulting to deficit-focused approaches R (recognize) - Understanding how your own mental models and position shape what you see and what you miss D (design) - Creating talent strategies that work with natural organizational patterns rather than against them E (engage) - Positioning people where their capabilities can emerge and adapting your approach based on the system dynamics N (notice) - Detecting subtle organizational signals and emerging dynamics before they become obvious problems
what you receive

A personalized development report, built for action.

Pilot participants receive a full HRSTA report that shows where your systems thinking is strongest, where it can grow, and what that means for your work as an HR leader. Think of it as a development map, not a score sheet.

15-20 Minutes

The self-assessment is 48 items and takes less time than most leadership meetings.

Your Personal Report

See your systems thinking profile and range across all six GARDEN dimensions.

Maturity Level Map

Understand where you sit on the systems thinking maturity scale, from foundational to generative.

Development Pathways

Practical growth strategies tied directly to the GARDEN Framework for each dimension.
Who is this for

This assessment was built for leaders who are ready to see differently.

The HRSTA is designed for HR professionals and organizational leaders who want to understand how they engage with the complexity in their organizations, not just how they perform within it.
  • Chief People Officers and VP-level HR leaders
  • Senior executives with talent and organizational responsibility
  • People leaders who want more than a behavioral profile
  • HR Business Partners working at the enterprise level
  • HR leaders navigating significant organizational change
  • Leaders seeking to build adaptive organizational capacity
About the developer

Grounded in research. Built from practice.

The HRSTA was developed by Dr. Adena Johnston, MCEC, founder of Lateral Group and author of Growing Forward: An HR Guide for Adaptive Talent Management. Adena spent two decades leading organizations and coaching executives before building the framework that anchors this assessment.
The GARDEN Framework™ draws from validated constructs across systems thinking, learning agility, organizational complexity, and HR leadership, then grounds them in the practical realities of people work.