Articles

Piotr Pluta

Senior Consultant, MSc in Psycology

Piotr is an organizational psychologist. He conducts workshops and train-the-trainer courses, facilitates our international partnerships and contributes to our R&D activities.

Piotr Pluta began working as a consultant at Human Factors in 2011. He holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Wrocław, Poland, and has participated in the Erasmus program at the University of Valencia, Spain. Additionally, he received a scholarship to attend a graduate program at the East Carolina University, NC, USA. Piotr is fluent in English, Norwegian, Polish and Spanish.

 

At Human Factors, Piotr delivers workshops on topics such as communication training, teamwork, stress management, feedback culture, and diversity, often using the Diversity Icebreaker or TeamReflect. In addition working with clients, he is also one of the main people responsible for the research and development of our tools.

 

Piotr conducts several dozen seminars each year for many of Norway's largest organizations, both in the private and public sectors. He has facilitated large sessions with over 200 participants as well as focused development for small teams. He provides development at all levels within organizations, from new hires and production workers to regular contributions to leadership development programs. His workshop consistently receive top ratings and positive feedback.

 

Piotr's master's thesis in psychology focused on the influence of humor on persuasion. The psychology related to humor is among his professional interests. In 2018, he took the TEDx stage with the talk "Intercultural Guide to Humor (Home and Abroad)."

 

 
Mobile  in Norway (+47) 960 49 421


E-mail: piotr@human-factors.no
 

Watch video:

TEDx 2018

Bjørn Z. Ekelund

Executive Chairman of the Board, Senior Consultant, Psychologist, spec. NPF, MBA

One of the most renowned and established experts in Norway within the fields of collaboration, team development, communication in team and management across functional roles and cultural diversities.

Extensive Research Network and Publications

Since the mid-1990s, Bjørn Z. Ekelund has maintained strong connections with research communities in England, the USA, and Canada. This collaboration has led to numerous conference presentations, articles, book chapters, and books, often focusing on managing cross-cultural differences. Over his career, Ekelund has contributed to five published cross-cultural research studies, spanning from 1997 to 2024.

 

Key Research Areas

Ekelund’s research addresses several critical areas within cross-cultural studies, including trust in leadership, handling critical incidents, cultural intelligence, violations of psychological contracts, and the employability of people with disabilities. These areas highlight his commitment to understanding and improving how diverse teams interact and perform in various organizational contexts.

 

Innovation with the Diversity Icebreaker

One of Ekelund’s most significant contributions is the development of the Diversity Icebreaker tool. This innovative tool has been implemented in over 75 countries and is available in 15 languages. Designed to enhance cross-cultural understanding, Diversity Icebreaker reflects core values aligned with Norwegian work culture, such as equality, respect, and trust.

 

Norwegian Work Culture and the Diversity Icebreaker

The values embedded in Diversity Icebreaker are rooted in Norwegian principles of workplace dynamics, which emphasize equality, respect, and trust as foundational values. This framework encourages involvement, the delegation of responsibility, and the development of employee leadership. It aligns with organizational models that prioritize psychological safety, problem-solving teams, and high levels of autonomy, meeting employees’ needs for personal growth while enhancing their contributions to organizational goals.

 

Some facts

- Delivered more than 1000 consultant-engagements in more than 20 countries.

- Awarded the “Consultant of the Year 2008” prize for the Diversity Icebreaker international breakthrough.
 

- Published 6 books and published over 30 scientific articles. The latest book: "Unleashing the Power of Diversity - How to Open Minds for Good" is published on Routledge Publishing - one of the top 10 HR books of 2019 according to acclaimed US HR company, BambooHR.

 
- Involved in building conflict management competence in the Middle East (project partially funded by the Norwegian Research Council).


- Trained more than 1000 consultants in the use of international psychological assessment tools.

- Expert on Scandinavian culture in the global organizational context.

 

 

Bjørn Ekelund´s CV
 

E-mail: bjorn.z.ekelund@human-factors.no 

Mobile phone (+ 47) 908 75 547

Harald Ekelund

Managing Director

Harald is responsible for ensuring the daily operations run efficiently.

Harald has developed the Human Factors step by step together with his brother Bjørn Z. Ekelund, since 1997.

Since Harald has academic background in economics and law, he has focused on the organization and management of the business - including finance, accounts, licenses, supplier agreements, international distribution agreements, etc. 

Harald is responsible for operation and developing of all digital surfaces. He is particularly focused that the company manages its intellectual capital and sales growth in line with sound ethical and economic principles, in parallel with socially useful contributions.

Harald is shareholder, a member of the Board and is preparing documents for both the Board and the General Assembly.
 

Tanja Münchausen

Adm. and marketing consultant
Tanja is responsible for communication with our clients and contributes in the areas of marketing and events organisation.

Matthieu Kollig

Associate partner

Matthieu is an associate partner of Human Factors based in Germany.

Matthieu Kollig has worked as a freelance trainer, consultant and executive coach since 2002. He has delivered services to businesses, non-governmental organisations and public administration. In his work, he has focused on providing insights that help his international clients master their challenges with cultural diversity in our society and across the globe.

 

Matthieu obtained an MA in psychology, he holds both the French and the German citizenship and he lived and worked in Belfast (GB) for two years. He is proficient in German, French and English and he speaks Spanish.

 

Until 2006, he was project-manager in the Centre for the Treatment of Victims of Torture in Cologne (Germany). Before that, he supervised an international team of trainers and consultants at the Academy for International Cooperation of the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH) for 5 years. At that time, the Academy offered pre-departure programs for German development workers.

 

Matthieu aims at unleashing people’s potential to reach objectives that are meaningful and important to them. He considers his participants to be partners on equal terms. Their specific needs and unique experiences are the starting point for tailor-made services. Matthieu supports clients in staying focused and flexible in the face of complexity. He appreciates and values people’s coping strategies and encourages them to broaden their options.

 

https://www.globalpilots.de/en/

 

The Global Network

3000+ registered Diversity Icebreaker users in over 75 countries and a reference group of 35 experts who contribute with R&D and local adaptations.

3000+ registered Diversity Icebreaker users in over 75 countries
Leaders, HR, consultants, and facilitators who use our flagship tool – the Diversity Icebreaker – and are registered and approved as competent users in our database. They conduct over 2000 DI-workshops with over 40.000 participants in a course of a typical year.

 

International knowledge network
In addition to registered users, we have established an exclusive cooperation with approx. 35 DI users. These are practitioners with many years of experience facilitating group processes, organizational development, and teaching. Many members of this group have academic affiliations and does research. This groups aids us in further development, translations and research related to the Diversity Icebreaker. See list of members here: 

Global Partners and Collaborators