Csaba Toth - How to Build Teams That Decide Better
Csaba Toth · September 28, 2026
About Csaba Toth
Expert in the Human Side of Digital Transformation, Founder of ICQ Global & Creator of ICF-Accredited Leadership Frameworks
900+ Teams supported by his frameworks250+ Certified partners worldwide51 Countries reached1 book Author of Uncommon Sense in Unusual Times
Csaba Toth’s work began with a failure that changed how he understood leadership. He lost his first business after assuming that speaking the same language, having strong qualifications, good intentions, and what seemed like common sense would be enough to lead people well. It was not.
That experience pushed him to examine why intelligent, capable people can still misunderstand one another, why some teams thrive while others quietly unravel, and why so many transformation efforts fail despite significant investment. Having grown up between cultures and worked across very different organisations, Csaba saw how personality, cultural background, bias, motivation, and psychological safety shape the way people make decisions and work together.
He founded ICQ Global after noticing a persistent pattern: organisations were investing in training without data, coaching without diagnosis, and culture change without meaningful measurement. The result was often short-term enthusiasm with little lasting change.
Csaba went on to create the multi-award-winning, ICF-accredited Global DISC™, Growth Zone™, and GameChangers frameworks. Together, they help organisations measure nine key biomarkers of high-performing teams, including personality, cognitive diversity, psychological safety, motivation, and the behavioural patterns that can quietly derail performance.
About this episode
I can see what the top biller brings in. What I can’t see so easily is what the rest of the team stops contributing because of their behaviour. That’s the calculation I want before deciding we can’t afford to lose them.
I pushCsaba Tothon whether psychological safety tells us anything useful about commercial performance, and why his framework is more than another personality label. We get into the trap of mistaking agreement for commitment, why another workshop may change nothing, and my own mistake of hiring people from different backgrounds who largely thought like me.
In this episode
Here’s what I’d put to work:
Measure psychological safety and motivation before and after leadership development. A well-liked workshop isn’t evidence of better performance.
Assess the top performer’s impact on colleagues, not just the revenue beside their name.
Speak last. Give quieter colleagues room, then check whether they feel safe enough to challenge you and motivated enough to bother.
Look for different ways of thinking when hiring. Different backgrounds don’t automatically give you that.
Ask what motivates each person. Stop assuming everybody wants what you want.
Episode highlights
[02:24] A joint venture that worked on paper, until the CEOs had to work together.
[07:12] My objection to stalled execution: why is the answer always to add something?
[16:32] Before I worry about losing the top biller, what are they already costing the team?
[21:42] I’ll tick the boxes. Why should a personality label change anything?
[27:54] My hiring blind spot: different backgrounds, much the same thinking.
[31:55] I suggest inviting the quiet person in. Csaba explains why that isn’t enough.
[36:47] Am I seeing clearly, or am I just looking down a tunnel?
Links and resources
https://gamechangersbyicq.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/csabatothinterculturaldisc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/icq.global/
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Guest: Csaba Toth
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