Beacon Star Global

Preparing for a diverse and connected world

Partnering with you to grow leadership that works across cultures.

Beacon Star Global is a consultancy in cultural intelligence and global leadership, based on the Gold Coast, Australia. It supports schools, universities and organisations with research-based assessments and training that help their people work well across cultures and in diverse teams.

We deliver cultural intelligence testing as an accredited facilitator through the Cultural Intelligence Center and administer the PRISM® Workstyle Profile and the PRISM® Leadership Bundle to staff teams, student leadership cohorts and faculty leaders as an Independent Global TeamLEAD Master Certifier. Our work draws on the research of David Livermore, PhD, the Society of CQ Fellows, and the Global TeamLEAD™ ecosystem.

Across this work the focus stays on leading from behaviour rather than stereotype, so teams and emerging leaders can collaborate, communicate and grow across difference.

A leadership team in a relaxed, engaged conversation around a boardroom table
Portrait of Tim Barrett

About

Globally Recognised Facilitator

Tim Barrett is a leading educator in cultural intelligence and global learning, focused on giving staff and students the capabilities they need to live and work well in a connected world.

With an extensive career leading in schools and consulting externally, Tim is a firm believer in collaboration and sharing ideas broadly. He is a regular speaker at national gatherings such as the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA) and the Anglican Schools Australia (ASA) conferences. His strategic thinking has also featured in publications including The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Magazine, The Educator Magazine and on numerous educational podcasts.

In 2023 Tim was named a lifetime member of the Society of CQ Fellows, a global group of practitioners recognised for their work in the areas of global leadership and cultural intelligence (CQ), and he is also a member of the Hub for Applied CQ. His contribution spans international partnerships, CQ assessment and training, and leadership programmes that help people relate and work well across difference in an interconnected world.

Tim holds degrees in both Physical Education and Theology, with further advanced qualifications in governance, cultural intelligence training, design thinking facilitation and coaching. He does his best to model lifelong learning and enjoys bringing a diverse and strategic perspective that adds value to leadership teams.

Services

Practical ways to build cultural intelligence and stronger teams, drawn from research and years of work with schools, universities and organisations. Open a section to see the full detail.

Cultural intelligence is the capability to relate and work well across cultures. The approach pairs a validated assessment from the Cultural Intelligence Center with training built on David Livermore's research, so people do more than learn about cultural intelligence. They can see how far they have grown.

Each person completes the assessment to set an honest baseline, takes part in the learning and the experiences that go with it, then sits the assessment again. The result is clear data you can use to evaluate a programme and report to leadership and families.

Facilitated by Tim Barrett, accredited CQ facilitator and lifetime member of the Society of CQ Fellows.

$89 AUD per assessment

How it works

Pre-trip CQ assessment

6 to 12 weeks before departure

All participants complete their online CQ assessment.

Complete CoreCQ course work

Participants complete the CoreCQ course work online, which explores the four CQ capabilities and the scenarios they are likely to meet overseas.

On the international trip

Through daily activities and team debriefs, the group keeps returning to the CQ language and talks through how strategies and actions are playing out in real life.

At the final debrief, students and staff complete the post-trip assessment to measure growth in individual and group CQ.

Back-home workshop

A reflective session where each participant receives a comparison of their pre and post scores, showing the development in clear terms.

Celebrate and report

Outcomes are shared with the wider community and with leadership, and the impact of the experience is celebrated.

Where it fits, CQ certification and growth can be tied to report cards, learner profiles or resumes.

Tracking CQ growth

Each participant and the group are assessed before the experience and again on return. Setting the two side by side gives a group a clear, shared picture of how its cultural intelligence has grown and where the biggest shifts have happened.

Sample CQ report comparing T1 and T2 scores across Drive, Knowledge, Strategy and Action
A real T1 to T2 comparison. T1 is the score before, T2 the score afterwards, with the strongest gains in Strategy and Action.

Backed by research

100+countries
1,000+peer-reviewed studies
600+schools and universities
20+years of research

PRISM is built for real teams. It gives staff teams and student leadership cohorts a shared language for how each person works and leads, so collaboration across difference becomes far easier.

The strongest predictor of how a team performs is how well its leader understands the different workstyles in the room. PRISM makes those styles visible, then gives teams practical ways to work with them.

Developed through Boston University by a research team led by David Livermore, PhD. Delivered by Beacon Star Global, an authorised Global TeamLEAD partner.

The two assessments

PRISM® Workstyle

How you show up at work.

For anyone on a team, staff or student

  • A personal profile across the five dimensions: Power, Risk, Identity, Speed and Messaging.
  • A team overview that maps how those styles play out across a staff or student team.
  • Validated and behaviour-based, completed online in about ten minutes.
  • The foundation profile that the Leadership Bundle builds on.

$89 AUD per profile

PRISM® Leadership

Workstyle plus your leadership archetype.

For student leaders, executive and faculty teams

  • Everything in the Workstyle Profile, in one bundle.
  • Your dominant leadership archetype, one of six, built from your workstyle results.
  • Personalised guidance for leading across workstyle and cultural difference.
  • A way to lead from behaviour rather than stereotype.

$169 AUD per bundle

What PRISM measures

Each dimension is a continuum, not a category. A score shows where you tend to sit, and no position is better or worse.

Power
Flat
Top-Down
Risk
Tolerant
Averse
Identity
Self-Oriented
Group-Oriented
Speed
Faster
Slower
Messaging
Direct
Indirect

Sample profile shown for illustration.

Tim speaks on cultural intelligence, leadership and global learning, drawn from his experience leading in schools and working with universities and professional bodies including ACEL, AHISA and Anglican Schools Australia. Talks are shaped around the audience and the real situations they face, with practical takeaways rather than generic theory.

Tim Barrett speaking on a panel at an ACEL event
On a panel at ACEL
University students walking and talking together in a campus corridor

FAQ

Your questions, answered

Common questions about PRISM®, the Global TeamLEAD™ ecosystem and how it runs in schools and universities.

How do we order PRISM?

Email info@beacon-star.com to express interest. We can talk about your organisation's needs and settle on what PRISM products would suit you. Once numbers are confirmed, we will send you an invoice and, once paid, send an online code where participants can log in and take the assessment. No email addresses are collected, and participants only use their first name and last initial for increased privacy. Once completed, participants save their profile and bring it to a facilitation session. From there we can see the full set of profiles and cohort-level insights, which we use to guide the facilitation. We're happy to set up a short call first if you'd like to talk through the fit before committing.

What does it cost?

The Workstyle Profile is $89 AUD per person and the Leadership Bundle is $169 AUD per person. For groups of 20 or more, or whole-of-school rollouts, email info@beacon-star.com for scoped pricing. Pricing is transparent, invoiced once, and there are no ongoing subscription fees.

Can an individual take PRISM, or is it only for teams?

Both. Individuals often start with the Workstyle Profile for personal insight, and teams run it together so they can compare styles and talk about the differences. The Leadership Bundle works the same way for individual leaders or for a whole leadership cohort. Running it across a team is where the conversation really opens up, because the value sits in seeing how different styles line up side by side and what that means for the way the team operates day to day.

How soon can we start?

Assessment links are sent within two business days of payment. Follow-up resources are sent at the same time, so your team has everything they need to complete the assessment, read their report, and start applying the insights straight away. For whole-of-school rollouts we usually agree a launch window with you so all links go out together.

What do I receive after completing the assessment?

A personalised PDF report. The Workstyle Profile shows where you sit on each of the five dimensions (Power, Risk, Identity, Speed, Messaging) with plain-language insights on what each score means for the way you work. The Leadership Bundle adds your dominant archetype, with tailored guidance on leading across difference, including specific practices to lean on and blind spots to watch for. Both reports are written for the person taking the assessment, not for an HR file, so you can read yours straight through and act on it.

How long does PRISM take to complete?

About 10 minutes online. That may sound short, but the timing has been validated to give accurate results, and the questions are designed so honest first-response answers are more accurate than overthinking. You can take it on a laptop, tablet, or phone, in one sitting or across a couple of short sessions, and your progress saves if you need to come back later.

Who built PRISM?

PRISM was developed through Boston University by a research team led by David Livermore, PhD. It sits inside the Global TeamLEAD™ ecosystem, which licenses PRISM exclusively through certified Master Practitioners. David is the founder of the Cultural Intelligence Center and has spent more than two decades researching how leaders work effectively across cultural and contextual differences. You can read more directly from the research team at davidlivermore.com/prism.

Is PRISM appropriate for high school students?

Yes, for senior student leaders (year 10 and above is a common starting point). The language is easy to follow, and students can apply it to real situations where they're working in a team, such as student councils, house leadership, service projects, or co-curricular groups. Schools often use PRISM as part of an induction programme for incoming student leaders, so the cohort starts the year with a shared language for how they'll work together.

Do you work internationally?

Yes. We're based on the Gold Coast, Australia, and deliver to schools and organisations globally over video, with in-person work available in Australia and on request elsewhere. The assessment itself runs online in any time zone, so there's no scheduling constraint for the report part of the work.