At Circle & Square, we believe in the power of human connection and meaningful relationships to enhance business performance. Since 2002, we have dedicated ourselves to humanising workplaces by fostering a balance between the relational and the functional—what we call the Circle and the Square. The Circle represents the heart of our philosophy: the pursuit of quality, engagement, meaningful relationships, and trust. It’s about nurturing human connection, empathy, and resonance to create an environment where people feel valued, empowered, and inspired. The Square is the backbone of organisational success, focusing on productivity, process, efficiency, profit, and strategy.
Our work bridges the gap between these two essential worlds, helping organisations embrace this balance to foster healthy work environments. Through experiential learning, we deliver psychological insights and practical skills in a way that is both simple and profound. We create opportunities for reflection, sharing, and practice, enabling ownership, accountability and, real behaviour change that drives sustainable results.
Our philosophy, and two decades of experience. Our differentiator is the experienced people, who believe in the Circle & Square philosophy and live this in their personal and professional lives. Our solutions are not one-size-fits-all. We engage deeply with our clients to cocreate interventions that meet their unique needs.
Circle & Square is jointly owned by Global Business Solutions (GBS) and Joint Prosperity, enabling integrated solution design across HR, Labour and Employment Relations, Leadership Development, BBBEE, Employment Equity, Skills Development, and Labour Law.
Global Business Solutions is a leading national labour law, human resources, and business consultancy with a track record spanning more than 30 years. It is 51% black women-owned and a QSE with a Level 2 BBBEE verification.
Joint Prosperity is a dynamic people and business consulting company established in 2000. It believes that the effective execution of strategy is fundamentally linked to leadership and people. Guided by this philosophy, it partners with leaders and organisations to unlock business potential by empowering their people.
WHAT WE DO
At Circle & Square, we disrupt conventional training interventions to drive real change—fast. Give us specifics on the disruptive challenges you face, and we’ll give you specifics on exactly how we can help.
We design learning solutions that develop people and drive performance. Through consulting, training, facilitation, and coaching, we support individuals, teams, and organisations across the employee life cycle. We translate business goals into the behavioural shifts required for personal mastery, trust-based collaboration, greater agility, exceptional client experience, and high performance.
Our programmes strengthen leadership, team dynamics, and employee resilience—ultimately enabling more meaningful relationships with both internal and external clients.
WE BUILD HUMAN-CENTRIC ORGANISATIONS WHERE CONNECTION DRIVES PERFORMANCE!
CIRCLE & SQUARE METHODOLOGY
Turning the problem of learning on its head
The best measure of effectiveness in training interventions isn’t what your teams remember tomorrow or next week. It’s how much they remember and actually apply continually in 6 months, a year, or two years.
Your people learn in 3 ways:
The Circle & Square Way (ISO)
Our ISO learning methodology is unique and has been successfully implemented, yielding improved people performance, enhanced business performance, and change enablement.
The Circle & Square ISO learning methodology turns the learning process on its head. Instead of starting with the knowledge component, our teaching places the experience first. Experiential learning allows people to see how what they are being taught applies in their lives and interactions with others. Circle & Square engages participants in learning that inspires understanding and internalisation, thereby improving transfer of learning and on-the-job application.
The approach we follow shifts participants and organisations by raising their consciousness to allow for reflection, and provides psychological insights that result in enhanced, sustainable attitudinal and behavioural change. In creating a willingness to improve self-awareness, insight and reflection, the principles of the training are transferred from the training room to the work environment.
OUR OFFERING
We do not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Every client is unique, and we take the time to connect, listen, and fully understand their specific needs before designing and tailoring solutions that truly fit and deliver measurable impact. This programme overview demonstrates how each solution is carefully tailored—combining specific elements for distinct audiences—to ensure that every client receives a development experience aligned with their unique context and objectives.
MEET OUR TEAM
John Botha, CEO
John Botha is CEO of Circle & Square and Joint-CEO of Global Business Solutions. A recognised authority in organisational development and workforce transformation, he has spent decades helping leaders align people, culture, and strategy to drive performance and resilience.
Previously a Group Executive Director at South Africa’s largest JSE-listed workforce solutions company, John has represented the country at the International Labour Organisation and played key roles in national labour law negotiations at NEDLAC. He has also served on the Employment Equity Commission and the Essential Services Commission.
Holding a BCom Honours, a Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law, and executive training from Columbia Business School and MIT, John combines academic rigour with practical insight. He is widely recognised for his innovative strategies that connect leadership, culture, and compliance to organisational agility and sustainable growth.
At Circle & Square, John partners with executives to foster trust, embed experiential learning, and unlock the full potential of their teams. He is also a sought-after speaker and trusted advisor, guiding organisations to navigate complexity while building workplaces where people thrive.
Cindy Squair, General Manager
Cindy Squair brings over a decade of experience in leadership development, organisational transformation, and human connection. With a career spanning multiple industries and sectors, she is recognised for her fun, energetic, and caring approach, enabling her to build meaningful relationships with individuals and teams at all levels.
Cindy holds a Master’s degree in Leadership Coaching and is accredited as a Senior Practitioner with the EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council). She specialises in emotional intelligence (EQ), relational intelligence, leadership development, change management, team effectiveness, and client experience. Her work encompasses a range of services, including one-on-one executive coaching, small-group facilitation, and large-scale projects.
Known for her ability to create psychologically safe spaces, Cindy fosters deep connection, inspires insight, and supports sustainable growth. Her approach blends academic rigour with practical application, making her a trusted partner in unlocking potential and driving meaningful transformation in both people and organisations.
082 770 2627
cindy@circleandsquare.co.za
Michal Zinmann, Senior Consultant
Michal Zinman is a wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, and a deeply valued consultant at Circle & Square. With her caring nature and strong relationship skills, she builds authentic connections with clients and delegates alike, embodying the heart of our human-centred approach.
As a Key Account Manager, Michal leads large-scale project roll-outs and manages Circle & Square’s most strategic client relationships. Her success is reflected in the long-standing partnerships we maintain, many of which she has nurtured over her 12-year journey with the business.
Michal holds an Honours degree in Industrial Psychology and brings deep knowledge and insight into the people dynamics that shape teams and organisations. She specialises in emotional intelligence (EQ), relational intelligence, leadership development, change management, team effectiveness, and client experience. A trusted advisor, she plays a pivotal role in ensuring delivery excellence while championing the values and vision of Circle & Square.
082 494 0906
michal@circleandsquare.co.za
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