BUSINESS RESEARCH

Managing Team and Individual Performance

Being able to get the best performance from individuals in your team and deliver overall team performance is a critical skill for managers and leaders. This month, we’re focusing on the knowledge and skills you need to get the best from the people in your team.

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May 2018 Apprenticeship Issue

Key techniques: Developing your skills and behaviours

Balanced Scorecard
Translate strategic goals into performance measures.
The Balanced Scorecard functions as a communication tool, a planning and control tool, and a strategic learning tool. It encourages managers to balance various dimensions of performance, from customer perspectives to growth measures.

Adaptation Innovation Theory
Increase collaboration within teams.
The adaptation-innovation theory was developed to determine people’s problem-solving and cognitive styles. It states that people are different in cognitive style and sit on a normally distributed continuum, ranging from highly adaptive to highly innovative.

Empowering Employees
Explore the characteristics of an empowered employee.
Organisations introduce empowerment practices for a variety of reasons including motivating staff, improving organisational commitment and increasing productivity. Empowerment means freeing employees from instructions and controls and allowing them to make decisions themselves.

Key Performance Indicators
Gain an overview of performance at individual and team levels.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are used extensively in organisations today as tools to measure performance. They are agreed upon performance metrics designed to give managers and employees oversight of whether people are on track to meet targets and goals.

Referenced techniques

Technique

Balanced Scorecard

This concept offers a practical guide to using the Balanced Scorecard and is designed to assist executives to benefit from this strategic management technique.

Technique

Adaptation Innovation Theory

Adaption–Innovation (A-I) Theory helps organisations make practical use of cognitive diversity in problem solving and change. Recent work shows how A-I underpins leadership practice, team design and the management of complex problems in real settings (Sheffield and Friedel, 2022).

Technique

Empowering Employees

Over 70% of organisations now use empowerment initiatives. This concept explores how and why companies apply them. Empowerment is a key driver of motivation, autonomy, and innovation. Edmondson (2018) and Parker (1998) show it thrives in safe cultures and well-designed roles.

Technique

Key Performance Indicators

Too often organisations combine other performance measures with that of KPIs, which can lead to difficulties in managing performance and tracking success. Practical implementation steps and case evidence provided helps leaders to focus on quality KPI’s that directly measure the areas needed in order to achieve success.

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“The quality of support I have received from my coach has been extremely high. His coaching is considered, tailored and aligned to my personal experience, career stage as well as my day-to-day balancing of responsibilities. My apprenticeship has helped to bolster my confidence that I am taking a reasonable approach with some challenging clients.”

“The apprenticeship with KnowledgeBrief was transformative, improving my leadership, strategic decisions, and confidence. I gained skills in planning, change management, financial acumen, and stakeholder engagement. Completing with distinction, I secured a new contract and expanded my consultancy.”

“The coaching course through KnowledgeBrief was well-structured, balancing theoretical and practical knowledge. The platform is easy to navigate, providing access to support and promoting a solid understanding of coaching fundamentals. The resources provided have been comprehensive.”

“KnowledgeBrief has great content and is detailed in the area I am developing in. The system is very clear and easy to use and navigate. Thanks to my Skills Coach for his support and guidance. I apply my course knowledge and experience, such as team performance, leadership styles, and the Eisenhower Matrix, to manage tasks effectively.”

“The apprenticeship has greatly enhanced my understanding of strategic work and how different areas of the organisation operate. It has boosted my confidence to ask questions and take on senior-level tasks. Studying has pushed me out of my comfort zone, showing me my capabilities and improving my overall performance.

“The support has been timely and professional and, since starting, I have increased my knowledge through the online platform and workshops. I'm covering subjects like business understanding, communication, and operational plans - which has boosted my confidence. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would recommend it.

“As a result of this apprenticeship, I have gained confidence at work. I've developed key skills in project management, communication, and technical processes, and have improved my performance through focused feedback. I am now better prepared to contribute to the team's goals and tackle future challenges.”

“I have seen positive work improvements using what I’ve learnt about leadership, communication, and decision-making. I highly recommend the easy-to-use KnowledgeBrief platform with visual progress tracking, extra resources, and valuable information.”

“This journey has strengthened my strategic vision, stakeholder management, team and organisational influencing skills, and, most importantly, my confidence in communication. The structured learning and the tailored guidance has proven invaluable in giving me direction and purpose as a senior leader.”

“This course improved my performance by helping me create strategies, demonstrate values, develop my team, identify growth areas, and gain leadership principles like communication, conflict resolution, and strategic thinking. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to strengthen their leadership abilities and make an impact.”

Equip your employees with the skills to increase results

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