What 'strategic KPIs' do you use for leadership and organisation development interventions that are measurable and meaningful? How do you do it in practice? I'd love to hear from you!
28 Comments
Edwina Love Lawrence
24/2/2015 02:22:29 am
When I was working for Transport for London there was a Leadership development framework which was useful. Not sure if it's still current -TfL folks can you advise?
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Nick Wright
27/2/2015 03:16:47 am
Hi Edwina. Did the TfL framework include impact of leadership development interventions on organisational performance at a strategic level? I would be interested to hear more. With best wishes. Nick
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Edwina Love Lawrence
2/3/2015 08:26:57 am
Hi Nick - I wasn't involved in the design, but as far as I recall it was built around behaviours that had been identified as being needed by leaders to achieve organisational outcomes - we certainly used it operationally to that effect. Will connect you to a couple of people who will/may know more!
Nick Wright
2/3/2015 08:28:02 am
Many thanks, Edwina. Much appreciated! Nick
Eugene Fernandez
24/2/2015 02:23:57 am
Nick, can I ask what do you mean by strategic? In a sense all KPI's have a strategic dimension depending on their ambit- for example if it is related to a broader strategic/corporate document and process it naturally covers a broader umbrella - as opposed to a work group or a team's operational plan whose mandate is narrower, within the team framework their KPI's could also be construed to be strategic.
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Nick Wright
27/2/2015 03:25:39 am
Hi Eugene and thanks for the comments. Your question, what do I mean by strategic, is a good one. In the organisation I am working with where this is an issue of interest and concern, 'strategic' is being used in the sense of high level measures of organisational performance against an agreed strategy.
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Eugene Fernandez
1/3/2015 10:55:30 am
Nick, I am not avoiding your question as it is reliant on the context of the program, the agreed objectives, the expected outcomes etc. The inputs vary for example you could be linking it to Lominger competencies or using Gallup's 12 questions to measure progress. Kirkpatricks model is also effective as you can ascribe indicators linked to reactionary level 1. Learning - Level 2 this is where process indicators can come in handy, i.e through case study, role plays etc. Level 3, behavioural - indicators that capture the application of Leadership learning within their contexts or within groups and Level 4 - Results - the domain of Outcome indicators ( Key part of your impacts) - improvement in Leadership skills, capabilities- Pre- and post Lominger competencies, Gallup scores 6 months down the track, 360's etc.
Dr Billy Coop
27/2/2015 03:12:22 am
Hi Nick, I agree with Eugene's comments relating to "lack of rigor" (especially discipline) associated with the process and methodology..........but even more so with regards to the critical thinking that underlies the initial development of KPI's and their impact on both individual leadership development and that of the organisation. I believe that often too much emphasis is simply placed on the organisation achieving its bottom line, and "leadership development" is secondary to the organisation's achievement of profit.
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Eugene Fernandez
27/2/2015 03:13:07 am
And that bottom line drive at all costs tends to focus the KPI's that are predominantly quantitative and input/output focused very little real though is usually given to qualitative and process related KPI's.
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Deidre Seeto
27/2/2015 03:13:54 am
Agree with Eugene's last comment. I'm going to this upcoming workshop which will enable me to practice this authentically. It's in Brisbane and is facilitated by Bob Dick Collaborative performance improvement http://www.aral.com.au/wshops/wscp.html.
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Nick Wright
2/3/2015 02:49:39 am
Hi Deidre and thanks for the note. I had a glance at the link you shared. It will be interesting to hear more about how they link individual performance with organisational performance...and what they identify as indicators of performance/improvement and how they measure them in practice. All the best. Nick
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Deidre Seeto
3/3/2015 01:23:50 am
Hi Nick. Watch this space - I'll keep you posted!
Elyssebeth Leigh
1/3/2015 10:53:25 am
I was recently sent an invitation to a 'Business Success' seminar promising to give me access to 'the unfair advantage' in my business. I did not get a response to my reply suggesting that such an offer appeared both dishonest and unethical. It appears that the owners of the seminar have KPIs which do not include 'old fashioned' components of honesty, fairness, truth and ethical measures of behaviour.
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Eugene Fernandez
1/3/2015 10:54:24 am
Excellent points Elyssebeth about the inherent dangers of focusing on KPI' in isolation of the broader system in which they need to be embedded. I really like the examples which highlight the need for a Values framework to underpin Vision. The balanced scorecard, triple bottom line and a resource based view are frameworks to locate what an organisation does within a broader canvas. KPI's are a subset of a broader process and as Elyssebeth's example highlights there are real dangers of developing and rewarding KPI's in isolation. Take Baring's bank and Nick Leeson for example where there was a systems failure around risk mitigation strategies, inadequate supervision, inexperience and a disregard for ethical practices. The KPI's that mattered were around profit at all costs. In fact Leeson contributed up to 10% of the bank's profits before it started to unravel.
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Nick Wright
2/3/2015 02:57:33 am
Hi Elyssebeth and thanks for such thoughtful comments. Yes, I agree that KPIs that only measure bottom line performance (which I think is Billy's point above) without reference to a wider ethical principle or framework can drive all sorts of questionable or unethical behaviours. Have you seen any examples of where adherence to agreed ethics/values features on an organisational dashboard, along with indicators that show what it looks like in practice, thereby ensuring appropriate accountability? With best wishes. Nick
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Rob Woodward
4/3/2015 03:06:39 am
Hi all, there's certainly some great insight expressed above. Experience suggests to me, and much of this has already been expressed, that Leadership KPIs need to address both 'the what' and 'the how' of leader activity: building and delivering direction; building the engagement and commitment of others; and, facilitating timely and responsive change. Yes, many KPIs will include quantitative business deliverables but, in many ‘enlightened’ businesses, such KPIs include measures of 'what' was done to enhance the social and environmental contribution of the business. Possibly more importantly, these KPIs address 'how' activity has been carried out, demonstrating: high ethical standards; care for employees, the community and the environment ; long-sightedness in decision making … and the list goes on. Both 'the what' and 'the how' can be outlined in positive behavioural terms which enhance both community and business well-being.
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Nick Wright
6/3/2015 03:03:27 am
Hi Rob and thanks for the comments. I really like your emphasis on looking at leadership and OD in light of ethical behaviour and wider social and environmental contribution.
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Bob Dick
6/3/2015 02:17:45 am
Hello Nick, and others
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Nick Wright
6/3/2015 02:54:46 am
Hi Bob and thanks for offering such rich and thought-provoking comments. Yes, by 'measurable' I am meaning quantitative. Thank you - that's a helpful clarification.
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Brian Dominguez
6/3/2015 02:18:44 am
Love the thoughts Bob! Nick, as a practical example, employee turnover is an excellent KPI to measure effectiveness of leader development. We know that measures drive behaviour, sometimes perversely if we are not careful, and you can imagine what values have to be engaged by the leader to have people stick around (ex. Empowerment, ,job expansion, etc.). Bob discussed a good approach to getting KPI but remember they should not be set in stone and should result in the desired behaviour. The trick will be to determine if failure is due to a perverse measure or failed leadership development.
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Nick Wright
6/3/2015 03:10:58 am
Hi Brian. Interesting thoughts! I've been wondering, along similar lines, if a proxy indicator for leadership and OD effectiveness and impact can be derived from 3 classic indicators of engagement that can be measured quantitatively through a staff survey (advocacy: 'I would recommend working here to a friend'; retention: 'I hope to still be working here 12 months from now'; discretionary effort: 'I'm willing to go the extra mile because I believe in what we are trying to achieve'). The idea is that healthy leadership and culture ought to be evidenced in inspired and engaged staff. It's a measure of contribution rather than attribution and is by no means water tight! I'd be interested if you have used or come across any other indicators. With best wishes. Nick
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Brian Dominguez
8/3/2015 01:24:55 pm
Hi Nick, in my experience I've mostly broken the rules on KPIs because they are often outdated or perverse without creating the intended behavior. I've done that by implementing measures at several levels that align with the the organizations espoused theory to create the behavior I'm looking for. So, I'm going to mostly echo Eugene by saying that multiple layers are necessary to achieve the goal. I assume that KPIs are different than performance indicators, such as short term targets, or indicators such as 360 reviews. I agree with Eugene's reference to balanced scorecard as an example of using these layers. The survey you mention is a great start but remember Chris Argyris's theory of action, the survey will let you know what people think they do, espoused theory (lets call that indicator), to which you can identify ways of measuring what people believe is actually happening, theory in use (call it performance indicator), and finally a bottom line, key performance indicator (call it Eugene's "outcome indicator") tells us what actually happened. Looking at it from this perspective means the silver bullet KPI that the senior management team is hoping for (pretty typical, right?!) is more like a machine gun battle. That might be where your work really begins?
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Pip Bruce Ferguson
7/3/2015 02:17:14 am
Hi all - a fascinating conversation. I particularly liked Elyssebeth's call for "old-fashioned" values that can be so hard to aim for in some pressured, full-on businesses. That's the kind of thing that leads people to argue that "business ethics" is an oxymoron.
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Brian Dominguez
8/3/2015 01:26:05 pm
Fascinating Pip! As a manager of people I have always been concerned for their personal health and growth but never imagined to measure it in any way, even though I know it impacts their performance. In Canada, I think measuring work/life balance might be like measuring their diet at lunch or sleep at night, an invasion of privacy. Both variables impact performance but would be scary to even propose! I now wonder why that would be the case?
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Pip Bruce Ferguson
8/3/2015 01:27:04 pm
Hi Brian - I don't know that it's measured, except through stats such as absences, ill health, perhaps visits to EAP counsellors, that kind of thing. But having the statement included alongside the 'high-performing team that strives' stuff, enables employees to go 'hang on a minute, some of this striving is impacting negatively on my health and is in breach of our stated commitment to a sound work/life balance.' In fact, in our team we have a small traditional Irish music group, and our immediate boss has sanctioned us having fortnightly practices for an hour in work time, recognising the contribution this makes not only to OUR healthy work/life balance, but to the enjoyment of the wider group, for whom we occasionally perform! Now THAT's what I call a good work/life balance! 20/4/2015 08:26:51 pm
I have always been concerned for their personal health and growth but never imagined to measure it in any way, even though I know it impacts their performance.
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Nick WrightI'm a psychological coach, trainer and OD consultant. Curious to discover how can I help you? Get in touch! Like what you read? Simply enter your email address below to receive regular blog updates!
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