Concentric circles
Wright, N. & Marshall, R. (2006) ‘Concentric Circles’, Training & Learning, Institute of Training & Occupational Learning, Volume 2, Issue 7, July, pp14-15.
In this article on the topic of performance management and development, Nick Wright and Richard Marshall introduce capability frameworks that support development at individual and corporate levels.
Are you a learner? A relationship-builder? A communicator? An innovator? We could be addressing you as an individual reader, the ‘you’ that is your organisation, or both. This article will suggest that when we focus on the development of individuals in isolation from their wider team or organisational contexts, we limit potential for change and fail to achieve the greatest ’bang for the buck’. This is because individual and corporate development are dynamically interdependent; i.e. each impacts fundamentally on the other.
Development strategies often start with a business imperative: why are we doing this, what kinds of ability need to be developed, how can they be developed in the most effective and appropriate ways? Common challenges include how to create space in busy work schedules for development to take place and how to ensure individuals take appropriate responsibility for their own development rather than simply waiting for it to happen for them.
The potential limiting factor in these approaches is that they don’t really tackle the deeper question that lies behind them – whether development efforts should be focused at an individual level, as is often assumed, or at wider team or organisational levels. At World Vision UK, we have created a core capability framework that identifies the critical behaviours associated with successful performance in our context. Many organisations have identified similar capabilities and incorporated them into their processes for managing talent (e.g. recruitment, development, succession).
Our framework identifies 13 capabilities that are associated with success in our context and were derived from our vision and values and an analysis of ‘star performer’ behaviours. The capabilities are clustered into four categories: relational, thinking, achieving and self-managing (see below for examples), and described in terms observable behaviours. What may be different is that we have described each capability at individual, leadership and organisational level so we can track development across all three domains.
Capability
Communicating information effectively
Individual level
Uses effective questions to gather relevant information.
Writes clearly and conveys intended meaning.
Listens actively, shows appropriate nonverbal behaviour.
Presents appropriate information openly and willingly.
Organisational level
Maintains consistency of message to all stakeholders.
Keeps staff and other groups well informed.
Stays open to internal and external feedback.
Sets up processes to manages knowledge effectively.
Building collaborative relationships
Individual level
Cooperates well with other team members.
Develops personal network of effective relationships.
Builds and maintains strong relationships.
Treats others with honour and respect.
Organisational level
Reinforces a team approach to work.
Adopts a global as well as local mindset.
Takes initiative to resolve differences and conflicts.
Builds strong relationships with partners.
We realised when developing the framework that while we want individuals to be good at learning, for instance, we want the same to be true of the organisation too because a learning organisation has a much greater impact on business performance than a collection of learning individuals. This is because, from a systemic perspective, individual capacity is one part of a collective, interactive, interdependent whole; organisational behaviour is made up of individual actions but there is a collective capacity.
One can identify behaviours associated with, for instance, great ’communicating’ organisations – staff know what is going on during times of change, information about company performance is shared openly, the organisational brand is clear and easily understood.
When an organisation has undeveloped capabilities in other areas of, say, relationship-building, it can have as serious an impact as when an individual or team is lacking in this area. This is certainly true of charitable organisations in our own sector where collaborative efforts to achieve global transformation are far more effective than unilateral ones. Similarly, individuals can find themselves isolated or focusing only on their own task performance, possibly to the detriment of others, if they neglect the importance of relationship-building at an interpersonal level. We use performance reviews and a corporate staff survey to test our own performance in these and other areas.
Another framework we have found useful that links development at individual and collective levels is one that considers development in three interrelated areas: personal, professional and spiritual. This model suggests that the concept of personal, professional or spiritual development applies primarily to individuals but its key principles can be adapted and re-applied by way of analogy to teams, groups, organisations and even communities.
Extracts from this model are reproduced by permission in Figure 2. The model has been developed explicitly for Christian-based organizations but we have found its principles can be adapted more broadly, e.g. by translating the spiritual section into ‘core values’. Readers may find it helpful to construct their own bespoke framework that identifies critical generic capabilities at individual, team and organisational levels within their own environment.
Dimension
Personal development
Individual level indicators
Growth in awareness of personal characteristics including needs, preferences, goals, motivators, influences and impact on others and the ability to use that insight to effect positive change.
Growth in ability to identify personal skill resources (this is what I can do) and deficits (this is what I can’t do) and how to apply that awareness and skill to effect positive change.
Growth in ability to reapply learning from one dimension of experience into other dimensions in order to ensure integrated and holistic development.
Collective level indicators
Its members, individually and collectively, develop according to the factors described under ‘individual level indicators’.
Learning from one dimension of the entity’s experience is shared and reapplied to other aspects of its experience in order to ensure synergetic, integrated and holistic development.
Evidence of development is reflected in policies, priorities, strategies, behaviour and practice.
Professional development
Individual level indicators
Advanced studies and/or training in his or her professional field in order to grow in external awareness and ability to apply alternative models and approaches.
Active membership of an independent body (e.g. institute) that is committed to establishing, maintaining and developing standards of good practice in his or her professional field.
Active commitment to his or her own on-going learning and development in order to continually enhance his or her professional knowledge.
Collective level indicators
Its members, individually and collectively, develop spiritually according to the factors described under ‘individual level indicators’.
Learning from, and contribution to, the external environment is actively encouraged and supported.
Evidence of development is reflected in policies, priorities, strategies, behaviour and practice.
Congruence is evidenced at individual, team, group, organisational and/or community levels.
Spiritual development
Individual level indicators
Growth in awareness of spiritual realities and the need/opportunity for faith, igniting passion to lead others to faith.
Growth in relationship with God expressed in, for example, increased desire to engage in prayer, worship, study, fellowship and service.
Growth in alignment between understanding, motivation, attitudes, behaviour, commitments and actions and for example, biblical mission, values and qualities.
Collective level indicators
Its members, individually and collectively, develop spiritually according to the factors described under ‘individual level indicators’.
Biblical principles are applied to relationships, policies, priorities, strategies and practice.
Congruence is evidenced at individual, team, group, organisational and/or community levels.
We have found it helpful to integrate World Vision’s core capability framework into our staff recruitment and development processes and to invest resources into a corresponding range of development opportunities. Examples are provided in Figure 3.
In this article on the topic of performance management and development, Nick Wright and Richard Marshall introduce capability frameworks that support development at individual and corporate levels.
Are you a learner? A relationship-builder? A communicator? An innovator? We could be addressing you as an individual reader, the ‘you’ that is your organisation, or both. This article will suggest that when we focus on the development of individuals in isolation from their wider team or organisational contexts, we limit potential for change and fail to achieve the greatest ’bang for the buck’. This is because individual and corporate development are dynamically interdependent; i.e. each impacts fundamentally on the other.
Development strategies often start with a business imperative: why are we doing this, what kinds of ability need to be developed, how can they be developed in the most effective and appropriate ways? Common challenges include how to create space in busy work schedules for development to take place and how to ensure individuals take appropriate responsibility for their own development rather than simply waiting for it to happen for them.
The potential limiting factor in these approaches is that they don’t really tackle the deeper question that lies behind them – whether development efforts should be focused at an individual level, as is often assumed, or at wider team or organisational levels. At World Vision UK, we have created a core capability framework that identifies the critical behaviours associated with successful performance in our context. Many organisations have identified similar capabilities and incorporated them into their processes for managing talent (e.g. recruitment, development, succession).
Our framework identifies 13 capabilities that are associated with success in our context and were derived from our vision and values and an analysis of ‘star performer’ behaviours. The capabilities are clustered into four categories: relational, thinking, achieving and self-managing (see below for examples), and described in terms observable behaviours. What may be different is that we have described each capability at individual, leadership and organisational level so we can track development across all three domains.
Capability
Communicating information effectively
Individual level
Uses effective questions to gather relevant information.
Writes clearly and conveys intended meaning.
Listens actively, shows appropriate nonverbal behaviour.
Presents appropriate information openly and willingly.
Organisational level
Maintains consistency of message to all stakeholders.
Keeps staff and other groups well informed.
Stays open to internal and external feedback.
Sets up processes to manages knowledge effectively.
Building collaborative relationships
Individual level
Cooperates well with other team members.
Develops personal network of effective relationships.
Builds and maintains strong relationships.
Treats others with honour and respect.
Organisational level
Reinforces a team approach to work.
Adopts a global as well as local mindset.
Takes initiative to resolve differences and conflicts.
Builds strong relationships with partners.
We realised when developing the framework that while we want individuals to be good at learning, for instance, we want the same to be true of the organisation too because a learning organisation has a much greater impact on business performance than a collection of learning individuals. This is because, from a systemic perspective, individual capacity is one part of a collective, interactive, interdependent whole; organisational behaviour is made up of individual actions but there is a collective capacity.
One can identify behaviours associated with, for instance, great ’communicating’ organisations – staff know what is going on during times of change, information about company performance is shared openly, the organisational brand is clear and easily understood.
When an organisation has undeveloped capabilities in other areas of, say, relationship-building, it can have as serious an impact as when an individual or team is lacking in this area. This is certainly true of charitable organisations in our own sector where collaborative efforts to achieve global transformation are far more effective than unilateral ones. Similarly, individuals can find themselves isolated or focusing only on their own task performance, possibly to the detriment of others, if they neglect the importance of relationship-building at an interpersonal level. We use performance reviews and a corporate staff survey to test our own performance in these and other areas.
Another framework we have found useful that links development at individual and collective levels is one that considers development in three interrelated areas: personal, professional and spiritual. This model suggests that the concept of personal, professional or spiritual development applies primarily to individuals but its key principles can be adapted and re-applied by way of analogy to teams, groups, organisations and even communities.
Extracts from this model are reproduced by permission in Figure 2. The model has been developed explicitly for Christian-based organizations but we have found its principles can be adapted more broadly, e.g. by translating the spiritual section into ‘core values’. Readers may find it helpful to construct their own bespoke framework that identifies critical generic capabilities at individual, team and organisational levels within their own environment.
Dimension
Personal development
Individual level indicators
Growth in awareness of personal characteristics including needs, preferences, goals, motivators, influences and impact on others and the ability to use that insight to effect positive change.
Growth in ability to identify personal skill resources (this is what I can do) and deficits (this is what I can’t do) and how to apply that awareness and skill to effect positive change.
Growth in ability to reapply learning from one dimension of experience into other dimensions in order to ensure integrated and holistic development.
Collective level indicators
Its members, individually and collectively, develop according to the factors described under ‘individual level indicators’.
Learning from one dimension of the entity’s experience is shared and reapplied to other aspects of its experience in order to ensure synergetic, integrated and holistic development.
Evidence of development is reflected in policies, priorities, strategies, behaviour and practice.
Professional development
Individual level indicators
Advanced studies and/or training in his or her professional field in order to grow in external awareness and ability to apply alternative models and approaches.
Active membership of an independent body (e.g. institute) that is committed to establishing, maintaining and developing standards of good practice in his or her professional field.
Active commitment to his or her own on-going learning and development in order to continually enhance his or her professional knowledge.
Collective level indicators
Its members, individually and collectively, develop spiritually according to the factors described under ‘individual level indicators’.
Learning from, and contribution to, the external environment is actively encouraged and supported.
Evidence of development is reflected in policies, priorities, strategies, behaviour and practice.
Congruence is evidenced at individual, team, group, organisational and/or community levels.
Spiritual development
Individual level indicators
Growth in awareness of spiritual realities and the need/opportunity for faith, igniting passion to lead others to faith.
Growth in relationship with God expressed in, for example, increased desire to engage in prayer, worship, study, fellowship and service.
Growth in alignment between understanding, motivation, attitudes, behaviour, commitments and actions and for example, biblical mission, values and qualities.
Collective level indicators
Its members, individually and collectively, develop spiritually according to the factors described under ‘individual level indicators’.
Biblical principles are applied to relationships, policies, priorities, strategies and practice.
Congruence is evidenced at individual, team, group, organisational and/or community levels.
We have found it helpful to integrate World Vision’s core capability framework into our staff recruitment and development processes and to invest resources into a corresponding range of development opportunities. Examples are provided in Figure 3.
Individual development
Coaching – enabling goal achievement. Mentoring – learning through shared experience with expert. Training – practical skills development through workshop participation. Seminars – knowledge development through focused topical conversation. Action learning – learning through shared reflection on experience. Study – knowledge development through reading, research or formal study programme. Secondment – temporary placement with a different team or organisation. Networking – learning through conversation with peers. |
Organisational development
Group learning – learning reviews that take place after a key project. Audits – seeking external feedback and suggestions for improvement. Staff surveys – soliciting internal feedback and ideas for action on key organisational performance areas. Away Days – developing a shared view of vision, progress and development priorities. Culture change – formal change programme, often tied to leadership development. Re-structuring or Re-design – a new shape to the organisation and new processes. Recruitment – gaining new organisational skills by hiring or borrowing them. Consultants – buying in supplementary capacity or ideas for change. |