Leadership team performance management: the case of BELRON

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study around an approach to team performance management being deployed within the BELRON group of companies. The device being deployed is the climate measure (OCSII), which is being used within the organisation as an indicator of leadership capability. Although the results of climate surveys may be reported at both team and individual levels, this paper seeks to focus on team climate and how this may be linked to changes in business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The performance management approach has been aligned to a strategic intent, as championed by the CEO, to focus on leadership development as a key enabler of BELRON's future success. The paper considers the deployment of the climate tool within the Top Teams of three different business units and this is linked to available information relating to performance.

Findings

The paper finds that, within BELRON, there is a belief that the emphasis on climate has been a major contributor to its enhanced business performance over recent years. The paper presents information from three BELRON contexts where changes in climate would appear to precede improvements in business performance. However, despite these examples, i.e. where “high performing climates” appear to be linked with profitability, or other measures of business performance, this is not seen to be universal within the company.

Research limitations/implications

The work reported has limitations in that it focuses on only three positive examples of a possible climate/performance link at BELRON.

Practical implications

The paper makes a key contribution for practitioners, particularly HR, OD professionals and consultants as well as any senior manager concerned with managing performance. The climate survey being deployed in this context (the OCSII) is a tool which has been in use since the 1960s, with many claims made about its links to performance. However, the vast majority of the work has been conducted in a consultancy setting without much coverage in academic literatures.

Originality/value

The paper describes for the reader how the OSCII tool may be deployed to support team performance management. It then describes how the instrument has been deployed within the Top Teams of three business units within BELRON.

Citation

Houldsworth, E. and Machin, S. (2008), "Leadership team performance management: the case of BELRON", Team Performance Management, Vol. 14 No. 3/4, pp. 118-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527590810883406