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The Power of Key Behavioral Indicators (KBI) In Optimizing Performance

Jean-Philippe Raiche
Combining know-how and interpersonal skills with key behavioural indicators

THE ART OF COMBINING KNOW-HOW AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS IS ESSENTIAL TO OUTSTANDING BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Are the managers in your organization supporting their teamwork to help achieve their full potential and optimally maximize your company’s performance? If not, it is time to discover the power of Key Behavioral Indicators (KBIs).

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Mastering the best management behaviors

Even in this era of technology, human beings are still essential in delivering performance excellence. Most enterprises tend to focus primarily on processes and technology. Still, it is critical to remember that people manage, support, and benefit from innovation in any era and are the engines of change.

Using KBIs enables us to build on what is really at the heart of an organization: people. They are what generate performance.

High performance within an enterprise means making sure you are using good “behaviors,” as in the case of an athlete training to win at the Olympics. Key Behavioral Indicators allow you to measure the different facets of the knowledge and behaviors of a proactive, effective manager. When combined, these indicators show the best management practices to adopt daily.

Measure: the first step toward improvement

As a manager, you always need to ask yourself if you adopt best practices for optimal management in your industry (whether it is “4.0” or not).

The methodology behind KBI measurement allows you to create a profile of your organization's managers' technical and human resource capacities.

This evaluation will be the starting point of an improvement process that seeks to perfect management skills and abilities, which will, in turn, enhance the managers’ added value, set the right competency framework and create the required level of operational performance.

Key Behavioral Indicators measure good behaviors, so they also offer the possibility of creating improvement. Let's look one more time at the analogy of in depth the athlete whose starting physical performance is measured with the help of different indicators. This top-tier athlete will need to re-evaluate these indicators to achieve the desired results as training progresses.

Keep this in mind: what you don’t measure now, you will forget later.

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Key Behavioral Indicators examples

KBIs are used to assess different aspects of management in organizations. Here are some examples of key behavior indicators:

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Management Skills Indicators

  • Management Skills Index - the theoretical understanding of roles, responsibilities, and core competencies

  • Active Supervision Index - the amount of active supervision performed

  • Management Effectiveness Index - the quality of active supervision performed

Want to learn more and get a benchmark about these three indicators of management competence? We cover them in-depth in this article.

Management Behavior Metrics

  • Objectives - the manager’s ability to guide teams toward clear goals

  • Consideration Factor - the manager’s ability to give constructive feedback

We discuss these two metrics and the behaviors they promote in more detail in this article.

Mindset and Engagement

  • Organizational Mobilization Index - employee engagement as a reflection of the quality of management at the organizational level

  • Personal Satisfaction Index - the psychological ability of managers to drive employee performance

To go further into engagement, check out this article.

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Continuous improvement in management

These behavioral indicators allow your managers and organization to develop proactively and sustainably.

Generally, a manager is more comfortable with the technical side of their role. A manager who wants to evolve has to incorporate the human element into their management routines to find a balance between technical expertise and the mobilization of the people. This mobilization will reduce the gap between the organization's potential and its actual performance.

Some work environments frown upon the role of leader or manager. The "critical" boss model, who seeks to catch people, has to be transformed into a leader who takes responsibility, who is there for their team, and who wants to help it evolve. He needs to support, motivate, and guide the team, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of each team member. He also has to show adaptability, anticipate issues, and adopt a problem-solving approach by offering alternative solutions to resolve them in a timely manner.

To achieve high organizational performance, you must master the art of combining know-how and interpersonal skills. Adopting best practices and an individualized coaching approach, combined with mentoring and training, allows for personalized, dedicated support in changing behaviors in a way that lasts.

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Results of improvement to performance management

With the help of coaching and Key Behavioral Indicators, applying best management practices at the point of execution will have a significant impact:

  1. Improvement in KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KFIs (Key Financial Indicators), which will allow for the economic growth of the organization;

  2. Employee engagement as they feel involved and engaged, which will be a part of the solution in the day-to-day;

  3. Increased efficiency in the organizational structure. When employees perform their roles better at all company levels, managers no longer have to “compensate.” Everyone performs their tasks better—which improves productivity.

What are your initiatives to improve your organization's management skills and abilities and help it achieve its fullest potential?

Generate performance for your company by focusing on good leadership

Proaction International's experts can help your teams in their leadership development efforts, starting with a behavioral audit for example.

Jean-Philippe Raiche

Jean-Philippe Raiche

Partner – Strategy and Development A partner at Proaction International, Mr. Raiche holds advanced degrees in mechanical engineering and quality. As an expert in the effective integration of performance and excellence best practices, he has accompanied more than a thousand companies in America and Europe over the past two decades, in addition to giving conferences and contributing to several publications about quality and performance.