The idea of supporting individuals and teams within the workplace as a concept is nothing new. I mean who wouldn’t want to support teams and individuals in achieving their very best? Better individual performance and by extension better team performance results in better company performance. Despite the challenges in the modern economy we can agree that all employees should be fulfilled, contented and motivated by the work that they do.

Support is crucial and in communicating this message it’s important that we are clear on why…

Personal v Organisational Ambitions – In the workplace regardless of individual autonomy the large majority of our work is dependent on other people. Whether that be directly or indirectly, our ability to rely on others is absolutely crucial to success. This interdependence however can often result in a feeling of sacrifice when concerning our own personal ambitions. It’s these personal ambitions which are often central to our own feeling of personal contentedness. Supporting both individuals and teams is means by which we can allow this to surface, no longer is personal ambition detached from the overall organisational ambitions.

Increasing Staff Clarity – As organisations grown and change one of the hardest challenges facing an employee is maintaining a clear view on your purpose. Why does your role exist? How will it change in the future? Does the company seem to growing in such a way that will mean your role will significantly change in the future?

Support for individuals and teams allows us the opportunity to bring these conversations out from the shadows. Every company on the planet must face the reality that weather or not they’re audible, these conversations are and will continue to happen. The question is whether or not we can bring these conversations into a space where they can be conducive to organisation growth as a whole.

Intrapreneurialism – Organisations in most cases seek staff who take initiative, staff who feel emboldened by the opportunity to head in new directions often away from the accepted consensus. Aside from history’s celebrated individuals, the aim of any business should be cultivate this ethos in-house. Yet it’s easy to champion the power of the intrapreneur whilst at the same time taking steps to dis-empower staff.

Greater support for the individual and team empowers employees to take great leaps, whilst knowing that they’ll organisation support to help them succeed. One modern manifestation of this has been Google’s 20% policy where employees dedicate 20% of their time working on projects which interest them. We all need not be Google, but we must recognise encouraging creative and intrepreneurial risk taking must be backed up with a clear pathway.