= 1 = The BSC process starts with defining clear, strategic goals. Coaching helps leaders and teams gain clarity on these goals, which ensures they are not only aligned with the broader business strategy but are also communicate clearly to all the team members involved. A coach can ask probing questions that help leaders articulate the desired outcomes, ensuring alignment with both short- and long-term objectives. At this stage it is exactly the coach plays the active role of a business trainer to coordinate the internal integrity of strategic goals throughout the vertical management pivot of the company. For instance, during the implementation phase, a coach may cascade down that goals to managers of lower levels on how to interpret the strategic initiatives under the "Customer Perspective" and translate them into specific customer service improvements.
Practical example 1: An organization is implementing a BSC, and the executive team struggles to clarify strategic objectives across departments. A coach facilitates a vision workshop, where team leaders discuss and refine their department's goals to align with the overall business strategy. The coach asks questions that stimulate an in-depth consideration of decision options and the consequences of its adoption, on long-term impact, pushing each leader to define objectives in a way that supports both individual and company-wide success.
You may tell me – ok, sounds good, we’ve got Strategy (goals, objectives, general vision etc.). But how to implement it in practice? Here comes the time to create Realistic Performance Indicators – in other words, it is well known KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
= 2 = Developing relevant and realistic KPIs for each BSC perspective is often challenging. Coaching facilitates this by guiding teams in identifying meaningful metrics that align with strategic objectives. Coaches can support teams in breaking down high-level goals into actionable steps, ensuring that performance indicators are practical, achievable, and tailored to the company’s unique context. Coach supports leaders in communicating BSC importance and encourage them to lead by example. At the same time, Coach enhances team performance by developing interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and a focus on continuous improvement, which aligns with the "Learning and Growth" perspective of the BSC, fostering a culture where employees are encouraged to improve internal processes and customer satisfaction. This performance-driven culture nurtured by Coach helps aligning employee behaviors with business strategy. It helps create an environment where employees are self-motivated to achieve BSC goals and teams have a shared understanding of strategic priorities.
Practical example 2.1.: A marketing team aims to improve customer satisfaction but finds it challenging to set KPIs that truly reflect this goal. The coach introduces SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) principles, helping the team create KPIs that are both practical and aligned with strategic objectives. For instance, they establish a KPI to "increase customer satisfaction scores by 10% within six months."
Practical example 2.2.: A retail chain worked with a coach to improve its Customer perspective by identifying key customer satisfaction metrics, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) and customer retention rates. The coach helped the team implement customer feedback loops and monitor these Customer-Centric KPIs monthly, aligning them with their goal of increasing customer loyalty.
Practical example 2.3.: A marketing agency struggled to find meaningful KPIs that reflected its strategic goals. Coaching helped the agency leaders define clear, actionable KPIs for each BSC perspective, such as client acquisition (Customer), campaign delivery time (Internal Process), and staff training hours (Learning and Growth). With focused metrics, they improved client satisfaction and retained clients longer.
The continuation of the article will be published in the next issue of the blog.
Please stay tuned for updates. To be continued...
