Co-Led by Lucy Chamberlain PCC & Scott Johnson (Highview Power) November 2025
Introduction
This morning’s roundtable brought together senior HR, People, Reward and Leadership professionals to explore how organisations can build fair, commercially aligned and behaviour-led performance systems that genuinely motivate modern workforces.
The discussion drew on multiple evidence-based frameworks and thought leaders, including:
- Kim Scott – Radical Candor
- Tara Brach – Radical Acceptance & mindfulness in leadership
- OCEAN / Big Five Personality Theory
- Locke & Latham’s Goal Setting Theory
- 9-Box Performance & Potential Grid
- London Business School research on organisational performance
- Generational Cohort Theory
- “Back on Track” performance framing (instead of traditional PIPs)
These resources grounded the conversation in modern leadership thinking, high-performance psychology and real commercial pressure.
Performance & Reward Models: The Need for Clarity, Fairness & Commercial Alignment
Closing the Gap Between KPIs and Business Success
Participants acknowledged a recurring issue: KPIs, personal scorecards and remuneration rarely map neatly to the true commercial drivers of the business.
Key themes included:
- Employees often lack clarity on what metrics matter
- Many organisations struggle to connect reward to tangible business outcomes
- Personal KPIs and team KPIs are misaligned
- HR is expected to influence EXCO without the right data narrative
Referencing Locke & Latham, goals must be: Clear, measurable, meaningful and directly tied to business priorities.
Finance-Friendly, Behaviour-Driving Reward Models
Reward models must:
- Drive the right behaviours
- Operate within budget
- Build trust with finance and EXCO
- Be easy to explain and justify
Scott highlighted a key insight: Influence is strengthened when HR plays within financial constraints rather than requesting additional budget.
Benchmarking & Variable Compensation
Participants agreed that:
- Benchmarking provides fairness, credibility and confidence
- High-performing cultures blend capability, delivery and behaviour
- Variable compensation should include lead indicators (behavioural) and lag indicators (outcomes)
Commercial Alignment: Data Narratives & Strategic Influence
From Systematic HR to Commercial HR
A strong theme emerged: HR elevates its impact by moving from “process partners” to commercial enablers.
Participants emphasised:
- The importance of data storytelling
- Using the 9-box grid for transparency and planning
- Taking EXCO beyond gut-feel to evidence-based decision making
- Linking HR interventions to profitability
This reflects London Business School’s research that organisational excellence emerges from capability, clarity and consistency.
Creating a Persuasive Narrative
Effective reward and performance strategy requires:
- Clear impact mapping
- Behavioural indicators
- Commercial reasoning
- Transparent communication
Modern Motivation: Intrinsic Motivation, Strengths & Generational Insight
Intrinsic Motivation is Becoming More Powerful
Leaders referenced generational cohort theory to explain shifting motivations:
- Younger employees want autonomy, growth, purpose and learning
- Mid-career employees want influence, recognition and mastery
- Senior talent values stability, contribution and freedom
The group agreed: Money motivates short-term effort. Meaning motivates long-term performance.
Beyond Bonuses: Reward Must Be Broader
Participants shared examples:
- Employees preferring wellbeing benefits or development over cash
- Gym memberships outperforming cash bonuses
- Recognition having a disproportionate impact on performance
This aligns with Tara Brach’s research on human connection, agency, and psychological safety.
Strengths Highlighting & Behaviour Reinforcement
Leaders discussed:
- Building “muscle memory” around positive behaviours
- Highlighting strengths weekly
- Reinforcing the behaviours that drive contribution
- Training managers to spot and coach behaviour
The OCEAN personality framework was referenced to understand and tailor motivation.
Leadership Capability: Radical Candor, Feedback & Psychological Safety Managers Are the Linchpin - And Often the Least Equipped
Managers commonly lack:
- Confidence in difficult conversations
- Skills to coach performance
- Capability in behaviour-led feedback
- Comfort challenging directly
Referencing Radical Candor, leaders agreed that high performance requires:
- Challenge directly
- Care personally
Without this, organisations see:
- Rating inflation
- Undiscussed underperformance
- Avoidance of conflict
- Misaligned reward decisions
Language Matters: From “PIP” to “Back on Track”
A major shift underway: Replacing punitive, fear-based language with developmental, supportive terminology.
Examples discussed:
- “Back on Track Plan”
- “Performance Achievement Plan”
- “Strengths-Led Development Plan”
This reduces threat response and increases accountability.
Rating Models, Feedback Mechanisms & Human Behaviour
Points raised:
- Five-point scales still have value
- They require strong calibration
- Managers trend toward the “safe middle rating”
- Human bias must be addressed through data, narrative and calibration
- Ratings should be paired with development expectations and behavioural context
Broader Definitions of Reward & Contribution
Participants expanded the definition of “reward” to include:
- Autonomy
- Meaning
- Mastery
- Contribution to culture
- Trust
- Skill-building
- Psychological reward
- Recognition and progression
A standout insight: “Reward is headspace, trust, and feeling your contribution matters, not just compensation.”
Challenges Shared by Leaders
- Managers avoiding direct feedback
- Lack of consistent expectations
- Difficulty linking behaviours to reward
- Perception of HR as systematic rather than commercial
- Variability in manager capability
- Limited financial literacy within HR
- Generational differences in motivation
- Poor-quality performance conversations
Recommendations & Forward Actions
For Organisations:
- Build clear, business-aligned reward models
- Create behaviour-led indicators
- Use transparent, fair benchmarking
- Embed a “Back on Track” system instead of PIPs
- Train all leaders in feedback, performance and behavioural coaching
For HR Leaders:
- Strengthen commercial capability
- Develop data-driven narratives
- Leverage frameworks (9 box, OCEAN, Lock & Latham)
- Coach EXCO on the “why” behind reward models
- Introduce Radical Candor training across the leadership population
For Managers:
- Hold regular, structured coaching conversations
- Use behaviour-first feedback
- Set clear expectations early
- Build muscle memory around strengths recognition
- Apply generational insight to motivation strategies
Further Development: Lucy Chamberlain PCC - Coaching for Leaders
Participants are invited to deepen today’s themes through Lucy Chamberlain PCC’s Coaching for Leaders Workshop.
The programme equips leaders with:
- Coaching frameworks for performance & reward conversations
- Tools to increase intrinsic motivation
- Behavioural coaching capabilities
- Language that builds psychological safety
- Confidence in challenging directly with empathy
This workshop is suitable for: Senior leaders, People managers, HR teams, Emerging leaders, Performance-focused organisations
Conclusion
The roundtable highlighted a powerful shift… Modern performance and reward systems must integrate commercial clarity with human-centred leadership. By embedding evidence-based frameworks, building manager capability, strengthening data narratives and moving toward intrinsic motivation and behaviour-led performance, organisations can create cultures that are high-performing, fair and deeply engaging.
Contact Details:
Lucy Chamberlain, Founder: 020 3475 3885
Cathrine McCarroll, Associate Director: 020 3854 2693
Bella Hughes, Principal Consultant: 020 3854 2676