Team performance – You cannot manage what you do not measure.
In this article, I explore three critical aspects that shape the future of high-performing teams and organisations, supported by insights from the World Wellbeing Movement an academic parter of the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University.
1. Measure. Understand. Act.
We live in a data-driven world.
In almost every professional field, it has become standard practice to measure, analyse, and adapt based on clear insights. Advanced models even allow us to predict outcomes before they occur.
We apply this approach in all domains where high-performance matters.
Sports
Athletes and coaches track indicators such as speed, recovery, and technique. They understand patterns, identify weaknesses, and act by adjusting training cycles to optimise performance and prevent injuries.
Financial Markets
Investors monitor market signals and portfolio risks, understand correlations and emerging trends, and act by reallocating assets or refining their strategies to protect returns and seize opportunities.
Customer Experience
Companies measure feedback, satisfaction levels, and behavioural data. They understand friction points across the customer journey, and act by redesigning touch points or improving processes to strengthen loyalty.
In none of these areas would we leave success to chance.
And yet, when it comes to the human factor – the core of organisational performance – many companies still rely on assumptions, sporadic survey snapshots, or worse, do not measure it at all.
We would never leave athletic performance or financial returns to chance.
But when it comes to collaboration, team chemistry, and wellbeing, we often do exactly that.
Either the data is not collected, or it is collected in ways that do not help leaders steer their organisations or teams with clarity.
2. Measure on multiple levels
The Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University is clear:
Organisations must measure employee wellbeing because you cannot manage what you do not measure and name.
Measurement alone is not enough – understanding and acting are equally important to create meaningful and sustainable improvement.
But the decisive question is:
At which level are you measuring?
According to the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), effective approaches span four interconnected layers:
- Person
- Job
- Team
- Organisation
Individual-level approaches build awareness and development.
Job-level clarity aligns expectations, delivery, and load.
Team-level dynamics shape daily experience, cohesion, and performance.
Organisational-level insights create the structural foundation.
Most companies focus heavily on the top – individual development, leadership courses, personality assessments – while the foundational layers remain unmeasured or unclear.
Other organisations run organisational-level surveys but do not receive the depth or effectiveness they need.
And almost all organisations miss one critical layer:
The team level.
This is where the real work happens.
This is where performance, cohesion, and misalignment become visible.
This is where potential is either unlocked or lost.
From my perspective, all layers matter.
Individual development is essential – because when one person grows, it impacts the collective one way or another.
Yet the real future lies in understanding how the layers interact.
This is the “&” in MARINA&TEAM – the bridge that connects these essential parts of organisational life.
3. Higher performance through team chemistry: what the data shows
This is not a “soft factor”.
It is a strategic one.
Research from the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University shows a strong connection between employee happiness and organisational performance.
Their findings reveal that companies with high levels of wellbeing outperformed common stock market benchmarks:
If you had invested in the companies of the 2024 Work Wellbeing 100 in January 2021, your return would have been 11 percent higher than the S&P 500 by July 2024.
The data is clear:
Investing in wellbeing is not a cost.
It is a performance strategy.
Code18, a global performance analytics company, observes similar patterns:
Teams with high chemistry show an average 45 percent higher performance in professional sports leagues, business simulations, and team performance data.
A few questions for you as a leader or entrepreneur
Are you measuring your team’s chemistry and performance?
If yes – does the data give you insights you can actually act on?
If not – which layers are currently missing?
Because what is not measured remains invisible.
What remains invisible cannot be improved.
And what cannot be improved becomes your organisation’s blind spot.
Join our webinar on 22nd January at 16:00 CET
Measure. Understand. Predict. Act – The most underestimated team performance drivers
Host: Marina Beer, Found & Mentor at MARINA&TEAM
Guest: Patrick Tobler, Strategic Advisor & Code18 CEO
Sign up here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/23QihbwwS9WExKyvPPWdDA
MARINA&TEAM
