Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
The Impact Target synthesises decades of research on what makes teams effective. We believe in transparency about our model — and the evidence behind it.
A Synthesis Approach
No single research tradition captures everything that matters for team effectiveness. Self-Determination Theory explains individual motivation. Psychological Safety research explains learning and voice. Team effectiveness models explain structure and process. Strategy research explains alignment and coherence.
The Impact Target brings these traditions together into a unified framework — 14 components across three levels — that gives teams a complete map of what's working and what isn't.
Deci & Ryan
SDT identifies three fundamental psychological needs that drive intrinsic motivation: Autonomy (acting from your own values), Competence (feeling effective), and Relatedness (connection to others).
In The Impact Target, SDT underpins our Individual level components: Alignment (autonomy), Mastery (competence), and the way Belonging connects to Relatedness at the team level.
Self-Determination Theory websiteAmy Edmondson
Dr. Amy Edmondson's research shows that teams where members feel safe to speak up, share ideas, and admit mistakes significantly outperform teams where members stay silent.
In The Impact Target, Psychological Safety emerges from Candour and Feedback, Belonging, and the underlying conditions that protect people when they take interpersonal risks.
Edmondson (1999) - Administrative Science QuarterlyHackman & Wageman, Tannenbaum & Salas, Google's Project Aristotle
Decades of research on what enables teams to perform, from Hackman's conditions for team effectiveness to Google's Project Aristotle study of 180 internal teams.
These studies identified key factors: clear goals, supportive organisational context, enabling team processes, and the five dynamics (Psychological Safety, Dependability, Structure & Clarity, Meaning, Impact) that distinguish high-performing teams.
Richard Rumelt
Rumelt's work on strategy coherence shows that effective strategy requires a diagnosis of the challenge, a guiding policy, and coherent actions. Without strategic clarity, teams optimise for the wrong things.
In The Impact Target, Strategy is an Organisation-level component that cascades down — unclear strategy creates problems that manifest as confusion about priorities, roles, and direction at the team and individual levels.
Good Strategy Bad Strategy (Book)Bakker & Demerouti
The JD-R model shows how job demands (things that require sustained effort) can lead to burnout, while job resources (things that help achieve goals, reduce demands, or stimulate growth) can buffer against demands and drive engagement.
In The Impact Target, this informs how we think about the balance between demands (Planning, Prioritisation) and resources (Foundations, Coaching, Capabilities).
Bakker & Demerouti (2007) - Journal of Managerial PsychologyBaumeister & Leary
The "need to belong" is a fundamental human motivation — as basic as the need for food and safety. People are driven to form and maintain lasting, positive relationships.
In The Impact Target, Belonging is a Team-level component that connects to SDT's Relatedness need. It's distinct from Psychological Safety — you can belong without feeling safe to speak up, and vice versa.
Baumeister & Leary (1995) - Psychological BulletinThe Impact Target synthesises these research traditions into an actionable framework:
- We measure the underlying components that produce outcomes, not just the outcomes themselves
- We assess at three levels (Organisation, Team, Individual) because problems often originate at a different level than where they manifest
- We link findings to specific research and practical interventions
- We maintain anonymity to encourage honest feedback
- We provide personalised feedback to every team member, not just aggregated reports to leaders
Contribute to the Research
The Impact Target is continuously refined based on new research and practical feedback. We welcome contributions from researchers, practitioners, and organisations working to improve team effectiveness.