Prove It!
How to Create a High-Performance Culture and Measurable Success

Prove It! is the executive guide to improving organisational performance through the practice of evidence-based leadership. More than ever before, the world is demanding transparency and accountability from organisational leaders, and there is a growing push to hold leaders responsible for the performance of their organisation. Many executives panic at the thought of what transparency might reveal and how they might be held accountable, but others relish the opportunity to showcase their organisation's performance. The difference is in the leadership methodology. The best leaders already know how their organisation is performing, and that it has improved during their tenure ? and they can prove it because they practise evidence-based leadership. This book offers a clear blueprint for building on your existing skills and performance management systems to build a truly high performance organisation.

Just three personal leadership habits and three organisation-wide habits can transform your organisation into the powerhouse you know it can be. With a simple methodology and a focus on practical results, this book can help you:

• Set a strategic direction that really does inspire organisational excellence
• Gain a true picture of your organisation's performance
• Master the habits that help you lead a high-performance culture
• Improve your organisation objectively, measurably and quickly

If an organisation can only be as good as its leadership, it's reasonable to place the burden of performance responsibility on those who make the decisions. A leader's job is to inspire, motivate and guide, and those who do it well are already raising the bar. Prove It! gives you a practical model for measurable, real-world results, starting today.

About the Author ix

Acknowledgements xi

Preface xiii

Part I: What are you trying to prove? 1

1 The territory of high performance 3

2 Evidence-based leadership 13

3 Knowing is a double-edged sword 19

4 How to become an evidence-based leader 23

Part II: Habits of evidence-based leadership 33

5 Direction: Make it understood and it will be measurable 35

6 Evidence: Anything that matters can be measured 47

7 Execution: Implementing your strategy must deliver a high ROI 77

Part III: Organisational habits of evidence-based leadership 103

8 Decision: They want to work for something bigger than themselves 105

9 Action: Reaching for intrinsically rewarding targets 127

10 Learning: Success loves speed 155

11 Start now: Evidence-based leadership starts at the top 175A

Appendix: XmR charts give us three signals 185

Index 189

STACEY BARR is a performance measure specialist and creator of the PuMP^® methodology. Known for her practicality in making performance measurement easier, faster, meaningful and engaging, Stacey is also the author of Practical Performance Measurement. Find out more at www.staceybarr.com.