Interactive Leadership Dashboard
The Operational Excellence Code
15 Principles That Drive Results
- 15 principles
- 5 categories
- Cycle history
- Saved in this browser
- CSV and JSON export
Demonstration data. Replace the starting values with your own scorecards, survey results, or audit findings. Every calculation runs in this browser and nothing is sent to a server. Status bands are local operating bands, not external benchmarks.
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Overview
Where the Code stands this cycle
Execute leads at 83.7. Think is the reliability floor at 71.3, 12.3 points behind. Closing every gap to target takes 118 improvement points.
Up 5.1 points from Q2 2026
Average of the 15 current success rates.
Target attainment
90.8%
Average of score divided by target, capped at 100% per principle
Principles at target
0 of 15
Closest: Keep Your Promises, 3 points away
Reliability floor
71.3
Think is the weakest category
Category spread
12.3 pts
Gap between the strongest and weakest category
Performance by category
Bars show the category average. The tick marks each category target. The floor is the weakest category, because reliability is only as strong as its weakest link.
Fix first
Priority index equals the gap to target plus twice any decline since last cycle. Select a principle to open it.
The Code at a glance
- At target
- Within 5 points
- 5 to 10 points
- More than 10 points
Execute
Think
Lead People
Communicate
Sustain
The Code
Fifteen principles in five categories
Each principle carries an operational measure, the behaviors that show it, the warning signs that it is slipping, and micro actions you can add straight to the 90 day plan.
Showing 15 of 15 principles
Execute
Deliver what matters. Turn intent into outcomes: act early, measure results, and keep commitments.
Execute
Take Initiative
Act on opportunities before they become instructions.
Measure: Opportunity to action rate. Improvement opportunities acted on within five business days, divided by opportunities identified.
What it looks like
- Raises a problem together with a first proposed step
- Starts small, low risk tests without waiting for a mandate
- Closes the loop on issues others noticed but did not own
Warning signs
- Problems are reported repeatedly but never claimed
- Work stalls waiting for permission that was never required
Micro actions
- Hold a weekly ten minute 'what did we notice' round and assign an owner to every item
- Define the decisions team members can make without escalation
- Publicly credit one self started fix each week
Evidence: Zhang et al., 2022
Execute
Focus on Results
Translate effort into clearly defined, measurable outcomes.
Measure: Priority outcome attainment. Quarterly priority outcomes met, divided by priority outcomes committed.
What it looks like
- States every priority as an outcome with a measure and a date
- Reviews progress against outcomes, not activity
- Stops low value work to protect the top priorities
Warning signs
- Status reports describe effort rather than results
- More than five priorities carry the same urgency
Micro actions
- Rewrite each team priority as an outcome statement with one measure
- Run a fifteen minute weekly outcome review on a visible scoreboard
- Retire or pause one low value activity this month
Evidence: Kleingeld et al., 2011
Execute
Keep Your Promises
Make commitments explicit and complete them with dependable follow through.
Measure: Commitment reliability. Commitments completed by the agreed date, divided by commitments made.
What it looks like
- Writes down commitments with an owner and a date
- Renegotiates early when a commitment is at risk
- Says no or not yet instead of overcommitting
Warning signs
- Deadlines slip without advance notice
- Action items reappear unchanged in consecutive meetings
Micro actions
- Keep a shared commitment log reviewed at every team meeting
- Adopt a 48 hour early warning rule for at risk commitments
- Audit last month's commitments and report the completion rate
Evidence: Kleingeld et al., 2011
Think
Decide and design well. Combine evidence with judgment, read signals early, and test ideas quickly.
Think
Balance Logic and Gut
Use data, professional expertise, and deliberate challenge in complex decisions.
Measure: Decision review quality. Major decisions documented with data, alternatives, and a named challenger, divided by major decisions made.
What it looks like
- Checks intuition against data before committing
- Names the assumption that would change the decision
- Invites a deliberate challenge on high stakes calls
Warning signs
- Decisions rest on the loudest voice or the latest anecdote
- Data is gathered only after the decision is made
Micro actions
- Use a one page decision brief: options, evidence, risks, and the assumption to test
- Assign a rotating challenger role for major decisions
- Review three past decisions each quarter, comparing expected and actual results
Evidence: Norman et al., 2017
Think
See Patterns Early
Detect trends, weak signals, and recurring barriers before performance deteriorates.
Measure: Early risk detection rate. Performance risks flagged before a target was missed, divided by all risks that materialized.
What it looks like
- Reviews run charts rather than single month snapshots
- Connects repeated small complaints into one systemic issue
- Escalates leading indicators, not only lagging results
Warning signs
- Problems are discovered at month end close
- The same incident category recurs without a shared cause analysis
Micro actions
- Convert the top three operational measures into run charts with control limits
- Add a 'signals we are seeing' item to the weekly huddle
- Tag incident reports by theme and review recurrences monthly
Evidence: Thor et al., 2007, Huang et al., 2014
Think
Turn Ideas into Demos
Make promising ideas testable through rapid prototypes.
Measure: Idea to demo conversion. Approved ideas that reach a working test or prototype within 30 days, divided by ideas approved for exploration.
What it looks like
- Asks what the smallest testable version of an idea is
- Runs small Plan, Do, Study, Act cycles before scaling
- Shares early prototypes to gather feedback quickly
Warning signs
- Good ideas remain in slide decks for months
- Pilots launch at full scale without a test phase
Micro actions
- Set a 30 day demo rule for approved ideas
- Hold a monthly ten minute demo showcase
- Use a lightweight test template: hypothesis, measure, duration, decision
Evidence: Taylor et al., 2014
Lead People
Enable others. Remove friction, grow capability, and fix systems instead of blaming people.
Lead People
Make Work Easier for Others
Remove friction, clarify handoffs, and improve conditions for others to succeed.
Measure: Friction removal completion. Staff reported barriers resolved within 30 days, divided by barriers reported.
What it looks like
- Asks 'what is getting in your way' and acts on the answer
- Simplifies handoffs, forms, and approvals
- Protects the team from unnecessary work
Warning signs
- Workarounds become the standard process
- Staff stop reporting barriers because nothing changes
Micro actions
- Run a barrier board where staff post friction and leaders post fixes
- Map one handoff end to end and remove one step
- Report back on every barrier within two weeks, even when the answer is no
Evidence: Podsakoff et al., 2009
Lead People
Lift Others as You Grow
Build capability, share credit, and create opportunities for colleagues.
Measure: Development support pulse. Team members with a current development goal and a monthly coaching conversation, divided by team members.
What it looks like
- Delegates stretch work with support, not just tasks
- Shares credit publicly and specifically
- Connects people to opportunities beyond the team
Warning signs
- The same few people receive every visible assignment
- Succession depends on one person
Micro actions
- Hold a monthly development conversation with each direct report
- Delegate one stretch assignment per person each quarter
- Name the work and the person when giving credit in leadership forums
Evidence: Podsakoff et al., 2009, Wong et al., 2013
Lead People
Fix Problems, Not Blame
Resolve system conditions rather than personalizing failure.
Measure: Root cause closure rate. Incidents with a completed system level root cause and action, divided by incidents reviewed.
What it looks like
- Asks 'what made this possible' before 'who did this'
- Thanks people who report errors and near misses
- Fixes processes and checks that the fix worked
Warning signs
- Reporting drops after a high profile error
- Corrective actions are mostly retraining or reminders
Micro actions
- Open every incident review with a system question, not a person question
- Track the share of corrective actions that change a process rather than retrain a person
- Recognize one near miss report each month
Evidence: O'Donovan and McAuliffe, 2020
Communicate
Create shared understanding. Make priorities clear, listen before deciding, and keep feedback flowing.
Communicate
Communicate with Clarity
Make decisions, responsibilities, risks, and next steps easy to understand.
Measure: Communication clarity pulse. Staff who agree they understand current priorities and their role in them, divided by respondents.
What it looks like
- States the decision, the reason, and the next step in plain language
- Confirms understanding with a teach back
- Keeps one source of truth for priorities
Warning signs
- Team members describe the priorities differently
- Meetings end without clear owners and dates
Micro actions
- End every meeting by restating decisions, owners, and dates
- Publish a one page priorities summary and update it monthly
- Use teach back for any change in procedure
Evidence: Schmutz and Manser, 2013
Communicate
Listen to Understand
Seek context, constraints, and meaning before advocating a position.
Measure: Listening quality pulse. Staff who agree leaders understand their concerns before deciding, divided by respondents.
What it looks like
- Asks open questions and summarizes before responding
- Seeks frontline views before major changes
- Changes course when new information warrants it
Warning signs
- Staff input is collected but never reflected in decisions
- Leaders do most of the talking in team meetings
Micro actions
- Round on the front line weekly with three open questions
- Summarize what you heard before offering a view
- Close the loop: tell staff what changed because of their input
Evidence: Schmutz and Manser, 2013, O'Donovan and McAuliffe, 2020
Communicate
Seek and Give Feedback
Use frequent, specific feedback to accelerate improvement and accountability.
Measure: Feedback loop completion. Planned feedback conversations completed within the cycle, divided by planned conversations.
What it looks like
- Asks for feedback on own performance regularly
- Gives specific feedback close to the event
- Balances recognition with constructive guidance
Warning signs
- Feedback arrives only at the annual review
- The leader rarely hears bad news first
Micro actions
- Ask one person each week what you should start, stop, or continue
- Use a situation, behavior, impact format for feedback
- Hold a brief after action review after key events
Evidence: Tannenbaum and Cerasoli, 2013
Sustain
Hold performance over time. Stay steady under pressure, protect capacity, and learn from every cycle.
Sustain
Stay Calm Under Pressure
Maintain reliable behavior and clear thinking when demand, ambiguity, or risk escalates.
Measure: Pressure response reliability. High demand events managed with the agreed escalation protocol, divided by high demand events.
What it looks like
- Keeps tone and pace steady during surges
- Uses agreed escalation protocols instead of improvising
- Debriefs high pressure events to learn from them
Warning signs
- Escalation depends on who is in charge that day
- Stress shows up as blame or withdrawal
Micro actions
- Write a one page surge playbook with triggers and roles
- Practice the playbook with a brief tabletop drill each quarter
- Debrief every surge within 72 hours
Evidence: Huang et al., 2014
Sustain
Manage Time and Energy
Protect focus, recovery, and capacity so performance remains sustainable.
Measure: Capacity sustainability pulse. Staff who agree their workload allows sustainable performance and recovery, divided by respondents.
What it looks like
- Blocks time for priority work and protects it
- Models taking breaks and leave
- Rebalances workload when capacity is exceeded
Warning signs
- Overtime and missed breaks are treated as normal
- High performers receive more work as a reward
Micro actions
- Schedule two protected focus blocks each week
- Review overtime, missed breaks, and leave balances monthly
- Agree on a stop list whenever new work is added
Evidence: Aeon et al., 2021
Sustain
Own Gaps and Learn Fast
Surface gaps quickly, learn visibly, and improve the next cycle.
Measure: After action learning completion. Projects and events closed with an after action review and one applied lesson, divided by projects and events closed.
What it looks like
- Admits own mistakes openly and early
- Treats gaps as data for improvement
- Applies lessons to the next cycle and says so
Warning signs
- Lessons learned documents are written but never used
- The team hides gaps until they become crises
Micro actions
- Run a 15 minute after action review: expected, actual, why, next time
- Share one personal lesson learned at a team meeting each month
- Track lessons applied, not just lessons recorded
Evidence: Tannenbaum and Cerasoli, 2013, O'Donovan and McAuliffe, 2020
No principles match this search.
Scorecards
Edit the measures and watch the model respond
Move a slider and every index, chart, and priority updates. When a cycle is complete, log it so the Trends tab builds a real history.
Logging saves the current scores as a completed cycle and makes them the new comparison point.
Scorecards need JavaScript to edit. The demo values appear on the Overview and The Code tabs.
Trends
Leadership trend over time
Every logged cycle plus the current cycle. Select a series to show or hide it, or pick one principle to see its own history against its target.
One principle
Cycle log
| Cycle | Index | Execute | Think | Lead People | Communicate | Sustain | Remove |
|---|
360 Assessment
Compare how you see yourself with how others see you
Rate each principle from 1 (rarely) to 5 (consistently). Enter team and leader ratings as averages. A blind spot is where you rate yourself well above your team; a hidden strength is the reverse.
Profile by category
Ratings converted to a 0 to 100 scale: (rating minus 1) divided by 4.
What the gaps say
Perception and measured performance
| Category | Team view | Scorecard | Difference |
|---|
These are different constructs, so treat a large difference as a question to explore, not an error.
Ratings
| Principle | Self | Team average | Leader average | Self minus team |
|---|
Team Pulse
Are the operating conditions in place?
Enter how many people chose each response, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items with too few responses are suppressed to protect anonymity.
Response distribution
- Disagree (1 to 2)
- Neutral (3)
- Agree (4 to 5)
Pulse interpretation
Administer anonymously, report only aggregates above the minimum, and pair every low item with a facilitated conversation and one visible action. The bands (4.2 and above strong, 3.4 to 4.19 mixed, below 3.4 priority) are local triage, not validated cutoffs.
Response counts
| Item | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Responses | Mean | Agree |
|---|
Planner
Where should this quarter’s improvement go?
Set the improvement capacity you have, in score points, and compare four ways of spending it. Then fine tune by hand and map effort against impact.
Closing every gap to target takes 118 points.
| Plan | Excellence Index | Target attainment | At target | Reliability floor | Load |
|---|
Your plan
Current to projected
- Current
- Projected
- Target
Effort and impact
Impact is the gap to target. Effort is your judgment from 1 (easy) to 5 (hard). High impact means a gap above the median gap. Low effort means 1 or 2.
90 Day Plan
Turn priorities into owned actions
Seed the plan from your top priorities or add actions from any principle. Track status as you go, then export or print.
Evidence
Peer reviewed evidence library
These studies support the constructs and the improvement design. They are not universal performance benchmarks, and each should be read in its own study context.
Meta-analysis
Zhang, Z., Fang, H., Luan, Y., Chen, Q., & Peng, J. (2022). A meta-analysis of proactive personality and career success: The mediating effects of task performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 979412.
Links proactive personality with career success, operating through task performance and citizenship behavior.
View the article recordMeta-analysis
Kleingeld, A., van Mierlo, H., & Arends, L. (2011). The effect of goal setting on group performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1289 to 1304.
Specific, difficult group goals were associated with stronger group performance than vague goals.
View the article recordSystematic review
O'Donovan, R., & McAuliffe, E. (2020). A systematic review exploring the content and outcomes of interventions to improve psychological safety, speaking up and voice behaviour. BMC Health Services Research, 20, 101.
Synthesizes healthcare interventions aimed at psychological safety, speaking up, and voice.
View the article recordMeta-analysis
Tannenbaum, S. I., & Cerasoli, C. P. (2013). Do team and individual debriefs enhance performance? A meta-analysis. Human Factors, 55(1), 231 to 245.
Properly conducted debriefs were associated with meaningful performance improvement.
View the article recordMeta-analysis
Huang, J. L., Ryan, A. M., Zabel, K. L., & Palmer, A. (2014). Personality and adaptive performance at work: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(1), 162 to 179.
Examines individual difference correlates of adapting to changing and demanding work situations.
View the article recordMeta-analysis
Podsakoff, N. P., Whiting, S. W., Podsakoff, P. M., & Blume, B. D. (2009). Individual and organizational level consequences of organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 122 to 141.
Citizenship behaviors were associated with individual evaluations and unit level outcomes.
View the article recordNarrative review
Norman, G. R., Monteiro, S. D., Sherbino, J., Ilgen, J. S., Schmidt, H. G., & Mamede, S. (2017). The causes of errors in clinical reasoning: Cognitive biases, knowledge deficits, and dual process thinking. Academic Medicine, 92(1), 23 to 30.
Reviews how intuitive and analytic processing, and knowledge, shape reasoning errors.
View the article recordSystematic review
Schmutz, J., & Manser, T. (2013). Do team processes really have an effect on clinical performance? A systematic literature review. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 110(4), 529 to 544.
Reviews evidence that team processes such as communication and coordination relate to clinical performance.
View the article recordMeta-analysis
Aeon, B., Faber, A., & Panaccio, A. (2021). Does time management work? A meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 16(1), e0245066.
Time management showed a moderate association with job performance and a stronger association with wellbeing.
View the article recordSystematic review
Wong, C. A., Cummings, G. G., & Ducharme, L. (2013). The relationship between nursing leadership and patient outcomes: A systematic review update. Journal of Nursing Management, 21(5), 709 to 724.
Relational leadership styles were associated with better patient outcomes across the studies reviewed.
View the article recordSystematic review
Taylor, M. J., McNicholas, C., Nicolay, C., Darzi, A., Bell, D., & Reed, J. E. (2014). Systematic review of the application of the plan do study act method to improve quality in healthcare. BMJ Quality and Safety, 23(4), 290 to 298.
Finds that iterative, small scale testing is often described but inconsistently applied, which weakens learning.
View the article recordSystematic review
Thor, J., Lundberg, J., Ask, J., Olsson, J., Carli, C., Harenstam, K. P., & Brommels, M. (2007). Application of statistical process control in healthcare improvement: Systematic review. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 16(5), 387 to 399.
Statistical process control helped teams distinguish real change from noise across many healthcare settings.
View the article recordHow the model calculates
- Excellence Index
- The average of the 15 current success rates.
- Target attainment
- The average of each score divided by its target, capped at 100 percent so one principle above target cannot hide another below it.
- Category score and reliability floor
- Each category is the average of its three principles. The floor is the lowest category.
- Priority index
- Gap to target plus twice any decline since the last logged cycle.
- Status bands
- At target; within 5 points; 5 to 10 points; more than 10 points. These are local operating bands.
- Planner
- Each strategy spends the same number of points one at a time: largest remaining gap first, nearest target first, weakest category first, or evenly. No score passes 100.
- 360 and pulse
- Ratings convert to 0 to 100 as (rating minus 1) divided by 4. Pulse items below the minimum response count are not reported.