ABSTRACT
A leader’s perspective on performance (‘good’, ‘bad’, changing performance, trends, and comparisons) is an important influence on both the leader’s own behaviour and the responses of followers and organisational partners. This chapter introduces how data needs to be considered and perceived to best give the leader insights which can be substantiated in decisions and actions. The discussion gives guidance, with supporting examples of well-established techniques of Pareto analysis, on understanding variation and avoiding type one and type two errors in observation of data trends. Techniques for identifying exceptions (one-off changes) and actual trends (underlying changes) are discussed as are management responses to each type of phenomenon. Knowledge for improvement is related to manatee protection in waterways and understanding operational work in a turtle head-starting project. There is also a discussion on exploration of data to identify sub-systems to enable more effective management interventions. Guidance on how to identify relevant measures of performance is provided, including an exercise to develop this area of knowledge.
