Proof.A guide for community leaders
For community leadersRun your community on Proof.
Your group already trusts you. This is how to turn that trust into a place where your members show how they actually work — and get read by the people who hire for how they think. No résumé.
↓ Download the printable PDFWhat your members get
- A place to log real work, not polish a résumé
- Read by people who hire for how you think
- Your eyes on their work — and real tasks
- Peers who can see and learn from each other
What you get
- You mentor with evidence, not guesswork
- You hand out real tasks and see who runs
- Credit when a member is hired through Proof
- A community people want to be picked for
The work
Three verbs. That’s the whole habit.
Your members write short logs — a few lines a night. Every log is one of three things. Teach these three words and you’ve taught the whole thing.
BuiltWhat they made or shipped today.
StuckWhere they’re blocked — and why they think they are.
DecidedA call they made, and the trade-off they took.
The cheat code · tell your team this
STUCK and DECIDED are what get read. Anyone can list what they built — how you think through a problem is the part people who hire actually want to see.
Short. One entry. Often. A line a night beats a page a month — consistency over months is the one thing nobody can fake. It’s the proof under Proof.
Your four moves
Your members log. You do four things.
You don’t have to read everything every day. But a community grows when the leader shows up. These four moves are the whole job.
1ReadRead their logs. In a week you’ll know how each person actually thinks — better than any CV told you.
2TaskHand a real task to someone who looks ready. Watching them take it on tells you more than any test.
3Pull forwardThe ones who show up and log, pull forward — a read, a harder task, a word to people you know.
4SharpenChallenge the thinking, not the person. “Why this, not that?” A good question beats a correction.
Why it pays off for you
When a member is hired through Proof, your community is named for it. Your standing as someone who buildspeople grows — backed by who you’ve shaped, not by headcount.
The first week
1Share your invite link with the group. Whoever opens it joins you — no sign-up forms.
2Ask everyone to write one log. One. The first one is the hard one.
3Reply to each — even one line. Being read is why people come back.
4Hand one person a real task. Let the group see it happen.
The weekly loop
Read → Respond → Assign →Notice who’s consistent
Don’t
×Don’t grade or red-pen. Most people write like they’re still learning to. Appreciate that they wrote; guide by example, never by correction.
×Don’t promise jobs. The honest claim is “get read,” never “get hired.” Promise what you can keep.
×Don’t edit their words. Their writing is the evidence. Only the author changes it.
×No streaks, points, or leaderboards. They turn honesty into a scoreboard, and the writing goes fake.
Making the most of it looks like
Your members get read · get real tasks · get pulled forward. Your community gets the credit when they land. That’s the whole loop.