The 10 Behaviours of Effective Employees
Culture is rarely defined by what is written on a wall. It is defined by group habit, the behaviours that people repeatedly demonstrate.
The 10 Behaviours of Effective Employees is a practical framework for describing and developing the everyday behaviours that shape culture, performance, and how ideas become realised value within organisations.
The behaviours emerged from observation of high-performing teams and individuals, then evolved through use in recruitment, coaching, leadership development, and performance conversations.
Over time they became less a checklist and more a shared language — a way of describing what “effective” looks like in practice rather than in aspiration.
When behaviours align, culture becomes an enabler. When they drift, friction accumulates quietly.
The framework names ten observable patterns of effective work:
visible passion for the task at hand; openness to new information; a willingness to step beyond narrow job boundaries; awareness of organisational context; attention to customer impact; continual process improvement; reliability; clear communication; ongoing skill development; and the courage to act when judgement is required.
Together they form a vocabulary for expectations, growth, and cultural alignment without prescribing personality or style.
This body of work exists in three complementary forms.
A concise introductory eBook provides an overview of the behaviours and their role in culture and performance.
A structured development workbook offers reflective prompts and reusable coaching structures for individuals and one-to-one conversations.
A facilitated workshop format allows teams to contextualise the behaviours together, producing shared artefacts that describe what each pattern looks like in their own environment.
Supporting materials — including a podcast episode, conference slides, and workshop artefacts — sit alongside the framework as reference points rather than prerequisites.
The intention is not compliance or uniformity, but clarity: a language for noticing the behaviours that compound into trust, reliability, and meaningful progress.
This work sits within the Leadership & Work in Practice collection of the Cultivated library, intersecting with communication, learning, and systems thinking while remaining grounded in everyday behaviour rather than abstract theory.
Ways to Work With the Behaviours
Introduction — Free eBook
A concise introduction to the framework and its use in culture, performance, and Idea → Value flow.
Format: PDF
Published by: Cultivated
Created in: United Kingdom
Access type: PDF Download. Lifetime access.
Language: English
Develop — the workbook & coaching plan
A structured workbook for individuals and managers to turn these behaviours into practice.
Includes reflective exercises, prompts, and reusable coaching structures.
Suitable for personal development or one-to-one management contexts.
Features: PDF Development and Coaching Guide
Published by: Cultivated
Created in: United Kingdom
Access type: PDF Download. Lifetime access.
Language: English
Embedding — Team Workshop
A facilitated session for teams and organisations to contextualise the behaviours and make them tangible.
Participants co-create artefacts and examples that define what each behaviour looks like in their environment, producing shared reference material for ongoing use.
Format: In person, on-site or creative space
Typical duration: Full day
Enquiries: info@cultivatedmanagement.com
Resources
Podcast episode exploring the behaviours and their role in culture and performance.
Conference slides and artefact ZINE from live workshops.
Browse the Collection
You can find this edition here, or explore the wider Cultivated collection.
...