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Our performance improvement framework

The High-Performance Behaviour Model allows you to pinpoint the behaviours that drive business outcomes.

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A cropped photo of an Asian man smiling and wearing a blue sport coat

Every year, companies spend millions on strategies, technology and transformation projects. 

Yet: 

  • 69% of change efforts stall
  • 88% of initiatives miss their mark
  • 42% of CEOs fear for their company’s survival 

Not because the ideas are flawed. But because people don’t change what they do. 

The High-Performance Behaviour Model solves this.

It identifies the precise behaviours that drive real business outcomes, embeds them across your organisation using our EPA approach, and ultimately closes the gap between strategy and success.

What is the High-Performance Behaviour Model?

Every competency model claims to improve performance. Few deliver. 

The High-Performance Behaviour Model does.

It doesn’t drown teams in vague virtues like ‘excellence’ or ‘ownership’. It cuts through to the specific, observable behaviours that truly drive the organisational outcome you want.

It tells you: 

  • Exactly which behaviours shift the dial
  • What those look like for your people at every level 
  • How to make them part of everyday work 
  • And how to prove they’re working 

It’s built on decades of behavioural science and battle-tested in the real world. 

Proof it works: 

In an independent study (Saville, 2020), the High-Performance Behaviour Model outperformed SHL, Hogan, and the 16PF, making it the most accurate predictor of workplace performance.

How it works

Step 1

A single-column table with 'organisational capability' at the top and 'agility' highlighted in a row below

Start with capabilities

Start by selecting an organisational capability that underpins your strategy – such as agility or accountability. Choose from our 10 organisational capabilities or use our diagnostic to pinpoint where your business needs most development. 

Step 2

Graphic of a table showing 'align', 'boost' and 'connect' with with capabilities and behaviours highlighted below each

Pinpoint key competencies

We identify the key competencies, drawn from our internally and externally validated set of 48, that account for the greatest variance in your chosen organisational capability. 

Step 3

A table with 'connect' at the top and with a highlight competency and behaviour below it with an arrow pointing to another table on the right with 'welcoming change' behaviours at the top

Prioritise behaviours

We pinpoint 3 behaviours as the visible expression of how that key competency shows up day to day. These behaviours change for different levels of leadership to reflect the reality of real workplaces. 

Step 4

A headshot photo of a man with glasses and four boxes with text 'engage', 'participate', 'activate' and 'activate' orbiting around him

Translate to action

We build these behaviours into our diagnostics, development sessions, coaching and more – so every leader knows what “good” looks like at their level and what to focus on to get there. 

Why it works

Most development spreads effort thin. A little on everything. And it doesn’t stick. 

We focus where it counts.

The High-Performance Behaviour Model shows that not all competencies are created equal, and it’s often as few as two or three critical competencies that drive between 60–70% of the performance of any organisational capability. 

Take agility: what matters most is how people react to change, make tough decisions and seize new opportunities.  

Once we know the competencies to focus on, we distil the behaviours that bring them to life and then align your development efforts – workshops, coaching, eLearning – to reinforce them everywhere.  

It’s precision. With staying power. 

A 3-column diagram showing agility, welcoming change, and then a list of corresponding observable behaviours for people managers

The High-Performance Behaviour Model and our EPA framework.

Our High-Performance Behaviour Model reveals which behaviours need to change. Our EPA framework – Engage, Participate, Activate – is how we make it happen. Together, they drive sustained behaviour change and measurable impact.
A screenshot showing the user interface of MindGym's organisational diagnostic

Engage: Identify the specific gaps

Use our diagnostics including the Organisational Capability Diagnostic and 360 feedback tool to uncover what’s holding performance back.  

Example: A CHRO identifies agility as a key organisational capability gap and directs investment to close it. Senior managers complete a tailored 360 to pinpoint the specific agility behaviours they need to strengthen.

A black woman writing something on a white board with two people standing around her

Participate: Targeted development of the behaviours that matter

Forget one-size-fits-all. We map individual experiences to the behaviours that drive critical organisational capabilities.

Example: 360 insights reveal that senior managers struggle with welcoming change. They attend targeted workshops that directly build the behaviours needed to improve in this area.

A screenshot of the user interface of Lio manager conversation coach

Activate: Deliver sustained behaviour change through activation in the flow of work.

Tools like coaching and eLearning allow for continued reinforcement, accountability and support to drive sustained behaviour change. We measure the impact this has on leaders’ observed behaviours and overall organisational capability.

Example: Senior managers take part in coaching to embed new behaviours into their day-to-day work, extending impact beyond the workshops. They begin leading with greater agility, driving improvements in performance, innovation and responsiveness.

What makes the High-Performance Behaviour Model better than traditional models

High-Performance Behaviour Model 

Traditional models
✅ Focuses on observable behaviours ❌ Describe vague traits or competencies
✅ Connects leadership behaviours to strategic business outcomes ❌ Leadership development is isolated from business goals
✅ Validated, data-backed and highly predictive  ❌ Often anecdotal or unvalidated
✅ Role-specific and practical ❌ Generic, one-size-fits-all
✅ Built into everyday work ❌ Theoretical, not applied
✅ Combines personality + performance data ❌ Looks at one or the other only
✅ Embedded into a complete, always-on development ecosystem ❌ Delivered in isolation as a one-off intervention 

What's in it for you

With the High-Performance Behaviour Model, you can: 

  • Reveal the behaviours that drive exceptional results at every level
  • Align investment to what works
  • Measure impact and ROI with confidence
  • Turn strategy into real-world results 
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FAQs

Let’s talk

Want results? Start with behaviour. 

Whether you’re focused on agility, accountability or efficiency, the High-Performance Behaviour Model helps your leaders do what your strategy demands. 

Let’s show you how.