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Target Behaviour Definition
Turning aspiration into something you can actually design for. This is the highest-value 30 minutes in the whole toolkit, and the step most often skipped.
The film test
If you can’t film it, it isn’t a behaviour.
| Not a behaviour | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Be more collaborative | Invite one person from another team to your weekly planning session |
| Take ownership | When you spot a problem outside your remit, raise it in the channel with a named next step |
| Embrace the new system | Log the call in the CRM before leaving the client’s car park |
| Be more customer-focused | Call the customer back the same day, even without an answer |
| Improve data quality | Complete the four mandatory fields at ticket close, not at week end |
| Adopt agile ways of working | Bring blockers to stand-up rather than emailing the manager |
Notice the right-hand column names who, what, when and where. That’s what makes it designable.
The definition worksheet
Complete one per behaviour. Use T — Behaviour Note for the note.
Behaviour definition
B-number / name: _______________
Who exactly (role, not department): _______________
Does what (an observable action verb): _______________
When / at what trigger: _______________
Where / in what system: _______________
How often: _______________
Instead of (the behaviour it replaces): _______________
The one-sentence version:
“[Who] will [do what] when [trigger], instead of [current behaviour].”
⚠️ Always name what it replaces. Change plans routinely add behaviours without removing any. People’s days are already full — if you don’t specify what stops, the new behaviour gets added to an overflowing plate and dropped first under pressure. “What comes off the list?” is a legitimate and powerful question to put to a sponsor.
Prioritising to the vital few
You will start with fifteen candidate behaviours. Cut to five, ideally three. Score each 1–5:
| Behaviour | Impact if adopted | Feasibility | Frequency | Visibility to others | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- Impact — how much of the outcome does this one behaviour deliver?
- Feasibility — how movable is it, given the barriers?
- Frequency — daily beats quarterly (more chances to build habit)
- Visibility — can others see it? Invisible behaviours don’t spread (Diffusion of Innovations)
Pick the highest total, not the highest impact. A moderately important behaviour you can actually shift beats a critical one you can’t. Early wins fund the harder ones.
Turning a culture aspiration into behaviours
Use this in a workshop. Take the aspiration and ladder it down:
"We want a culture of accountability"
↓ What would I SEE?
"People flag problems early rather than at the deadline"
↓ Who, specifically? When?
"Team leads raise at-risk items in Monday stand-up, in week 1 of a slip,
not week 3"
↓ What replaces what?
"Instead of managing it quietly and escalating when it's unrecoverable"
↓ What has to be true for that to be safe?
"A team lead who flags early is thanked, not questioned — by their manager,
in the room, the first time it happens"
That last rung is the intervention. The culture aspiration was never actionable; the last line is, and it costs nothing.
Run this laddering live with a leadership team
Take their own culture words and ladder them down in front of them. It reliably produces the moment where a leader says “…ah, so it’s actually about what we do when someone brings us bad news.” That realisation is worth more than any deck.
The behaviours you’re implicitly asking of leaders
Every frontline behaviour has a leadership counterpart. Fill both columns or the frontline one won’t happen.
| Frontline behaviour | The leadership behaviour that makes it possible |
|---|---|
| Flag risks early | Respond to the first early flag with thanks, publicly |
| Use the new system | Ask for data only in the new system’s format |
| Bring blockers to stand-up | Attend, and remove one blocker visibly |
_____________ |
_____________ |
Take this table straight into Leader Behaviour Contract.
→ Behavioural Diagnosis Canvas · Intervention Design Worksheet · T — Behaviour Note
← Back to the Behavioural Change Toolkit