Checked 14 October 2026. From GOV.UK Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours (updated 29 January 2025), Success Profiles: Candidate overview, Using the Civil Service Jobs website as a candidate (last updated 27 January 2026), A brief guide to competencies (12 April 2016) and Civil Service Careers pages, read on 14 October 2026. The behaviour examples are quoted word for word and reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The interview questions are written by us from those examples.
This behaviour names two people, yourself and others, and the balance between them is what changes with the grade. In the GOV.UK examples for AA and AO three of the four lines are about your own learning. By HEO and SEO the list includes coaching, mentoring and succession planning. Your own development never drops out: it is still in the list at Director. This guide prints the GOV.UK examples for Developing self and others at all six grade bands, word for word, shows what changes from one band to the next, gives six interview questions that we wrote from those examples, and sets out how to structure a written example. It contains no sample statements and no model answers: an example only counts if it is yours.
What Developing self and others means: the official definition
GOV.UK defines the behaviour in these words: “Focus on continuous learning and development for self, others and the organisation as a whole.” Civil Service Careers prints the same definition on its Behaviours page. Everything else on this page builds on that definition and on the grade-band examples that follow it.
Our count of the bullet points under each band in Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours (updated 29 January 2025): 36 examples in all for this behaviour. The number of bullets is not a measure of how hard a band is.
Developing Self and Others at each grade band: the GOV.UK examples in full
On GOV.UK each list completes a sentence that ends “are when you:”, which is why the examples begin with a verb in lower case. They are reproduced exactly, including GOV.UK’s own punctuation. Find the band that matches the grade in your advert; the headings are GOV.UK’s.
Administrative Assistant (AA) and Administrative Officer (AO) grade or equivalent
| No. | GOV.UK example of Developing self and others at AA and AO (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| 1 | identify gaps in your skills and knowledge and make plans of how to develop these |
| 2 | take time to achieve development objectives |
| 3 | listen to and act on feedback from colleagues to find areas you can develop |
| 4 | share knowledge and skills learnt with colleagues to contribute to the learning and development of the whole team |
Executive Officer (EO) grade or equivalent
| No. | GOV.UK example of Developing self and others at EO (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| 1 | identify gaps in own and team’s skills and knowledge |
| 2 | set and consistently meet development objectives |
| 3 | seek learning opportunities |
| 4 | support the development plans of all colleagues, recognising how diversity of experience/background can help to build an inclusive team culture |
| 5 | consider the contributions of all team members and delegate work to aid the learning and development of all |
| 6 | encourage and listen to developmental feedback from colleagues |
Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and Senior Executive Officer (SEO) grades or equivalent
| No. | GOV.UK example of Developing self and others at HEO and SEO (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| 1 | identify capability gaps for yourself and your team |
| 2 | ensure development objectives are set and achieved to address any gaps and enable delivery of current and future work |
| 3 | take time to coach, mentor and develop other colleagues to support succession planning |
| 4 | promote inclusiveness by respecting different personal needs in the team and use these to develop others |
| 5 | reflect on your own work, continuously seek and act on feedback to improve own and team’s performance |
Grade 7 and Grade 6 or equivalent
| No. | GOV.UK example of Developing self and others at Grade 7 and Grade 6 (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| 1 | prioritise and role-model continuous self-learning and development |
| 2 | identify areas individuals and teams need to develop in order to achieve future objectives |
| 3 | support colleagues to take responsibility for their own learning and development |
| 4 | ensure that development opportunities are available for all individuals regardless of their background or desire to achieve promotion |
| 5 | ensure individuals take full advantage of learning and development opportunities available to them, including workplace based learning |
| 6 | encourage discussions within and between teams to learn from each other’s experiences and change organisational plans and processes accordingly |
Deputy Director or equivalent
| No. | GOV.UK example of Developing self and others at Deputy Director (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| 1 | provide a range of experiences to encourage development, talent and career management for all individuals. |
| 2 | role-model continuous self-learning and development, evaluate effectiveness and plan next steps |
| 3 | ensure colleagues take responsibility for their own learning and development |
| 4 | provide colleagues with opportunities to share their knowledge and skills with others to build organisational effectiveness |
| 5 | share your own expertise through coaching and mentoring to support teams to succeed |
| 6 | create an inclusive environment from which all individuals can develop regardless of their needs or background |
| 7 | deliver strategies to grow sustainable capability across all groups, including those with high potential and ensuring that the strategies tackle the imbalance in diversity |
Director and Director General
| No. | GOV.UK example of Developing self and others at Director and Director General (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| 1 | build a strong culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing |
| 2 | promote the importance of developing everyone to their full potential |
| 3 | develop capability strategies that address equality of opportunity and value the diversity of all individuals |
| 4 | develop and maintain an organisational commitment to empowering individuals to take responsibility for their own learning |
| 5 | take a strategic perspective to identifying the capability needs of the organisation now and in the future |
| 6 | be an outstanding mentor and coach to other senior individuals |
| 7 | actively seek opportunities for reverse mentoring to increase your knowledge and insights of challenges faced by under-represented groups |
| 8 | evaluate own effectiveness and plan ways to develop |
What changes from band to band
The lists move from your own gaps, to the team’s gaps, to capability for future work, to the capability of a whole organisation. The middle column quotes the wording that first appears, or matters most, at that band. The right-hand column is our reading of it and is not official guidance.
| Grade band | Wording from the GOV.UK examples (verbatim) | Our reading |
|---|---|---|
| AA and AO | “identify gaps in your skills and knowledge” · “listen to and act on feedback” · “share knowledge and skills learnt” | Mostly about you. “Others” appears once, as sharing what you have learnt with the team. |
| EO | “own and team’s skills and knowledge” · “support the development plans of all colleagues” · “delegate work to aid the learning and development of all” | The team’s gaps join your own, and delegation appears as a way of developing people. |
| HEO and SEO | “capability gaps” · “current and future work” · “coach, mentor and develop other colleagues” · “succession planning” | Development is tied to what the work will need later, and coaching and mentoring are named for the first time. |
| Grade 7 and Grade 6 | “role-model continuous self-learning” · “take responsibility for their own learning” · “regardless of their background or desire to achieve promotion” | You make opportunities available to everyone and expect people to own their development, while showing it yourself. |
| Deputy Director | “talent and career management” · “sustainable capability across all groups” · “imbalance in diversity” | Strategies for capability, including a stated aim of tackling imbalance in diversity. |
| Director and Director General | “capability strategies” · “now and in the future” · “reverse mentoring” | An organisation-wide view of capability, and learning that flows upward to you through reverse mentoring. |
One line that runs through every band: your own development
However senior the band, one example is still about the person in the role learning.
| Grade band | GOV.UK example (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| AA and AO | identify gaps in your skills and knowledge and make plans of how to develop these |
| EO | set and consistently meet development objectives |
| HEO and SEO | reflect on your own work, continuously seek and act on feedback to improve own and team’s performance |
| Grade 7 and Grade 6 | prioritise and role-model continuous self-learning and development |
| Deputy Director | role-model continuous self-learning and development, evaluate effectiveness and plan next steps |
| Director and Director General | evaluate own effectiveness and plan ways to develop |
Our reading: an example for this behaviour above EO is usually about developing someone else, but the lists never let go of “self”. From Grade 7 the wording becomes role modelling, and at the two senior bands it adds evaluating how effective your own development has been. If your example is about coaching a colleague, one sentence on what you learned from doing it covers both halves of the name.
Six Developing self and others interview questions, built from the GOV.UK examples
We looked for official example interview questions for this behaviour on GOV.UK and on Civil Service Careers and found none. What the official pages do say is short. GOV.UK says you “may be asked to give examples of when you have demonstrated a particular behaviour”, or “how you would behave in a given situation”. A Defra recruiter writing on the department’s GOV.UK blog says behaviour questions “may start with ‘Tell me about a time when…’”.
The six questions below are example questions we wrote from the descriptors, one for each grade band. Each is built from a single GOV.UK example, shown beside it so that you can see where the wording comes from. We do not claim that any department asks them. Use them to rehearse, and expect your panel to word its own.
| Grade band | Example question (written by us) | The GOV.UK example it is built from (verbatim) |
|---|---|---|
| AA and AO | Tell me about a time when you listened to feedback from a colleague and acted on it to develop. | listen to and act on feedback from colleagues to find areas you can develop |
| EO | Describe a time when you delegated work in a way that helped a colleague to learn and develop. | consider the contributions of all team members and delegate work to aid the learning and development of all |
| HEO and SEO | Give an example of when you took time to coach or mentor a colleague. What changed for them? | take time to coach, mentor and develop other colleagues to support succession planning |
| Grade 7 and Grade 6 | Tell me about a time when you identified what an individual or a team needed to develop in order to achieve a future objective. | identify areas individuals and teams need to develop in order to achieve future objectives |
| Deputy Director | Describe how you have shared your own expertise through coaching and mentoring to support a team to succeed. | share your own expertise through coaching and mentoring to support teams to succeed |
| Director and Director General | Give an example of how you have sought reverse mentoring, and what it taught you about challenges faced by under-represented groups. | actively seek opportunities for reverse mentoring to increase your knowledge and insights of challenges faced by under-represented groups |
Two points on using them. First, a panel can turn any of these into a hypothetical (“How would you…”), which GOV.UK expressly allows for. Second, each question is narrower than the behaviour. A good answer to one of them shows that line of the list clearly and touches others on the way; it does not try to recite the whole list.
How to structure a Developing self and others example
The rules are the same for all nine behaviours. The short version is in the table; the full version, with the STAR method in the words of the official guide, the four official statements on word limits and how examples are scored at sift, is in our guide to Seeing the big picture, which holds the full explanation.
| Point | What the official page says |
|---|---|
| Who picks the behaviours | Recruiting managers “will choose a selection of behaviours which are best suited to the specific job role”, and “You will not be asked to demonstrate all Civil Service Behaviours for one role.” (GOV.UK) |
| Length of a written example | “The online application form will automatically delete any words which exceed the 250 allowed for each example.” (GOV.UK, Using the Civil Service Jobs website). Follow the limit shown in your own advert and form. |
| Structure | “In your own examples, consider using the STAR method which allows you to set the scene, show what and how you did and the overall outcome.” (GOV.UK) |
| Covering every line | “There is no expectation that you need to demonstrate every part of each example to be successful.” (GOV.UK) |
| Where an example can come from | Work, “or somewhere else such as”: work experience, volunteering, in connection with a hobby (GOV.UK) |
| Score needed at sift | “Generally to progress to the next stage a candidate should score at least 4 for each example.” Rating scales “can vary across recruiting organisations but the standard is the same.” (GOV.UK) |
GOV.UK’s advice on structure is one sentence: “In your own examples, consider using the STAR method which allows you to set the scene, show what and how you did and the overall outcome.” The table below is our suggestion for what each part should carry when the behaviour is Developing self and others. It is drawn from the definition and the examples above, and it is ours, not an official template.
| Part of STAR | What to put there for Developing self and others (our suggestion) |
|---|---|
| Situation | The gap in skill or knowledge, yours or someone else’s, and how it came to light. |
| Task | The development aim, and when it needed to be met. |
| Action | What you planned and did: the learning you undertook, the feedback you asked for and acted on, the coaching, mentoring or delegation you gave. |
| Result | What you or they can now do that was not possible before, and where that has since been used in the work. |
Then check the draft against your band. Take the list for your grade from the tables above, or use the tool, and go line by line. Mark a line as shown only when you can point to the sentence that shows it. Lines with no sentence behind them are either gaps to fill or parts you have chosen not to cover, which GOV.UK allows.
Check a draft example against your grade band
Choose the grade band of the job. The list shows every example GOV.UK gives for Developing self and others at that band, word for word. Tick a line only if a sentence in your draft shows it happening. The tool counts the ticks; it does not score your example.
GOV.UK: “There is no expectation that you need to demonstrate every part of each example to be successful.” The examples are from Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours (updated 29 January 2025) and contain public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Nothing is saved or sent.
If the tool does not load, the six tables under “the GOV.UK examples in full” carry exactly the same lines.
Where Developing self and others is assessed
GOV.UK lists six ways a behaviour can be assessed: an application form requiring written examples, the Civil Service judgement test, a personality test, an interview, an assessment centre and job related simulations. Your advert says which apply.
On the online test, GOV.UK says the Civil Service Judgement Test “measures your ability to demonstrate judgement and decision-making regarding specific Civil Service Behaviours, which have been selected as important for success in your chosen job.” It does not list which behaviours a given test covers, so we cannot tell you whether Developing self and others will be in yours. For the test itself see CSJT pass mark and scoring, what a CSJT score means and CSJT tips from the behaviours. Our practice scenarios guide has scenarios that are our own teaching exercises, not official test items.
What we could not find
Not on any official page we read
- Any statement on whether an example may be wholly about your own development when the advert lists “Developing self and others”. The AA and AO list is mostly about your own learning; the page does not rule on the point for other bands.
- An official list of example interview questions for Developing self and others, or for any behaviour.
- An official sample or model behaviour example at any grade.
- Whether the Civil Service Judgement Test for a given job includes Developing self and others.
Read on 14 October 2026: the pages listed under Sources. Departmental candidate packs attached to individual adverts were not read; your own advert may say more.
The other eight behaviours, each with its own examples by band and its own six questions: Seeing the big picture, Changing and improving, Making effective decisions, Leadership, Communicating and influencing, Working together, Managing a quality service, Delivering at pace.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
What does Developing self and others mean in the Civil Service?
GOV.UK defines it as: Focus on continuous learning and development for self, others and the organisation as a whole. The examples expected differ by grade band, and GOV.UK publishes a separate list for each of six bands.
What is Developing self and others at EO level?
GOV.UK lists six examples at Executive Officer grade or equivalent. They include to identify gaps in own and team’s skills and knowledge, and to consider the contributions of all team members and delegate work to aid the learning and development of all.
What is Developing self and others at AA and AO level?
GOV.UK lists four examples at Administrative Assistant (AA) and Administrative Officer (AO) grade or equivalent. The first is to identify gaps in your skills and knowledge and make plans of how to develop these. The second is to take time to achieve development objectives.
What is Developing self and others at HEO and SEO level?
GOV.UK lists five examples at Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and Senior Executive Officer (SEO) grades or equivalent. The first is to identify capability gaps for yourself and your team. The second is to ensure development objectives are set and achieved to address any gaps and enable delivery of current and future work.
How long should a Developing self and others behaviour example be?
GOV.UK’s guide to the Civil Service Jobs website says the online application form automatically deletes any words beyond the 250 allowed for each example. A Civil Service Careers page says short written examples are usually 250 words each. Follow the limit in your own advert.
Is Developing self and others tested in the Civil Service Judgement Test?
GOV.UK says the test measures judgement and decision-making regarding specific Civil Service Behaviours selected as important for the job. It does not publish which behaviours a given test covers.
More in this series
- CSJT pass mark and scoring
- What a CSJT score means
- CSJT tips from the behaviours
- Seeing the Big Picture: examples by grade
- Changing and Improving: examples by grade
- Making Effective Decisions: examples by grade
- Leadership: examples by grade
- Communicating and Influencing: examples by grade
- Working Together: examples by grade
- Managing a Quality Service: examples by grade
- Delivering at Pace: examples by grade
- Civil Service Judgement Test: 8 original practice scenarios
- Fast Stream online tests: a different test with a different scale
- Fast Stream vs direct entry and the other routes
Sources
- official — GOV.UK: Success Profiles, Civil Service behaviours (updated 29 January 2025)
- official — Civil Service Careers: Behaviours
- official — GOV.UK: Success Profiles (collection page, last updated 29 January 2025)
- official — GOV.UK: Success Profiles, candidate overview
- official — GOV.UK: Using the Civil Service Jobs website as a candidate (last updated 27 January 2026)
- official — GOV.UK: A brief guide to competencies (Civil Service Resourcing, published 12 April 2016; the STAR and CAR methods)
- official — Civil Service Careers: GOS, Tips and guidance for applying (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology pages; tips for external scientists, engineers and researchers)
- official — Defra Digital, Data and Technology blog on GOV.UK: How to improve Civil Service job applications and ace your interviews (a Defra recruiter, 14 April 2023)
- official — GOV.UK: Preparing for the Civil Service Judgement Test (last updated 24 May 2024)
- official — GOV.UK: Preparing for the Civil Service Styles Assessment (published 27 January 2026)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
Ready for more? 12 further scenarios, rated the way the real test asks
Original workplace scenarios at the level of the roles that use this test. Rate each action Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective, then see the reason behind every rating. Start with the free one below.
- 12scenarios
- 48actions to rate
- 4behaviours
- 48ratings explained
Every rating comes with its reason, written against the scale definitions on GOV.UK and the Civil Service Code.
FreeTests: Managing a Quality Service
A mailbox nobody owns
Read the situation, then rate each of the 4 actions from Counterproductive to Effective. You then see the right rating and the reason for each. About 3 minutes · free · no sign-in.
A mailbox nobody owns
You are an administrative officer in a pensions enquiry team. Four of you answer a shared mailbox, and nobody has been given the job of sorting it. This morning it holds 140 unanswered emails. The oldest is 12 working days old, and the team's published standard is a reply within 10 working days. Your team leader, Asha, is on a training course until tomorrow but is reading her messages.
Opens when you unlock all
- The third transfer · Managing a Quality Service
- Two forms, one set of details · Managing a Quality Service
- Sixty applications by Friday · Delivering at Pace
- Two jobs, one afternoon · Delivering at Pace
- The system is down · Delivering at Pace
- Handed over at the last minute · Working Together
- One case in five arrives incomplete · Working Together
- The new starter who works from home · Working Together
- Explaining a refusal · Communicating and Influencing
- The guidance nobody absorbed · Communicating and Influencing
- An out-of-date figure in the room · Communicating and Influencing
- 11 more scenarios with 44 actions to rate on the test's own four-point scale
- 4 behaviours, three scenarios each, the way the real test is built
- The reason behind every rating, so you learn the scale and not the answers
- Your rating pattern: whether you mark too generously or too harshly, and what to fix
- Untimed, like the real test. Work through it in one sitting or several
Independent practice material. Not written or endorsed by the Civil Service. The real test shows only scenarios for your job level, may use video, and opens with a self-assessment section worth 15% of the score that has no right answers to practise. Results are a percentile against other applicants, and no answer key is published.
