Leadership AO Example Statement (250 Words)
At AO you are not expected to manage anyone. Assessors want to see you take initiative within your own team: helping colleagues, sharing what you know, setting a positive tone, and organising people informally when something needs doing. Pick an example where you made your immediate team's day better or easier.
Example statement
SOur distribution depot hired a new colleague who had never worked in a warehouse and was visibly anxious during his first week. Two of our experienced pickers were also off sick.
TMy supervisor asked me to buddy him for his first two weeks and get him confidently signed off on the picking process by the end of them.
AI broke the process down into small steps and demonstrated each one slowly before watching him try it himself. I made a one-page crib sheet with photos of each stage so he had something to check without feeling embarrassed about asking again. I set fixed check-in times each day rather than hovering over him, and I introduced him to two people at every break so he built his own network quickly. When he made mistakes I showed him how to fix them without making a fuss, and I told him honestly which errors I had made when I started. Once he found his feet, I paired him with other pickers so he was not dependent on me, and I told the supervisor when I thought he was ready for assessment. I also made sure we celebrated small wins, like his first full shift without a single mispick, in front of the team at the morning briefing.
RHe passed his sign-off two days early and his error rate was below the team average within three weeks. My crib sheet is now issued to every new starter, 15 people so far.
Use this as a model, not a script. This is an original example written for this site. Adapt the structure to your own experience — copying it word for word risks plagiarism and will not reflect your evidence.
Why this scores well
- Buddying a new starter is a classic AO leadership example: it shows pride in the team's standards and practical support for a colleague, which is what assessors look for at this level.
- The actions show patience, structure and fairness (fixed check-ins, honest mistakes, planned independence) rather than vague claims about being supportive.
- Evidence of lasting impact: early sign-off, below-average error rate, and a crib sheet now used by 15 new starters.
What AO level requires
| Grade | What assessors expect |
|---|---|
| AO ← this page | At AO, leadership means showing enthusiasm and direction in your immediate work: supporting colleagues, acting fairly and inclusively, and stepping up when your team needs you, even without any management authority. |
| EO | At EO, leadership means taking ownership of small pieces of team coordination: organising other people's work, keeping the team focused on shared goals, and setting a positive, fair example. |
| HEO | At HEO, leadership means leading a small team or project day to day: giving clear direction, supporting individuals' wellbeing and development, and keeping people performing through pressure. |
Common mistakes at this level
- Giving a task list of what you were told to do, which reads as following rather than leading.
- Ending without a result, or with a result that belongs to someone else, like a manager's sales figure.
- Using the word leadership repeatedly instead of showing it through specific actions.
Frequently asked questions
Most departments ask for 250 words per behaviour at AO, but always check the job advert, because some ask for 500 and the field on Civil Service Jobs is occasionally a character limit instead. Whatever the limit, spend about 60% of your words on your actions and finish with a clear, numbered result.
They look for personal initiative, support for colleagues, fairness, and a clear outcome. First person singular actions, a chronological story, and a result with at least one number score well. What fails is we-said writing, examples with no personal actions, and endings with no measurable change.
No. Show the behaviour through your actions rather than writing this shows my leadership. Assessors are trained to spot the evidence, and naming the behaviour wastes words. Use your word count on what you did, who you supported, and what improved as a result of your involvement.
Next step
Get the free AO statement template pack — the same STAR structure used in this example.
Download the template pack