Developing Self and Others HEO Example — 250-Word Statement
At HEO the spotlight moves to other people. Assessors expect a structured effort to develop a colleague or the team — a mentoring plan, coaching sessions, a skills matrix — adapted as you went. Your own learning still matters, but it should sit in a sentence or two, not lead the statement.
Example statement
SI was an executive officer in an operational delivery team processing licence applications. A new administrative officer, Priya, joined us mid-pilot of a new casework system, and her nearest colleagues were already at capacity.
TMy team leader asked me to mentor Priya through her first month so she could reach full case output without adding to the team's backlog.
AI built a four-week plan before she arrived: week one shadowing me, week two processing with me beside her, weeks three and four working alone with daily reviews. I wrote short checklists for the five case types she would meet most, because the manual ran to 80 pages. Each morning we agreed her targets; each afternoon I checked three of her cases and talked through any errors without fixing them myself. In week two she froze on phone queries, so I had her listen to my calls, scripted openings with her, then listened to hers until she settled. When the system update broke one of my checklists, I corrected it the same day and told the team, so nobody trained on wrong steps. In week four I stepped back to email-only support, and asked Priya what had helped and what had wasted her time, adjusting the plan for the next starter.
RPriya reached full output of 25 cases a day in week four — half the usual eight weeks — with 98% accuracy, and my updated mentoring pack is now used for every new starter in the team of 12.
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
- A structured four-week mentoring plan with phased handover shows the deliberate development of others that the HEO descriptor demands.
- The writer adapts to the mentee's blockers (call anxiety, broken checklist) and asks her feedback to improve the plan — development adjusted, not scripted.
- Result is measured twice (25 cases a day in half the usual time, 98% accuracy) and leaves a legacy the whole team now uses.
What HEO level requires
| Grade | What assessors expect |
|---|---|
| EO | At EO, Developing Self and Others means actively building your own skills, sharing knowledge across the team, giving colleagues helpful feedback and coaching them through tasks when needed. |
| HEO ← this page | At HEO, Developing Self and Others means deliberately making time to develop others — coaching, mentoring and arranging learning — while showing you act on feedback about your own performance. |
| SEO | At SEO, Developing Self and Others means planning development for the whole team: auditing skills, building development plans, mentoring future talent and creating learning opportunities rather than just using them. |
Common mistakes at this level
- Telling a personal learning story when the HEO descriptor expects you developing others
- Presenting one-off help as mentoring, with no plan, sessions or adjustments
- Saying you mentored someone without explaining how you adapted to their needs
Frequently asked questions
Deliberate development of others. At EO, sharing what you know is enough; at HEO, assessors look for structure — a mentoring plan, regular sessions, materials you created, adjustments when something did not work — and an end point where the other person performs independently. Your own growth becomes supporting evidence, not the headline.
Mentoring a new starter through their first weeks, building a team skills matrix and arranging training from it, coaching a colleague to handle a task they struggled with, or running short teach-back sessions that raised team capability. Pick one, show the structure, and measure the outcome.
No. HEO is the grade where developing others becomes expected, but the evidence can be informal: buddying, mentoring, coaching, arranging shadowing. What assessors want is deliberateness and structure, not authority. If you did manage people, formal development conversations and plans are strong evidence too.
Next step
Get the free HEO statement template pack — the same STAR structure used in this example.
Download the template pack