Making Effective Decisions at HEO level
What Making Effective Decisions looks like at HEO (Higher Executive Officer): independent judgement, leading small pieces of work and connecting your work to team goals, demonstrated through using evidence and sound judgement to decide and explain why.
Assessors look for: evidence that you gather information, weigh options, decide and own the outcome at a complexity that matches HEO.
Example statement
SLeading a workstream, I could see that a piece of work that needed a clearer link to wider priorities was undermining a wider objective my Grade 7 cared about, even though our local metric still looked acceptable.
TI needed to redesign our approach so local delivery supported the broader outcome, not just our immediate target.
AI analysed the evidence, mapped stakeholders and wrote a short options note linking our work to the wider priority. I tested the preferred option with operations and a peer team, agreed success measures in advance, and briefed my senior on risks and trade-offs. I implemented the change with clear owners, coached the people affected, and reviewed MI weekly so we could course-correct. This demonstrated Making Effective Decisions through concrete actions rather than slogans. I checked progress against the measures we had agreed and adjusted the plan when leading indicators moved. I kept a short decision log so others could see why we chose this path and what we had ruled out. I briefed the people doing the work in plain language, including what would stop as well as what would start. I made sure the result could be evidenced with MI or feedback rather than relying on assertion alone. I invited a peer to challenge the approach before we locked it in, which improved the final design.
RWithin a month the leading indicator improved and the senior reused our note as a template for a related issue.
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 matches HEO
- Shows evidence that you gather information, weigh options, decide and own the outcome.
- Uses specific actions and a clear result rather than vague claims.
- Pitched at HEO expectations: independent judgement, leading small pieces of work and connecting your work to team goals.
Writing tips for this grade
- Keep STAR; raise the complexity of your Action for HEO.
- Avoid confusing this behaviour with other elements. Delivering at Pace: deciding is not the same as rushing to finish.
- Check the advert for the exact word or character limit (often 250 words).