Core behaviors may well be the most important foundational element of your organization’s culture that you’ve never heard of. Here’s what you’re missing:
Core Behaviors are relational and apply to every team member, from the CEO to Front Office Personnel. They represent the minimal behavioral standards for everyone on a team. They are the ante to play.
Because they apply to everyone, they are universally understood, making them more meaningful and less likely to be ignored. They differ from Core Values because they are not aspirational at a higher level. You either comply with them, or you’re off the team.
Core Behaviors are also a great predictor of who would be a good fit to be on the team. Here’s a simple process utilizing core behaviors that you can employ when looking for new team members:
To start, think through your entire staff and identify two team members; 1) a great employee and 2) an underperforming employee.
List both atop a chart as “Employee A” (the overperformer) and “Employee B” (the underperformer).
Write down what makes Employee A great for your team. List;
- their character traits,
- everything they do well,
- describe how and why they do it. Then, write down what makes Employee B, a non-fit for your team. List;
- their character traits,
- everything they don’t do well,
- describe how and why they fail at it.
Next, compare the two lists and rank all the character traits collectively, from most to least important. After that, from the same list, separate the “must-haves” qualities from the “nice to have” qualities.
The “must haves” will comprise your list of Core Behaviors.
This process for getting at core behaviors will tell us the difference between a great and an average employee. These will also be unique to your team and a good measure for future team members.
Organizations can optimize their success by holding ALL their people accountable to a robust set of Core Behaviors. Core behaviors tie directly back to your organization’s culture and reinforce your values and beliefs when kept “top of mind” (meaning discussed regularly within the business).
Are “core behaviors” missing from your organization’s culture?
Courtesy Weyne Nelsen
Davak Systems & Technology 
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