High-Performance Employee Behaviors: What's the Recipe for Business Success?

High-performance employee behaviors refer to the actions and attitudes exhibited by employees that consistently lead to exceptional results and positively impact the organization’s success. These behaviors go beyond just meeting job requirements and demonstrate excellence, initiative, and commitment.

This guide discusses the behaviors and characteristics that high performers have in common and the science behind what drives excellence at work. We also included some best practices for translating high-performance behaviors into measurable outcomes.

Eight high-performance employee behaviors

High-performance behaviors are essential for teams who want to meet shared goals in any organization. These behaviors go beyond technical skills and qualifications to include elements such as communication, adaptability, leadership, and teamwork.

Tip: Competency models are a great place to organize desired employee behaviors based on your company culture and the necessities for specific roles.

Proactivity and initiative

Proactivity and taking initiative show that an employee is motivated, can take responsibility for their work, and wants to contribute to the team’s success.

In a team environment, proactivity could look like:

• Identifying new opportunities and suggesting ideas for improvement
• Taking on additional tasks or projects without being asked
• Anticipating potential problems and finding solutions before they arise

Effective communication

High-performance employees have excellent people skills and can effectively communicate with others. In a team setting, this could involve:

• Active participation in meetings and discussions
• Providing constructive feedback to team members
• Displaying clear interpersonal and relational abilities

Adaptability and flexibility

Adaptability is being able to adjust to changing situations and environments, never more crucial than since the turn of the decade. High-performing team members are:

• Open to new ideas and approaches
• Quick to adjust to unexpected changes or challenges
• Willing to learn new skills and take on different roles within the team

Reliability and consistency

Being reliable and consistent provides peers and managers with the reassurance that they can depend on you to deliver results and meet deadlines. High-performance employees demonstrate reliability by:

• Fulfilling commitments and following through on tasks
• Maintaining a consistent level of quality in their work
• Meeting deadlines and communicating any delays or issues proactively

Self-awareness and introspection

Reflecting on one’s strengths and weaknesses is crucial for personal growth and development. Self-aware employees practice introspection by:

• Seeking feedback and taking criticism constructively
• Regularly evaluating their performance and identifying areas of improvement
• Being open to development opportunities

Continuous growth mindset and hunger for improvement

Being hungry for improvement is a hallmark of having a growth mindset, which is the belief that one can develop their abilities and intelligence through consistent effort. People keen to continuously learn do the following:

• Actively seek out feedback to improve performance
• Constantly look for ways to develop new skills and knowledge
• Embrace challenges and view failure as an opportunity to learn and grow

Motivated by development goals

High-performance employees are driven by personal and professional expectations and development goals that align with the organization’s objectives. They are:

• Proactive in exploring new training opportunities for learning and growth
• Keen to reach each development milestone to stay on track with their learning journey
• Invested in achieving long-term career success within the company

Leadership and influence

High-performance employees are not just focused on their own success but also carry out leadership tasks that help others reach their full potential. They support the organization by:

• Mentoring and coaching team members
• Empowering others to take on new challenges and responsibilities
• Advocating for the team’s goals and promoting a positive work culture

The psychology behind high-performance: What drives employees to go above and beyond

It’s interesting to explore what makes employees strive for excellence. In an era where workers applaud “quiet quitting” as a way to set boundaries and prioritize well-being above all else, what motivates employees to push themselves to achieve high performance?

Researchers have long explored different motivation theories, including the following:

• Instinct theory: The idea that behaviors are innate and driven by our natural, automatic, and unlearned responses to specific stimuli
• Arousal theory: Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests that performance is best at a moderate level of arousal and decreases at high or low levels
• Expectancy theory: When people feel motivated to act in a certain way based on their expectation that the effort will lead to a desired outcome, such as achieving a pay rise or promotion.
• Self-determination theory: Edward Deci and Richard Ryan’s theory focuses on the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation—for example, intrinsic motivators might be a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction, while extrinsic motivators could include rewards or recognition
• Goal-setting theory: The idea that setting specific and challenging goals can increase motivation and performance

But what does any of these theories look like in an organization? Google had the same question in 2012 when they launched Project Aristotle to reveal the secret sauce behind high-performing teams.

The company had previously cared about “who” was part of a team, for example, highly skilled engineers, people with PhD level education, and the right blend of extroverted and introverted characters.

However, the project research revealed that this focus on team composition was misguided.

After conducting 200 interviews with Googlers from 180 teams, where they studied 250 attributes such as interests, rewards, and team socialization, researchers discovered only two behaviors that mattered:

• Equality in team conversations: The research found that the team’s collective intelligence decreased if only one person or a small group regularly contributed to discussions
• High social sensitivity: The ability to read non-verbal cues, such as tone of voice and facial expression, to foster an environment of psychological safety—people feel comfortable suggesting new ideas and challenging the status quo when they sense their contributions will be valued

So, while motivation theories are an interesting starting point for understanding what drives high performance, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. It’s important to recognize that individuals and teams have unique dynamics, but focusing on these two core behaviors is essential to success.

How to translate high-performance behaviors into measurable outcomes

Now you understand what high-performer characteristics look like, how can you encourage these behaviors to achieve individual and organizational success? Here are some ideas.

Set benchmarks for high-performance

Create a behavior anchor scale that outlines the expected high-performance behaviors. Providing real-world examples can help employees recognize the tangible actions they need to take and identify areas for improvement.

Check out these performance rating scale examples to learn how to do this.

Use tools and platforms for documenting and monitoring performance

While you could manually collate and monitor high-performance behaviors, technology can make this process more efficient. Use a talent management platform, such as Deel Engage to:

• Set development goals
• Track progress towards these goals
• Share feedback and recognition

Enable continuous feedback and communication flows

It’s easy for employees to read and understand what high performance looks like. But it’s another thing to keep these behaviors top of mind and demonstrate them throughout the working day. A great way to make this happen is through ongoing feedback and communication flows, which might include:

• Regular one-to-one meetings between managers and employees
• Team check-ins or huddles where high-performance behaviors are discussed
• 360-degree feedback from multiple sources
• Automated reminders or microlearning nudges for employees to track progress toward development goals

Use this feedback to encourage ongoing high-performance behavior development rather than a one-time goal.

Implementing continuous performance management means regularly checking in on progress, creating new development goals as circumstances or roles change, and regularly revisiting what high performance looks like in your organization.

Create recognition and rewards programs

Recognition and rewards programs can increase motivation and encourage high-performance behaviors. This could be through monetary incentives, promotions, or simpler gestures such as a public thank you during team meetings for demonstrating specific behaviors.

Build a high-performance workplace with Deel Engage

Need a helping hand creating high performers in your workplace?

Deel has all the tools you need to promote a culture of excellence:

• 360 feedback: Collecting multi-source perspectives from peers, managers, direct reports, and business partners allows you to identify the high performers in your company
• 1:1 meetings: Regular catch-ups promote a culture of continuous improvement
• Goal management: Setting targets and tracking progress is vital to achieving excellence
• Competency management: Measure, manage, and assess for the key traits of high performers
• Employee growth tools: From upskilling to personal development, give your employees the resources to grow and excel—foster a culture of continuous learning and watch your team blossom
• Deel HR, our truly global HRIS solution, is always included for free

Book a demo to see how our solutions will help you build a high-performance workforce.