Readiness
Can this person lead at the scale and complexity the role requires?
← Assessment & People Decisions
Leadership Assessment
A clearer way forward for the decisions that matter.
Independent evidence on readiness, risks and the conditions for success, before a hire, promotion or succession decision.
Our view
Readiness is a reasoned conclusion, not an average score.
Career Evidence
Observed Judgement
Clearer Way Forward
The questions we help answer
A track record is only part of the picture.
Past success shows what someone has done. Assessment explores how that experience carries into what comes next.
Transferability
What did they personally contribute, and how will their strengths translate as the role, resources or business context change?
Risks under pressure
Where might effectiveness weaken when priorities conflict, expectations increase or stakeholders resist?
Conditions for success
What needs further validation, and what support or development would help the person succeed?
Shaped by your decision
Different decisions need different answers.
The form of the conclusion changes with its purpose. Choose a decision to see how.
The question
Can this person lead at the scale, complexity and level of accountability this mandate needs?
The form of the conclusion
How well they align with the mandate, what the appointment risks are and how confident we are in the evidence.
What it helps you do
Decide with more confidence, and know what to validate before an offer.
The question
Ready for which conditions, at what risk and with what support?
The form of the conclusion
What the organisation can rely on, what to build next and the support that will help.
What it helps you do
Make the promotion decision, then give the person a useful way forward.
The question
How ready is this person for an agreed future role, and what would prepare them?
The form of the conclusion
An indicative readiness view, the experiences and capabilities still to develop, and clear points for reviewing progress.
What it helps you do
Plan ahead, with development aimed at the role to come. Any time horizon is indicative and depends on the future role, development opportunities and evidence of progress.
The question
How do these people compare against the same role criteria?
The form of the conclusion
A comparison of strengths, trade-offs, critical gaps and questions still to resolve.
What it helps you do
Choose knowingly. A strong overall profile does not cancel out a critical role gap.
Development assessments carry no pass or fail conclusion.
How we reach a judgement
More than one source. Every conclusion explained.
We agree the success profile with you first, using your competency framework where you have one.
Evidence sources
- Structured interview
Decisions, personal contribution, outcomes and learning through real career examples.
- Role-relevant exercise
A case or role play to observe priorities, stakeholder handling and judgement.
- Behavioural assessment
Where agreed, a suitable tool to identify tendencies and questions to explore.
- Existing evidence
CV and authorised inputs, with the limits of each source kept visible.
From evidence to judgement
- 1Separate the sources
What the person reports, what the assessor observes and what a profile suggests.
- 2Test the pattern
Look for supporting evidence, contradictions and other explanations.
- 3Explain the implication
Show how a strength or concern could affect this role.
- 4State the confidence
Say what the evidence supports and what still needs validating.
The session
A respectful experience for each person.
Each person knows the purpose, format and who will see the findings before they begin.
- Before
Briefing
The purpose, format, language, use of information and any preparation.
- Part one
Career discussion
Real examples and the person’s own decisions.
- Part two
Case or role play
Preparation, discussion and reflection on a role-relevant situation.
- Close
Next steps
Clarification, questions and how feedback will work.
Allow about 3 hours, with short breaks as needed. Final design and length depend on the role and scope.
What you receive
A clear view you can question and use.
An assessment report and debrief shaped around the decision you need to make. Everything below is made up for illustration, and outputs are agreed for each engagement.
The assessment report
Sample
Executive Decision Brief
Business unit leader · Growth mandate
Assessment view: further validation required before appointment. Evidence confidence: moderate.
Supporting evidence
Prioritised margin and customer continuity in the case, with clear reasoning.
Material question
Delayed addressing a resistant peer in the role play. Wider evidence is needed.
Executive decision brief
An overall conclusion on readiness, material considerations and conditions for the decision, with evidence confidence and limitations made clear.
Sample
Leadership Evidence Profile
Against the agreed criteria
| Criterion | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Judgement and priorities | Strong |
| Execution and accountability | Strong |
| Influence and relationships | Validate |
| People leadership | Meets |
| Change and adaptation | Meets |
Leadership evidence profile
Evidence against the agreed criteria, with strengths, development needs and unresolved gaps explained.
Sample
Risks and Validation
Questions to resolve
| Open question | How to check |
|---|---|
| Influence without formal authority | Comparable career example and authorised reference evidence |
| Pace of delegation | Final interview probe |
Why it matters here
The role depends on peers who do not report to this leader.
Risks and validation priorities
Questions that could affect the decision, why they matter and the additional evidence needed to explore them.
Sample
Conditions for Success
First 90 days
The leader
Agree decision rights with key peers.
The manager
Sponsor the initial change agenda.
The organisation
Offer a mentor outside the reporting line.
Conditions for success
Practical priorities for the person, manager and organisation, such as onboarding, transition support or, for succession, development experiences and review milestones.
Alongside the report
Sample
Side-by-Side Comparison
Two finalists · Same criteria
Finalist A
Choose if you most need senior authority from day one.
Choose if you most need senior authority from day one.
Finalist B
Choose if you most need hands-on leadership at this scale.
Choose if you most need hands-on leadership at this scale.
We would validate
| A | Appetite for a hands-on role |
| B | Readiness for a first senior role |
Comparison, where agreed
Two or more candidates or successors against the same target-role criteria, with material differences and evidence gaps visible.
Decision debrief
A discussion with the agreed decision-makers about the findings, trade-offs and next steps.
Participant feedback, where agreed
A separate conversation about the findings and development priorities, with the purpose, format and access agreed in advance.
The right balance
Every role weighs things differently.
Sometimes experience matters most. Sometimes attitude and willingness to learn count for more. We agree the balance before we meet anyone, then apply the same standard to everyone.
Experience and attitude matter equally, and the evidence needs to support both.
Examples only. The balance is agreed for each role.
Responsible use
Fair to the person. Useful to the decision.
Assessment supports professional judgement. It does not guarantee performance or replace your other relevant checks.
- Everyone is measured against the same criteria and the same standard.
- Judgement is explained, so you can see and question the reasoning.
- People know the purpose, the activities and who receives the findings.
- Exercises stay relevant to the role, with reasonable adjustments.
- Access to reports is agreed in advance, on a need-to-know basis.
- Findings are not later used for a different purpose without discussion.
- Limited evidence is stated as a gap, not treated as a weakness.
- Your organisation makes the final decision.
How we work
From briefing to decision.
- Step 1
Briefing
You share the mandate, success criteria, stakeholders and concerns.
- Step 2
Design
We propose the evidence sources, exercises and reporting for your agreement.
- Step 3
Sessions
We run the agreed assessment and record evidence against the criteria.
- Step 4
Debrief
We bring the evidence together and explain the conclusion.
- Step 5
Decision
You decide, and use the findings to shape what happens next.
Your next step
Which decision are you facing?
Tell me about the role, the people involved and your timing, and we can explore the right approach.