Top teams lose value fast. Harvard Business Review estimates $1 trillion is destroyed each year across the S&P 500 by excessive turnover at the top. That risk makes hiring and development decisions urgent in the modern business world.
Science-based, multi-method evaluation gives decision makers predictive clarity. By testing capability, capacity, character and fit alongside career history, organisations can move beyond CVs and spot who will thrive under pressure.
360-degree feedback, like the Leadership Circle Profile, measures creative strengths and reactive tendencies. This kind of evidence-driven insight helps reduce risk, speed impact and improve performance across industries.
Key Takeaways
- High stakes: executive turnover carries large business costs.
- Multi-method reviews predict real-world effectiveness better than resumes alone.
- 360-degree input complements psychometrics to reveal behaviour and perception.
- Robust frameworks link assessment to succession planning and strategy.
- Research-backed methods help organisations make confident, data-driven moves.
Elevate executive performance with data-driven leadership assessments
Rigorous, multi-source evaluation turns complex executive signals into clear, actionable insight.
Multi-method, science-based approaches combine psychometrics, structured interviews, simulations, and multi-rater feedback. This mix measures what shows up on CVs and what sits below the surface: past experience, decision-making under pressure, adaptability, and cultural fit.
Data-backed insight raises confidence in selection and development. It helps boards distinguish between a candidate who simply looks strong and a leader who will deliver results in uncertainty.
At the C-suite level, we benchmark effectiveness and leadership skills against role expectations. Targeted findings create clear development priorities, reduce blind spots, and speed day-one impact for new appointments.
- Clear outputs: concise reports that translate complex metrics into practical next steps.
- Fair and consistent: standardised measures that increase predictive validity at senior level.
- Action-focused: feedback loops that connect strengths to measurable performance outcomes.
The business case for executive assessment in today’s world
The implicit cost of a weak executive hire shows up in lost strategy and stalled growth. Harvard Business Review estimates excessive turnover at the top erases about $1 trillion in value across the S&P 500 each year.
Reducing risk and the hidden cost of executive mis-hires
“Mis-hiring or churning top leaders can silently drain enterprise value, sap momentum, and disrupt long-term strategy.”
Boards must answer tight questions before any appointment. Will experience transfer to this role? Can the candidate navigate AI, sustainability, and market volatility? Do they have staying power and learning agility?
Key selection questions modern boards must answer
- Transferability: Does prior success predict results in this industry and role?
- Resilience: Will the leader sustain impact through shocks and digital disruption?
- Potential: Does data suggest growth, judgment, and learning agility beyond the CV?
- Continuity: Is there a diverse succession slate to protect strategy across decades?
Data-backed approaches such as Leadership Portrait close critical information gaps. They give boards decision-grade data that reduces selection risk and preserves long-term business momentum.
A science-based, multi-method approach that looks above and below the surface
A layered, evidence-driven method uncovers both visible experience and hidden drivers that shape senior performance.
Career: Proven experiences and role-fit signals
Career evidence examines scope, scale, and complexity. CVs and file audits are verified against real outcomes.
This shows whether prior roles align with the specific role and market context.
Capability: How leaders deliver results across contexts
Capability is measured through structured interviews, simulations, and work samples.
These methods reveal how candidates achieve results across functions, markets, and cycles.
Capacity: Potential to adapt, learn, and scale impact
Capacity tests judgment, problem solving, and the ability to learn quickly.
Learning agility and cognitive flexibility predict how far and how fast someone can grow.
Character and compatibility: Motivations, values, and cultural fit
Character checks expose motivations and derailers. Multi-rater feedback maps compatibility with team and strategy.
“A rounded view of career, capability, capacity, and character raises predictive validity and reduces selection risk.”
- The approach blends psychometrics, behavioural interviews, simulations, and multi-rater inputs.
- It sets a clear standard for rigor and links competencies to observable behaviour.
- Findings are synthesised into risk ratings, development priorities, and on-the-job acceleration plans.
Leadership assessment tools for executives
We map observable competencies to role demands to reduce hiring risk and speed impact.
What we evaluate:
What we evaluate: skills, behaviors, and executive readiness
We measure executive skills and critical competencies that drive real-world effectiveness. This includes decision style, cultural fit, and likely derailers.
The review looks beyond CV achievements to behaviour patterns that predict future success across contexts. It also gauges growth capacity and how a leader will fit into your organisation and team.
What you receive: clear insights, risks, and development priorities
Deliverables are concise and action-focused. You get a synthesized report that highlights strengths, risk factors, and priority development areas tailored to the role.
The output shows practical implications for performance and fit. It maps findings to coaching, sponsorship, and on-the-job stretch so decision makers and people leaders can act fast.
Outcome: clearer onboarding plans, reduced appointment risk, and better-aligned team composition that boosts overall effectiveness.
360-degree assessments that reveal strengths and blind spots
What colleagues experience day-to-day often tells a different story than CVs or interviews do. Multi-rater feedback captures how a person’s actions land with teams, peers, and senior sponsors.
Why multi-rater feedback matters at the C-suite level
At senior level, perception equals influence. Gathering views from bosses, peers, direct reports and key stakeholders shows patterns of behaviour that single methods miss.
This approach explains observable impact and highlights both visible strengths and hidden derailers.
Leadership Circle Profile: Creative competencies vs. reactive tendencies
The Leadership Circle Profile contrasts creative competencies with reactive tendencies. That dual lens maps inner intent to outer behaviour and adds depth to psychometrics.
Integrating peer, manager and direct report feedback with objective measures increases fairness and decision quality.
| Method | Main focus | Use at C-suite level | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-rater | Observed behaviour | High | Clear blind spots |
| Psychometrics | Cognitive style | Medium | Objective benchmarks |
| Leadership Circle | Creative vs reactive | High | Balanced insight |
Debrief best practices: protect confidentiality, focus on themes, and link feedback to clear development steps. Used well, these assessments speed targeted coaching and align intentions with what people actually experience.
Proprietary tools that raise the standard
Our suite combines validated measures and sector benchmarks to give hiring panels clear decision-grade outputs. These proprietary instruments are used by industry consultants and specialist assessors to separate good from great talent.
Executive Intelligence: The proven measure of performance potential
Executive Intelligence quantifies cognitive ability and judgment that align with top-quartile performance. It links test scores to real-world outcomes so boards get a direct view of likely on-the-job success.
Organizational Culture: Aligning strategy, culture, and leadership
The Organizational Culture diagnostic maps culture against strategy to ensure choices move both in tandem. This reduces culture risk and improves retention when new appointees enter sensitive, strategic roles.
Leadership Capability Assessment: Benchmarking six essential competencies
The capability review benchmarks six executive-critical competencies. This creates apples-to-apples comparisons across candidates and clarifies development priorities.
How we add value:
- Proprietary data and research increase predictive validity and reduce selection risk.
- Use cases range from CEO selection to sector-specific bench strengthening.
- Deliverables include concise reports, timelines, and actionable development plans.
“These instruments turn complex signals into precise, practical next steps.”
From selection to development: solutions for every leadership moment
Bridging selection with tailored development turns appointment risk into lasting performance gains.
Finalist selection assessments deliver deep evidence on business expertise, cultural fit, motivation, and capacity to grow into the job. These reviews help boards compare readiness and risk across CEO, CFO, and CxO candidates with confidence.
Finalist selection for CEO, CFO, and CxO roles
Data-rich finalist workups probe business judgement, sector knowledge, and character. They flag likely derailers and highlight growth potential so decision makers can choose the best long-term match.
Executive assessment for development, onboarding, and team effectiveness
Post-appointment diagnostics create tailored onboarding and coaching plans. These outputs speed time-to-impact and make early coaching more targeted and practical.
Use assessments to balance team styles, close skill gaps, and align priorities across the senior team. Integrating findings into succession planning surfaces new leaders and protects continuity.
| Use case | Main output | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Finalist selection | Readiness, risk, fit | Better hire confidence |
| Onboarding diagnostics | Day-one development plan | Faster time-to-value |
| Development programs | Coaching targets, skills map | Faster growth and habit formation |
| Succession planning | Pipeline visibility | Stronger bench and continuity |
Real-world impact: a 3D view of executive potential
A tightly focused, evidence-rich review can expose which candidate will steer a company through turbulence.
This case shows how a multi-dimensional portrait turned a complex choice into a clear decision.
Case highlights: Choosing the future-ready CEO in a volatile market
A publicly traded industrials firm faced an unexpected CEO vacancy. Finalists were an experienced COO and a newer CFO with less operational time.
The Leadership Portrait combined psychometrics, multi-rater feedback and structured interviews. Data showed the CFO held high judgement, deep self-knowledge, and a strong learning orientation.
He also demonstrated strategic thinking, authentic people skills, clear values, pragmatism, and low arrogance. The board promoted him.
- The review emphasised judgment and adaptability over tenure.
- Insights highlighted strengths in authenticity and stakeholder effectiveness.
- Data suggested the CFO could scale impact across the company’s market challenges.
| Criterion | COO | CFO (promoted) |
|---|---|---|
| Operational tenure | High | Medium |
| Judgment & strategic thinking | Medium | High |
| Learning orientation | Medium | High |
| Stakeholder effectiveness | Medium | High |
| Post-appointment results (2 years) | Not applicable | Steady stock growth and renewed confidence |
“A comprehensive, 3D view reduced ambiguity and aligned the board around clear evidence.”
Takeaway: Rigorous, role-specific review helps boards weigh trade-offs between past experience and future-ready ability. When stakes are highest, a rounded profile improves selection and long-term results.
Why partner with us for leadership assessment in the United Kingdom
Our UK team pairs sector experience with rigorous measurement to give boards clear, actionable insight on senior hires.
Backed by data, industry-specific expertise, and global research
Backed by data and sector insight
Teams of industry experts and dedicated specialists use proprietary measures that increase predictive validity. Global research informs local practice so your approach fits UK regulation and market norms.
Executive Intelligence, Organizational Culture diagnostics, and capability benchmarks translate data into clear priorities for role readiness and development.
Speak to an advisor: Get in touch to power your leadership pipeline
Speak to an advisor to get in touch with a UK team that understands your context. We guide selection, onboarding, and succession with practical, evidence-led recommendations.
- Practical guidance: recommendations that speed time-to-impact and reduce rework.
- Collaborative approach: we engage your people in productive conversation to ensure adoption.
- Tailored plans: solutions for regulated firms, scale-ups, and public organisations facing change.
Start a conversation today to explore a tailored plan that strengthens your bench and improves role-level effectiveness.
Conclusion
Practical, evidence-rich summaries help teams move from analysis to measurable impact.
Robust reviews that combine multi-method evaluation, 360-degree feedback, and proprietary measures reduce selection risk and accelerate development. They give boards and leaders clear, actionable findings that improve effectiveness and deliver better results.
Tie outcomes to a short coaching plan to turn insight into near-term behaviour change and sustained growth. A disciplined approach also strengthens the bench and protects strategy in a fast-changing world.
If you’re ready to raise the standard, get touch with an advisor to discuss a tailored leadership assessment and development programme that fits your timelines and goals.