Executive Assessment & Competency Modeling Flashcards

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates 'executive presence' as a succession planning competency?

Answer: A candidate who commands attention, inspires confidence, and communicates with clarity during a high-stakes board presentation

Executive presence involves the ability to project confidence, clarity, and credibility—especially in high-visibility, high-pressure situations like board interactions.

A succession planner wants to assess whether a VP-level candidate has the cognitive complexity to succeed in a C-suite role. Which assessment tool is most appropriate?

Answer: Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal or similar measure of cognitive ability

Measures of critical thinking and cognitive ability like the Watson-Glaser assess the reasoning capacity needed to navigate the greater complexity of C-suite decisions.

When designing a competency model, 'threshold competencies' differ from 'differentiating competencies' in that threshold competencies:

Answer: Represent the minimum baseline required to perform the job at any acceptable level

Threshold competencies are the entry-level requirements without which a person cannot perform the role adequately, while differentiating competencies separate stars from average performers.

A board of directors is concerned that the organization's succession pool lacks diversity. Which assessment design change would most directly address this concern?

Answer: Auditing competency models and rating criteria for language that may systematically disadvantage underrepresented groups

Auditing competency language for cultural or gender bias ensures the assessment criteria themselves do not inadvertently screen out qualified diverse candidates.

What does a 'readiness rating' in a succession plan typically indicate?

Answer: An estimate of how soon a candidate will be ready to assume a higher-level role (e.g., ready now, 1-2 years, 3-5 years)

Readiness ratings provide a time-based assessment of succession depth, helping organizations understand how quickly key positions can be filled from internal talent.

Which of the following represents a best practice when using personality assessments in executive succession decisions?

Answer: Treating personality data as one input among multiple sources of assessment evidence

Personality assessments provide valuable developmental and predictive data but should always be integrated with behavioral interviews, 360 feedback, and performance data to avoid overreliance.

An executive succeeds in her current role by leveraging deep functional expertise but struggles when asked to lead cross-functional teams. This pattern most likely indicates a gap in which competency?

Answer: Enterprise-level thinking and boundary-spanning leadership

Moving from functional expert to cross-functional leader requires enterprise thinking—the ability to integrate multiple perspectives and lead without direct authority across boundaries.