Executive Assessment & Competency Modeling Flashcards

A competency gap analysis compares a succession candidate's current competency profile against:

Answer: The future-state competency requirements of the target role

Gap analysis must be forward-looking, comparing current capabilities against what the target role will require in the future, not what the current incumbent demonstrates.

Which type of validity evidence is most important to establish for a competency model used in high-stakes executive promotion decisions?

Answer: Criterion-related validity

Criterion-related validity demonstrates that assessment scores on competencies are statistically linked to actual job performance outcomes, providing the strongest evidence for high-stakes decisions.

When an executive demonstrates high scores on 'results orientation' but consistently violates organizational values to achieve those results, a succession planner should interpret this pattern as:

Answer: Evidence of a potential derailer that may disqualify the candidate from senior leadership

Values violations represent a critical derailer because leaders who achieve results at the expense of values create legal, cultural, and reputational risk at the enterprise level.

In an executive assessment center, the 'in-basket exercise' is designed to assess which primary competency cluster?

Answer: Prioritization, judgment, and organizational decision-making

The in-basket exercise simulates a realistic workload of emails, memos, and decisions, assessing how executives prioritize, delegate, and make decisions under time pressure.

What is a 'nine-box grid' primarily used for in succession planning?

Answer: Plotting employees on axes of current performance and future potential to guide succession decisions

The nine-box grid plots individuals on a 3x3 matrix of performance (current results) versus potential (future growth capacity) to prioritize succession investment.

Which statement best describes the concept of 'potential' in executive assessment?

Answer: The candidate's capacity to grow and succeed in roles of greater scope and complexity than they currently hold

Potential specifically refers to a candidate's capacity to handle greater complexity, ambiguity, and responsibility beyond their current role, not simply to repeat current success.

An organization uses a forced distribution in executive performance ratings. Which is the most significant risk of this approach for succession planning?

Answer: High performers in strong teams may be rated lower than equally talented executives in weaker teams

Forced distributions can produce inaccurate relative rankings when comparing executives across teams of varying average talent levels, undermining succession pool integrity.