Simulations for the Identification of Leadership

Purpose

• Provide the participant with an evaluation of their developmental leadership needs, as defined by the new Key Leadership Competency profile.

Overview

• Made up of three interactive exercises, presenting situations commonly encountered by executives.
• Participant assumes the role of a director in a simulated government organization and is given the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership capacity.
• The performance is evaluated by a psychologist and assessors with senior management experience. They monitor the exercise and gather information on the behaviours related to the key leadership competencies typically expected at the director level.
• Assessment process
• Definitions of the leadership competencies evaluated
• Communication of results and feedback
• Assessment accommodation
• Tips for participants
• Contact us

Assessment process

Day one: Preparation

The candidate has the day to prepare for the interactive exercises that will take place the following day. They will be provided with the following documents to assist their preparation:

• basic information on a fictitious government agency
• a collection of documents that describe the questions and situations a director may have to face

Day two: Simulations for Identification of Leadership

The candidate participates in three interactive exercises and completes a personality inventory.

• Presentation and questioning
  The candidate makes a presentation to both the President of the agency and a colleague in the organization. The President and colleague then ask questions, based on the presentation.
• Meeting with an employee
  The candidate meets with one of their employees regarding a number of issues.
• Executive Group discussion
  The candidate, along with the other candidates assessed on the same day, work together on a common issue.

At the end of day two, the candidate meets with a psychologist for a debriefing session. The psychologist reviews the assessment process for the Simulations for Identification of Leadership.

Definitions of the leadership competencies evaluated

Create vision and strategy

• analysis
• ideas

Leaders define the future and chart a path forward. They are adept at understanding and communicating context, factoring in the economic, social and political environment. Intellectually agile, they leverage their deep and broad knowledge, build on diverse ideas and perspectives and create consensus around compelling visions. Leaders balance organizational and government-wide priorities and improve outcomes for Canada and Canadians.

Collaborate with partners and stakeholders

• communication
• interpersonal relations
• teamwork
• partnering

Leaders are deliberate and resourceful about seeking the widest possible spectrum of perspectives. They demonstrate openness and flexibility to forge consensus and improve outcomes. They bring a whole-of-government perspective to their interactions. In negotiating solutions, they are open to alternatives and skillful at managing expectations. Leaders share recognition with their teams and partners.

Achieve results

Leaders mobilize and manage resources to deliver on the priorities of the Government, improve outcomes and add value. They consider context, risks and business intelligence to support high-quality and timely decisions. They anticipate, plan, monitor progress and adjust, as needed. Leaders take personal responsibility for their actions and outcomes of their decisions.

Mobilize people

Leaders inspire and motivate the people they lead. They manage performance, provide constructive and respectful feedback to encourage and enable performance excellence. They lead by example, setting goals for themselves that are more demanding than those that they set for others.

Communication of results and feedback

Following the evaluation, the participant receives a report of the results obtained on the eight components of the key leadership competencies against which they were assessed.

The participant has the option of discussing the results with a psychologist from Assessment Services of the Personnel Psychology Centre.

• The psychologist will assist the participant in interpreting the results of their evaluation report and personality inventory.
• Links between the results and their actual management style at work will become evident.
• Feedback can help clarify the areas for improvement and offer a developmental path for a participant's career.

Assessment accommodation

If a participant is in need of accommodation for the evaluation, they are requested to communicate with Assessment Services at 819-420-8784 as soon as possible in order to discuss possible adaptations.

Tips for participants

The Simulations for Identification of Leadership assesses the eight aspects of the profile of key leadership competencies at the director level. Consequently, it is not possible to prepare directly for these simulations, however, the following tips may be useful to participants:

• Get a good night's rest
  • This will help the participant perform at their best during the simulations.
• Allow plenty of time to arrive for each part of the simulation
  • It is beneficial to arrive a few minutes before each part in order to begin each exercise without feeling rushed.
• During the exercises, participants should respond as if they were on the job
  • This will provide the best assessment of competencies.
• During these simulations, it is important to clearly indicate the decisions and actions taken and the rationale for these actions
  • This is necessary to receive credit for good ideas. The assessors will not make inferences regarding what they think the participant will do. They will base their assessment solely on what was said.

Contact us

For further information regarding the evaluation of the Simulations for Identification of Leadership, contact the Personnel Psychology Centre at:

Telephone: 819-420-8671

Fax: 819-420-8594

E-mail: cfp.cpp-ppc.psc@canada.ca