Assessing Leadership and Management Talent

Selecting Leaders and Managers

Selecting high calibre leaders and managers is a critical challenge. As the pace of change accelerates, the success of your organization depends on superior leadership and sound management.

Rapidly evolving technology is changing the way we do business. Employees are seeking to upgrade or change their areas of expertise, the labour market is becoming increasingly competitive, they are looking for leadership and for increased participation in decision making. In this dynamic environment, excellence in leadership and management is crucial.

Identifying the talented individuals who can successfully lead and manage may first appear daunting. A proven selection strategy and varied assessment instruments are, however, available to assist you in selecting high calibre leaders and managers.

The Selection Strategy

Filling a management position involves four basic steps:

• Step #1: Understand the position being staffed.
• Step #2: Specify the qualifications required for the position.
• Step #3: Use appropriate methods to measure the qualifications.
• Step #4: Collect and integrate the information to identify the best qualified candidate.

Assessment Techniques for Identifying Leadership and Management Talent

A variety of assessment techniques can be used to measure qualifications for management positions. For example, you may use reference checks to focus on candidates' past experience and accomplishments. As well, you may use work simulations which require candidates to directly demonstrate their qualifications at the time of assessment. Regardless of which method you select, it is essential that the information provided by the assessment instrument be relevant to the qualifications you are assessing.

You may develop your own assessment instruments when staffing management positions, or you may use the ready-made assessment instruments available from the Public Service Commission or from private companies.

Ready-made management assessment instruments are typically designed to evaluate generic qualifications such as planning, direction/delegation, or judgement. If you wish to assess qualifications in the context of the specific position you are staffing, such as "planning the delivery of client employment services", you will need to develop your own assessment instrument.

Developing your own management assessment instruments

When developing your own assessment instruments, you can refer to Booklet # 2 in the Assessing for Competence series which describes how to develop simulations. A list of booklets currently available in the Assessing for Competence series is found on this site under "Assessing for Competence Series".

If you require further advice and assistance, consultants at the Personnel Psychology Centre (PPC) are also available to assist you in tailor-making your own assessment instruments. For example, PPC has collaborated with departments to develop simulations for such positions as National Training Coordinator and Director, Monitoring and Review.

Management Assessment Instruments Available from the Public Service Commission

Should you wish to use ready-made assessment instruments available from the Public Service Commission, you can choose from a range of instruments including simulations, the assessment centre approach and paper-and-pencil instruments.

Simulation Exercises

In an ideal world, you would assess candidates by giving them a chance to perform the management job you are staffing. However, this is simply not feasible. One excellent solution is to place candidates in a situation which duplicates the complexity, the ambiguity and the varied demands of a manager's position. This is the approach taken in management simulations.

When placed in the simulation, candidates are required to deal directly with the issues and problems faced by managers. For example, management simulations require candidates to quickly assimilate a great deal of information, to make decisions and set priorities in the face of conflicting policies and incomplete information, to determine how to get the job done when resources are cut, and to deal with employee problems and client complaints. As they grapple with these issues and problems, candidates produce a wealth of information about themselves and their characteristic ways of behaving. For example, a person who is skilled in planning will demonstrate strong planning skills in the simulation. A person who has difficulty delegating will also have difficulty delegating in the simulation.

Two types of management simulations are available from the Personnel Psychology Centre of the Public Service Commission: In-Basket Exercises and Interactive Simulations. Each type simulates a manager's job from a different perspective.

In-Basket Exercises

In-basket exercises assess a candidate's ability to perform a management job from an administrative perspective. In the exercise, the candidate is confronted with the issues, problems and complexity of managerial life in the form of documents such as memos from superiors, peers and subordinates; reports of various kinds; letters from stakeholders; and messages and other correspondence that have accumulated in the manager's in-basket. The candidate's task is to take action on these varied issues and problems. These actions are then evaluated in terms of qualifications such as planning, direction/delegation and integration.

Separate in-basket exercises are available for supervisory, middle management and senior management positions.

Interactive Simulations

As with in-basket exercises, interactive simulations place candidates in situations where they confront the demands of a manager's job. Rather than dealing with the varied issues and problems in writing, candidates make a presentation to the selection board describing their view of the organization and its direction; their strategies for implementing change; and their plans and decisions for solving problems and implementing improvements. The selection board can probe the candidates' reasons for their actions, challenge the candidates' decisions and present the candidates with new information or assumptions about the scenario.

This dynamic face-to-face aspect allows the selection board to assess various qualifications such as self-confidence, initiative, judgement, interpersonal relations and communication.

Interactive simulations are available for supervisory, middle management and senior management positions. In addition, simulations specific to Audit Manager positions and Administrative Service Manager positions are available.

More detailed descriptions of the in-basket and simulation exercises are available from this Internet site.

To use any of the above-mentioned tools, simply contact an assessment consultant at PPC. The consultant will answer any questions you may have, provide you with relevant documentation, and explain administrative arrangements such as scoring and the costs involved, if any.

The Assessment Centre Approach

The assessment centre approach is a unique and powerful method of identifying and developing management talent through the use of varied techniques such as individual and group simulation exercises and paper-and-pencil tests. Trained assessors observe and evaluate the candidates' performance during the various exercises. Results of the assessment centre provide an integrated picture of the candidates' strengths and weaknesses. These results can be useful in identifying those with the potential to be leaders and managers, in planning the training and development of such people and in selecting the best person for a given management position.

Benefits of Management Simulations and the Assessment Centre

Hiring managers have found simulation exercises and the assessment centre approach to be extremely useful. The reasons for this are simple. These approaches place candidates in management positions, thus allowing hiring managers to assess what candidates actually do in such positions and not simply what they say they would do. These approaches also allow hiring managers to clearly differentiate among candidates and identify the best person for the management job. As well, these assessment approaches are fair in placing all candidates in the same situation. They are also seen to be fair and are typically well received by candidates. Empirical evidence strongly supports the use of these approaches to identifying leadership and management talent.

For More Information

If you would like further information on the assessment of leadership and management talent, contact the personnel officer in your department. Assessment consultants at the PPC are also available to assist you. They can be reached by calling 819-420-8671.