5 common mistakes to avoid when hiring leaders
Leadership is complex. So are people and there is more to candidates than meets the eye.
Here are some of the most common traps that are easy to fall into.
Take a look and see if you recognise one or more...
You think you know one when you see one.
A great interview and CV can be deceiving. What looks, sounds, and feels like a good leader can mask many risks and derailers.
Assessments help you see beyond first impressions and truly understand the person behind the performance.
You use assessments from executive search firms.
Search firms naturally want to place their candidates. That's why their assessments are often 'light-touch' and focused on 'fit' over potential risks.
To get an unbiased picture, you need assessments from independent experts with no vested interest.
You promote internal leaders based on past success.
Just because someone has done well so far doesn't mean they're ready for a bigger and more complex role.
Assessments help you spot who has the potential to step up – not just who's performed well at their current level.
You rely on generic psychometric tests.
Many businesses use psychometric tests internally. But often the most common and popular tests are not reliable, valid or designed for leadership assessment.
When the stakes are high, it's critical you have access to robust, science-backed tools.
You get automated reports that don’t tell you much.
Raw data isn't insight. Automated reports often give surface-level feedback that can be vague or even contradict itself.
Great decisions start with great insights, and they are delivered by psychologists who mine and interpret the data through expert profiling techniques.