Terms, agreed first
Two modes. Developmental assessment: the report belongs to the leader; the sponsor sees priorities and progress. Appointment assessment: the report goes to the client, and the candidate knows the terms before anyone is assessed. Never a covert succession screen — what is shared, and with whom, is agreed in writing up front.
Not a black box
The leader being assessed knows what is being measured, who contributes input, and what they will receive: a written profile and a debrief conversation, with findings they can act on. Sponsors receive the same evidence, stated plainly — no scores without interpretation, and no finding we could not explain to the leader directly.
What we assess
Whether a leader can lead, not just perform. The traits and behaviors that predict success at the next level: judgment under pressure, influence with peers, delegation, receptivity to feedback, and the patterns most likely to derail them.
Methods: validated assessment instruments, confidential 360s built on stakeholder interviews and surveys, and structured conversations with the people who will depend on this leader. Carrie co-developed a leadership assessment profile with DHR International, a top-five global executive search firm; this practice applies that same kind of science to leadership assessment today.
What you receive
The Leadership Profile: a written, evidence-based read — strengths, risks, and the conditions under which this leader succeeds. For development work, a small set of behaviorally anchored priorities to coach against.
When the answer is a hire
An assessment occasionally concludes that no internal candidate is ready. That finding is not a lead-in to a search: Bench Strength does not conduct searches, and we earn nothing if you decide to search. If the client decides to search, the search is an August Leadership engagement — a separate firm, a separate roof — conducted through August's global network of search consultants, with finalists assessed to this same standard where the client wants that. We disclose the August partnership before any assessment begins. The assessment says what the evidence says, whether or not a search ever follows.
Process
- Define the decision the assessment has to inform.
- Assess — instruments, 360 input, structured interviews.
- Report — evidence, risks, conditions for success.
- Debrief — with the leader, and with the sponsor within the agreed terms.
Who commissions us
Boards, managing partners, PE sponsors, CEOs, and CHROs — in law firms, portfolio companies, and companies with no other relationship to us. Assessment stands alone; it does not require a coaching engagement.
Your principals on this work
Dr. Carrie Muchow leads assessment design and delivery. Jeffrey Cohn leads the sponsor and board conversations the assessment informs. Both are personally involved — no junior bench.
AboutOne appointment can define a firm, a fund, or a company. Start with the evidence.
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