Are We Assessing Competencies—or Leadership Impact?

For many years, leadership assessments have been designed to answer one fundamental question:
“Does this person have the competencies required for the role?“

It is an important question.
Yet I have seen leaders with outstanding assessment results struggle after joining a new organization.

Leadership effectiveness is never determined by competencies alone.
It emerges from the interaction between the individual, the role, the organization, the business challenge and the support provided during the transition.

The real question is no longer whether someone is capable of leading.
The question is whether this person is likely to create leadership impact in this specific environment.

This perspective has also changed the way I think about leadership assessment reports.
A good report should not only describe strengths and development areas.
It should help organizations make better leadership decisions—and increase the probability that talented leaders will succeed.

Competencies tell us what a leader can do. Leadership Impact helps us understand the difference a leader is likely to make.

This insight has fundamentally changed the conversations I have with boards and executives about leadership decisions.