The Organisational Reality Gap
Why the version of the role and organisation described to candidates often differs from the one they actually walk into.
Explore the framework →
Service
Senior Selection & Assessment
Supporting senior appointment decisions against the real role, the real context and the leadership demands that matter.
Senior appointments carry significant commercial, cultural and leadership risk.
We use well-established, professionally recognised psychometrics and structured behavioural insight to support better-informed decisions and stronger starts.
This is not a simplistic pass-or-fail process. The aim is to understand the role, the context, the person and the working relationship needed for the appointment to succeed.
I tend to start with the role the organisation actually needs, which is not always the role that has been written down.
Immediate tailored result · No email required · Optional PDF copy
Situations
Situations that bring clients here
- A senior appointment carries significant commercial or cultural risk.
- Final candidates look strong on paper but important questions remain.
- The hiring manager wants to understand likely leadership style.
- Previous senior appointments have not worked as expected.
- The role requires judgement, resilience or complex stakeholder influence.
- The organisation needs a more honest view of fit.
- A senior hire needs a stronger transition and onboarding conversation.
- Stakeholders disagree about what the role really requires.
- The job description may not reflect the real organisational context.
Beneath the surface
What may really be happening
The appointment risk may begin before any candidate is assessed.
The organisation may lack a shared view of the role, the success criteria, the stakeholder context, the behavioural demands or the transition support that will be needed. When that is unresolved, no amount of candidate assessment can compensate.
Focus
What we help with
Senior selection and assessment may include role clarification, psychometric assessment, structured behavioural interviewing, candidate feedback, hiring-manager briefing and onboarding support. The aim is to improve the quality of the decision and the quality of the working relationship that follows.
- Role and context clarification
- Senior candidate psychometric assessment
- Personality and working-style insight
- Behavioural evidence — gathered through structured interviews, role context and observed patterns, used alongside psychometric insight
- Strengths and potential derailers
- Hiring-manager briefing
- Candidate feedback
- Facilitated hiring-manager and candidate discussion
- Onboarding and transition insight
- Trust-building before appointment
Important distinction — the Senior Appointment Risk Check examines the organisation’s appointment process. It does not assess, rank or classify a named candidate. The paid Senior Selection & Assessment service may include psychometric and behavioural assessment of candidates with appropriate consent and professional safeguards.
How we begin
How the work usually starts
The work usually begins with the role, not the candidate. What is the appointment really being asked to do, in this organisation, with these stakeholders, at this point in time?
Where a candidate is assessed, it is done with their informed consent, in line with professional standards, and with a clear feedback conversation as part of the process.
Possible inputs
- Hiring-manager conversation
- Stakeholder conversations
- Review of role, context and success criteria
- Well-established, professionally recognised psychometrics
- Structured behavioural interviewing
- Candidate feedback and discussion
- Facilitated hiring-manager and candidate conversation
Not every engagement uses every method. Inputs are chosen to fit the situation.
Formats
Ways we might work together
- Focused role and context clarification
- Senior candidate assessment and debrief
- Hiring-manager briefing and preparation
- Facilitated hiring-manager and candidate discussion
- Onboarding and transition support
- Post-appointment review
Outcomes
What clients may have at the end
- Clearer role expectations
- Stronger behavioural evidence
- Better understanding of working style
- More honest manager-candidate conversations
- Earlier visibility of possible risks
- Stronger onboarding
- Clearer transition support
- Earlier visibility of avoidable appointment risk
Diagnostic
Not sure where the issue sits?
Use the relevant diagnostic to explore the conditions affecting this area and receive an immediate tailored result.
Tool
Senior Appointment Risk Check
Explore the role, context, behavioural and transition risks surrounding your appointment process.
No email required to see your result.
A structured reflection on the organisation’s appointment process, not a candidate assessment.
Frameworks
Relevant thinking behind the work
The Curtain Framework
How to test the official story of a role or organisation against what is really being asked, tolerated and rewarded.
Explore the framework →Why Andrew
Experience shaping the work
Over 30 years’ experience across leadership, team, change and senior selection work.
British Psychological Society certified in occupational testing, with deep expertise in psychometrics and behavioural evidence.
More than 1,000 leaders assessed or developed across sectors and levels.
Work is grounded in what leaders actually face on Monday morning — not in generic development theory.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do you assess candidates or organisations?
Both may be part of the work, but they are different activities. The Senior Appointment Risk Check examines the organisation’s appointment process. The paid service may also include psychometric and behavioural assessment of named candidates, with informed consent and appropriate professional safeguards.
What psychometrics do you use?
The tool is chosen to fit the role, context and purpose of the assessment. Andrew uses well-established, professionally recognised occupational psychometrics and interprets them alongside behavioural evidence, role requirements and organisational context rather than relying on a single score.
Is this a pass or fail process?
No. The purpose is not to produce a simplistic pass-or-fail judgement. It is to improve the quality of the decision by exploring strengths, preferences, risks, working style and the conditions the candidate will need in order to succeed.
How do you protect candidate confidentiality?
Candidates are told clearly what the assessment involves, how their information will be used and who will receive the outputs. Feedback is handled carefully, and candidate information is shared only in line with informed consent and the agreed assessment process.
Can you support onboarding after the appointment?
Yes. Assessment insight can be used to shape early conversations, expectations, support and working agreements between the new appointee and their manager. This helps the appointment begin with greater clarity and trust.
When should psychometric assessment be used in senior recruitment?
Psychometric assessment is most useful when the role carries significant leadership, cultural or stakeholder risk and the organisation needs insight beyond interviews and experience. It should support judgement, not replace it.
Reading
Related articles
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Next step
A short, confidential conversation about your context.
The first conversation explores your context, what may be happening beneath the surface, and whether the right next step is a focused piece of work, a broader programme or ongoing support.