Talent Assessment

Use critical insights to make better talent decisions

MDA Leadership helps organizations to determine leader readiness to execute on their strategy and provides them with the insights they need to make crucial talent decisions. Having the right people in the right roles at the right times is critical for driving a high-performance culture that leads to business growth. Our assessment approach enables you to hire and promote leaders who will deliver on your strategic and cultural intent.

Organizations apply our assessments in three ways:

    • Selection—to assess candidates for hire or promotion into a specific position
    • Development—to define strengths and development opportunities
    • Succession—to evaluate potential and/or readiness for a future role

Our assessment approach capitalizes on more than 50 years of consistent research evidence supporting the assessment center method—the most in-depth and accurate way of evaluating leadership skills, fit, and potential. The insights gained from this multi-rater and multi-method process leads to improved talent decisions and clearer understanding of an individual’s likely performance within your business context.

Core Capabilities

Improving the Quality of Hires

Value of Assessment

  • Select superior talent—reduce the cost of poor hiring
  • Maximize new hire “fit” with the job, team, and culture
  • Accelerate new hire integration
  • Provide valuable coaching insight to hiring managers

MDA Solutions

  • Comprehensive assessments for selection:
    —Leading a Business
    —Leading a Function
    —Leading Leaders
    —Leading Others
  • Screening Assessments

Impact

Your strength comes through the pre-hire assessment process. Over the years, we have trusted your opinions relative to how well someone is going to fit in a particular job based not only on their individual skills, but also on how well they fit into the culture of the organization.

– Andrea Schilling, Global Head of Human Resources, Värde

Identifying Readiness to Advance

Value of Assessments

  • Benchmark high potentials with an objective, third-party view
  • Strengthen the talent pipeline
  • Invest in the right talent to meet future needs

MDA Solutions

Comprehensive assessments for readiness:

  • Leading a Business
  • Leading a Function
  • Leading Leaders
  • Leading Others

The Bench Strength Experience™

Impact

You provided us with additional tools and process to evaluate and select the best CEO candidate and help reduce the risk of making the wrong choice.

– Roger Fix, Former Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board, Standex International Corporation

Sustaining Executive Leadership

Value of Assessment

  • CEO & Executive Blueprinting™
  • Comprehensive assessment for potential and/or readiness
  • CEO Selection Assessment

Impact

People wait to make a talent decision based on the assessment results. We put our trust in you. You make a big impact on our business based on what you do.

– A national premier retail organization

Accelerating Development

Value of Assessment

  • Awaken potential through powerful feedback
  • Align development with business needs
  • Accelerate growth and performance
  • Engage and retain key talent

MDA Solutions

    • A3 Leadership Inventory™— multi-rater/360° feedback
    • Group assessment and development centers
    • Comprehensive assessment for development
    • On Track Assessment™
    • Bench Strength Assessment
    • Executive Insight™

Impact

MDA does an incredible job of pinpointing strengths and development needs and insights. The firm also provides feedback for individuals, gives feedback in a development-oriented way, and supports the start of development plans in a meaningful way.

– Jason Ortmeier, Director of Learning and Development, Mortenson

Meet our practice leaders
Read Case Studies
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C-suite Selection and Succession: Delivering Leadership Excellence for the Future

MDA Leadership helps CEOs articulate executive leadership needs, identify top talent, and accelerate C-suite transitions.

Senior Executive Blueprinting ™
Succession planning begins at the top. CEOs, in partnership with human resources and their boards, must think carefully about the talent they need for the future in key leadership roles. Similar to CEO Blueprinting™, MDA Leadership helps our clients articulate the executive leadership they will need to successfully navigate emerging business challenges and drive evolving strategies.
C-suite Selection and Succession
Not all C-suite hires and promotions achieve success. We help CEOs select the right executives by bringing an informed, experienced, and objective voice to the table. Based on a CEO’s criteria and an organization’s norms, we assess and analyze executive candidates to provide definitive and well-grounded promotion and hiring recommendations.
C-Suite Transitions
About 60% of executives say they were not prepared for the strategic challenges they faced in their new senior leadership roles.3 MDA Leadership accelerates effective transition into the C-suite. Through a unique discovery process, we help executives gain deep insight into what it will take to be successful given stakeholder expectations, team dynamics, and the nuances of C-suite leadership. Our seasoned coaches guide leaders in designing and executing highly relevant and engaging onboarding plans.

Board Services: Enhancing Board Effectiveness

MDA Leadership helps boards strengthen their governance roles and internal dynamics.

Board Evaluations
Most boards are required to evaluate their own performance on an annual basis—an exercise that can range from “checking the box” to an experience that truly engages board members in the right conversations. Our services include full board evaluations, individual director reviews, peer feedback, chair role transitions, and action planning.
Board and CEO Consultation
Creating strong board and CEO collaboration requires mutual trust and respect. Forging and maintaining productive relationships cannot be left to chance. MDA Leadership provides trusted advisor consultation for CEOs and their boards to foster alignment in critical areas such as decision-making, role clarity, governance, and communication.
CEO Coaching and Trusted Advisor Consultation
Two-thirds of CEOs don’t receive any outside advice on their leadership skills, and yet almost all would be receptive to suggestions from a coach.4 Since a one-size-fits-all playbook for CEOs doesn’t exist, MDA Leadership provides CEO coaching. Whether business performance is hitting the mark or not, even seasoned CEOs benefit from the safe place and counsel we provide to help them evolve their leadership.

Let’s begin a conversation.

At MDA Leadership, we know there are no one-size-fits-all solutions for every organization. We take the time to get to know your business and your leadership needs and recommend a range of options that are the best fit for your growth goals. Let's see how MDA Leadership can optimize your Talent Strategy for the Long Run®.

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