Data-Driven Leadership Development
Start with an objective, psychologist-led assessment of the individual leader. Sharpen the picture with 360-feedback on how others experience them. Then work with coaches who know how to use both, so development starts with a clear target rather than a lengthy discovery period.
You'll speak with an organizational psychologist.
Core Solutions That Power Effective Leadership Development
Leadership development is most effective when supported by integrated, customized solutions that diagnose needs, target development goals, and activate change. PCI delivers three core leadership development solutions that can be tailored to your organization and embedded into existing development efforts.
Psychometric AssessmentsAn objective starting point
Training programs assume everyone has the same development needs. But each leader’s personality, leadership style, and cognitive abilities are different, and all three predict leadership effectiveness.
That’s why PCI starts with validated psychometric tools and a structured interview. The psychologist’s report maps each leader’s strengths and growth areas to your organization’s values and competencies, so every development plan is tailored to the individual.
“Our CF Values are core to everything we do. The PCI team have been incredible partners in aligning insights and reports to reinforce our Values Behaviours that support our OneCF Culture and enable business performance.”
— SVP, Human Resources & Change Management, Cadillac Fairview
The Participant Experience
We understand that some people are hesitant to take an assessment and speak with an organizational psychologist. That's why we take extra steps to ensure that participants understand the purpose, feel at ease during the process, and are inspired to engage in self-development after reading their report. Here's an overview of what the participant experiences and receives:
- Online assessmentsYour leader completes psychometric tools that measure personality, leadership style, and natural aptitudes.2 hours
- Psychologist interviewA PCI psychologist explores the leader’s goals, self-awareness, and receptivity to feedback.1 hour
- Custom-written reportThe psychologist writes the leader a report on their likely strengths and growth opportunities.
- Debrief and planThe leader reviews results with the psychologist, then aligns the plan with their supervisor and HR.1 hour
Psychometric Assessment Deliverables
To ensure alignment and follow-through, we provide deliverables designed for the participant, their manager, and HR/L&D leaders.
The leader receives a custom-written report with actionable insights and tools for implementing a development plan. It’s shared with their manager, so they have a common framework for discussing development goals. Request a sample report.
We talk with the participant after they read their report to help them identify development goals. We also debrief with their manager and HR to discuss how they can support the leader’s growth.
Whether you have a competency model of your own or want us to recommend one, we can map our data to it. Ratings are shared with your HR leaders to support talent reviews, plan for succession, and identify gaps that need to be filled.
360 FeedbackPinpoint where development will pay off most
360 feedback plays a critical role in leadership development by supplementing assessment insights with observable behaviors. When implemented poorly, 360 feedback can demotivate the leader and waste time and money due to the lack of actionable next steps. When done right, it uncovers rich insights that pinpoint critical gaps and accelerate growth.
A senior consultant interviews the people who work most closely with the leader for in-depth, candid feedback.
An online tool that measures your own leadership competencies.
Proven online surveys for easy setup and quick results.
Every 360 process is followed by a debrief with the leader to ensure they understand their results, see patterns, and feel motivated to act on the feedback. Our leadership development consultants are trained psychologists who know how to help the person interpret the information objectively, focus on themes, and feel motivated to use the information productively.
Leadership CoachingTurn insight into lasting behavior change
Coaching moves faster when it starts with data. Instead of spending several sessions getting acquainted, the leader and coach go straight to what the findings mean and which ones to act on.
From there, coaches work on specific behaviors using real situations from the leader’s job, build habits between sessions, and hold leaders accountable to goals they helped set rather than goals assigned to them.
“Their objective and holistic assessment approach allows my clients and me to focus on the strengths to leverage and the development needs that require the most attention. The executive report is personalized and actionable and serves as a critical component in creating a development plan.”
— Marty Gervasi, Senior Advisor, MyNextSeason; Former CHRO, The Hartford
A Shared Starting Point for the Leader and Coach
Before coaching begins, the leader and their coach receive three documents, all written by PCI’s psychologists: the psychometric assessment report, the 360 feedback report, and a one-page integrated summary.
In the summary, the psychologist compares the two reports, explains where they agree and where they differ, and identifies the one or two growth areas that will have the greatest impact on performance. When two independent sources point to the same thing, a leader stops debating the finding and starts working on it. When they disagree, that gap is often the best place to start.
What Participants Said About the Experience
After a recent succession planning engagement, the client's Chief Human Resources Officer gathered feedback from the leaders who participated in coaching and shared it with us anonymously. Four themes came up.
An outside ear is helpful.
Participants valued working with someone who sits outside their organization, doesn't know their colleagues, and knows them only through their assessment and 360 results. Neutral, unbiased, and unfamiliar with the internal politics let them say what they actually thought.
Goals built with the leader, not for them.
Participants developed their goals jointly with their coach and their manager, then chose what to work on session by session. Setting the goals together means the leader owns them, the manager is invested in them, and no one is guessing at what the coaching is for.
The data made the coaching land.
Participants specifically credited the combination of assessment, 360 feedback, and coaching. The coach already understood how they were wired and how others experienced them, so sessions started with substance instead of introductions.
Practice, not just conversation.
Leaders described working on specific skills with real examples, building habits between sessions, and learning to pause and temper their reactions rather than responding emotionally. Several framed the biggest shift as learning to separate what they control from what they don't.
The most telling feedback was what they asked for next. Participants wanted coaching to continue longer, wished they'd had it earlier in their careers, and thought others in the organization would benefit from it.
Leaders We Typically Work With
How It All Fits Together
Leadership development is the process of building self-awareness, changing behavior, and strengthening leadership effectiveness over time. It is not the same as leadership training. Effective development focuses on the individual leader’s strengths, gaps, and behavioral patterns, using data to prioritize the changes that will have the greatest impact. At PCI, leadership development begins with an objective assessment, is targeted through feedback, and is accelerated through coaching.
How PCI Develops Leaders
- Psychologist-led assessmentValidated psychometric tests, an interview, and a custom-written development report.
- 360 feedbackAnonymous input that surfaces the behaviors others see, and how they align with the assessment results.
- Development planA debrief with the leader and their manager that sets clear priorities.
- CoachingCoaches who turn assessment and 360 data into action.
- Behavior changeMeasurable change in how the leader shows up and performs.
Leadership Development - FAQs
What differentiates PCI's approach?
Why should organizations invest in leadership development?
How long does a leadership assessment take?
How does 360 feedback help?
What role does coaching play in leadership development?
Are leaders born or made?
Talk with an Organizational Psychologist
Tell us about the leaders you're developing and we'll tell you what the data would show, and whether we're the right fit for your needs.