You can also access this resource, and many others, in Issue 370 of my Talent Edge Weekly newsletter.
In my 2016 article, Identifying Leadership Capabilities That Drive Business Performance, I outlined four steps for identifying the collective leadership capabilities needed to execute an organization’s business strategy. That article came to mind as I reviewed a new 30-page World Economic Forum report on how private-market investors, including private equity and venture capital firms, pension and sovereign wealth funds, and family offices, assess human capital pre-deal and strengthen it post-deal to create business value. Topics range from leadership assessment to internal mobility across portfolio companies. A Bain Capital example starting on page 11 connects to my article’s emphasis on collective leadership capabilities. Its Team Acceleration Framework combines individual executive assessments into a team-level profile, recognizing that results depend not just on individual strengths for specific roles but also on leaders’ ability to work together to execute strategy. Bain Capital then evaluates the profile against the two or three highest-priority business objectives to assess whether the team’s collective capabilities align with what the business needs to accomplish. This also applies to succession planning. Individual readiness to step into a role matters, but organizations should also assess how successors would function collectively as a future leadership team, especially as AI continues to transform how organizations operate. Identifying potential gaps early allows us to take targeted actions now, not only to reduce talent risk but to convert it into a talent advantage.
