Personalized Leadership Development Starts With Assessments

Strong leadership development does not begin with a one-size-fits-all workshop, it begins with understanding people. By identifying each employee’s unique strengths, growth areas, and goals, organizations can design tailored programs that drive meaningful progress. With the help of assessments, HR and talent development leaders can build high-impact, personalized leadership development strategies with greater clarity and direction.

This article outlines a practical framework organizations can use to implement a personalized, assessment-driven leadership development program that delivers measurable results.

1. Identify the leadership competencies that drive success within the organization.

Effective leadership development starts with clarity. Use a validated competency framework to define what strong leadership looks like at every level of the organization. These competencies should reflect organizational culture, strategy, and future talent needs, forming the foundation of a targeted development program. To learn more about competency frameworks, read SIGMA’s blog, Competency Frameworks 101, and explore our Leadership Competency Framework, which includes 50 top leadership competencies that can be applied in any industry.

2. Provide psychometric assessments to identify strengths and gaps.

Psychometric assessments allow organizations to objectively identify high potential talent and pinpoint critical development areas. They also help to quantify progress and communicate results. When selecting a leadership assessment, begin by requesting supporting psychometric materials from vendors. These documents typically outline how the test was developed, what it is designed to measure, and the research or data that supports its validation. Technical documents can be used to evaluate and compare assessments. For more information on what to look for when selecting a leadership assessment, download SIGMA’s checklist: 5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Talent Assessment.

3. Guide leaders in creating development plans.

With assessment data in hand, help leaders identify one to three development priorities. Keep plans focused and actionable. Align each goal with observable behaviors and timelines to support accountability, and connect those goals to meaningful experiences such as mentoring or stretch assignments. For help structuring development plans, use SIGMA’s Development Actions Form template.

4. Ask leaders to coach their direct reports.

People leaders play a critical role in reinforcing development. Provide coaching tools and training to help them support their team’s growth. Use assessment data to guide monthly one-on-one check-ins that revisit goals, track progress, and celebrate wins. The Stop, Start, Continue template can be helpful for structuring coaching conversations.

5. Foster a culture of development with group training.

Use group learning sessions to deepen shared leadership capabilities. Plan short, competency-based sessions such as Lunch and Learn that reinforce key behaviors and are connected to assessment insights. Focus on practical strategies that leaders can apply immediately. To provide group training based on SIGMA’s 50 leadership competencies, explore our Leadership Development Workshops.

6. Scale the program across teams and levels.

After initial implementation, expand the program to additional teams, departments, or leadership tiers. Decide whether to scale gradually or roll out organization-wide. Apply the same tools and language to ensure a consistent experience and continued buy-in.

7. Measure progress and demonstrate impact.

Reassess leaders after six to 12 months to track growth. Combine assessment results with talent metrics such as readiness, retention, and promotion. Use these insights to communicate the impact of the leadership development program and secure continued support.

Build Personalized Leadership Development Plans With Proven Assessments

Effective leadership development begins with insight — specifically, data-driven insight. For organizations that want to build a robust leadership development program based on a proven competency framework, start with SIGMA’s Leadership Skills Profile – Revised® (LSP-R®). This scientifically validated, legally defensible talent assessment measures all 50 competencies in SIGMA’s proven Leadership Competency Framework. Trusted by public and private organizations across industries in North America and beyond, the LSP-R has become the foundation for talent development programs that deliver measurable impact.