Presentation and briefing exercises remain popular, and it’s easy to understand why.

They can provide useful evidence and are generally well received by candidates and assessors alike.

The important thing is understanding what they can and can’t tell you.

What they can evaluate

Presentation and briefing exercises can provide evidence of:

  • Knowledge

  • Opinions

  • Confidence

  • Subjective Credibility

  • Understanding of what leadership looks like in theory

  • Familiarity with the leadership framework

What they can’t reliably evaluate:

  • Leadership behaviours

That distinction matters.

A candidate may be able to explain leadership extremely well. They may understand the framework, communicate confidently and give credible answers. None of that necessarily tells you how they behave when leading people.

Why organisations continue to use them

There are several obvious advantages.

  • Candidates like them.

  • Internal assessors are comfortable evaluating them.

  • Candidates can prepare for them.

  • Candidates can demonstrate role-specific and organisation-specific knowledge.

  • Candidates can show how they present information to a group or panel.

All of those things can be useful.

The other side of the coin

The same strengths can also become limitations.

  • Candidates like them, but they often remain within a comfort zone where they can hide behind what they know rather than what they do.

  • Internal assessors are comfortable evaluating them, but this can lead to a focus on what good sounds like rather than what good looks like.

  • Candidates can prepare for them, which can provide less clarity around spontaneous behaviours.

  • Candidates can demonstrate role-specific and organisational knowledge, but this is less linked to managerial practice and how leaders make a team feel.

  • Candidates can show how they present information to a group or panel, but while that is a useful skill, it remains only one skill.

Ultimately…

The NFCC Leadership Framework lists and defines behaviours.

There’s a reason for that.

Part 2 of this article can be found here.