# Decide whether a senior leader is right for the next stage

A structured, fair assessment of whether a direct-report executive can scale, with options and next steps.

- Topic: Leadership & Management
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Leadership, Summarize, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/decide-whether-a-senior-leader-is-right-for-the-next-stage

## Prompt

```text
Help me think clearly about whether one of my senior leaders is the right person for where the company is going.

**Their role and tenure:** [e.g. "VP Sales, 3 years, joined at 20 people"]
**What the role needs over the next 18-24 months:** [SCOPE, scale, skills - e.g. "build a team of 40, run forecasting, hire managers"]
**Evidence of strengths:** [SPECIFIC examples with dates]
**Evidence of concerns:** [SPECIFIC examples with dates, results vs. targets]
**Feedback from others:** [peers, their team, board - summarized]
**What I've already done to support or address it:** [conversations, coaching, clear expectations?]
**My gut feeling and why:** [HONEST view]

Do this:
1. Separate evidence from impressions. Point out where my concerns rest on anecdotes or a single incident.
2. Assess fit against the role's future needs, not its past needs: Skills | Evidence they have it | Evidence they don't | Can it be learned in time?
3. Check for my own biases: loyalty to an early employee, recency, conflict avoidance, or comparing them to an idealized hire.
4. Lay out the options: keep and invest, keep with a clear time-bound development plan, restructure the role (e.g. hire above or alongside), or part ways respectfully. Give the risks and costs of each, including the cost of waiting.
5. Recommend one option with reasons and what would change my mind.
6. Draft talking points for the first honest conversation with them.

Remind me to involve HR or employment counsel before any change to role, pay, or employment, and to follow local law.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "VP Sales, 3 years, joined at 20 people"
- SPECIFIC examples with dates
- SPECIFIC examples with dates, results vs. targets
- peers, their team, board - summarized
- conversations, coaching, clear expectations?
- HONEST view

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.