A Chief of Staff placed at the wrong moment is expensive for everyone.
The candidate, the client, and the firm that made the introduction all pay for it. Interviews are built to show people at their best, and the Chief of Staff role turns on things an interview cannot see: how someone operates without a clear mandate, how they handle information they should not have, how much pressure they can absorb without it showing.
The CoS Readiness Assessment puts the candidate in the situations the role actually involves and reads how they handle them. Scenario-based written diagnostics, a structured interview, and a practitioner who has held the role reading every word. No algorithm scores it.
The most common reason CoS roles fail is not capability. It is wiring that was never honestly examined before the person walked in the door.The Coul & Gold Group
Commission it, and the candidate does the rest.
- Commission the readA short call on the search: the role as designed, the client context, and the question the assessment needs to answer.
- The assessmentYour candidate completes the scenario-based written diagnostic (about 90 minutes, in their own time), a read of their public professional profile, and a 60 to 90 minute structured interview with a practitioner.
- Dual report and debriefTwo outputs. The candidate receives a development report. You receive a direct fit read for the search. Priority scheduling, delivered within 5 to 7 working days of the interview.
Total time from the candidate: about 2.5 to 3 hours. Total time from you: one scoping call and one debrief.
Two reports. Two readers.
The search-firm configuration produces one document for each side, because the candidate and the firm are asking different questions.
A private development report
Where they stand across twelve areas, what to lean into, what to work on. Written to be useful whatever the verdict, so the assessment strengthens your relationship with the candidate rather than straining it.
A direct fit read for the search
One of four verdicts on readiness, the evidence behind it, and the candidate’s profile set against the demands the role actually turns on. Written for the partner running the search and the client who will read it next.
The four possible verdicts: full endorsement, strong foundation, development needed, or not the right moment. Not pass-or-fail. A read on what we saw, and where we could not tell.
Consent first. Always.
The candidate is told, before they begin, that the firm has commissioned the read and will receive the fit report. They consent in writing before anything goes to you. Their private development report stays theirs.
The assessment itself is a serious, professional experience: real scenarios, a practitioner interview, a written report that takes a position. It is built so that a candidate comes out of it having been taken seriously, whatever the verdict.
Read a real report before you commission one.
The fastest way to judge the assessment is to read what it produces. This is an actual Entry Assessment report, anonymized with the candidate’s permission: the verdict, the evidence behind it, and the specific places the reading found thin. If you want a report that reassures, this is the wrong instrument.
One configuration for search.
Per candidate. Structured interview, full scored profile, dual-report output, priority scheduling.
- Scenario-based written diagnostic across twelve areas
- Public-profile read and a 60 to 90 minute practitioner interview
- Independent second read; divergences examined before the verdict is final
- Candidate development report and firm fit read, with a debrief
- Delivered within 5 to 7 working days of the interview
At the shortlist, before the final round.
The read is most useful when it can still change a decision: two or three finalists, a client who wants more than interview impressions, or a single preferred candidate the firm would like to be certain about before putting its name on the fit.
All fees in USD. The candidate’s private report is never shared without their written consent.
Built by people who have held the role, and watched placements fail when the wiring was wrong.
Suzi Coul and Rachael Goldfarb. Twenty-plus years of operating experience in and around the role, and more than 150 Chiefs of Staff spoken with in depth. Suzi served as Chief of Staff to a Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor; Rachael helped run the Clinton White House Chief of Staff’s office, served as traveling Chief of Staff at the Gates Foundation, and was employee #19 at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Read the full bios →
One read on the candidate. One on the leader.
The Readiness Assessment answers whether the candidate is ready for the role. It does not answer whether they are ready for this leader. When the client is willing, the Leadership Operating Profile reads the hiring executive, and Fit & Friction maps the two against each other before the offer goes out.
What partners ask before commissioning.
Does the candidate know the firm will see a report?
Yes. They are told before they begin and consent in writing. The fit read goes to the firm; the development report goes to the candidate and is never shared without their consent.
Can the client read the firm’s report?
The fit read is written so that it can be shared with the client running the search. How and when it is shared is the firm’s call; we will scope that on the first call.
How is this different from a psychometric or a reference check?
A psychometric describes personality. A reference describes the past. This puts the candidate in the situations the Chief of Staff role actually involves and reads how they handle them, then a practitioner who has held the role reviews every submission.
How long does it take?
About 2.5 to 3 hours from the candidate. The report arrives within 5 to 7 working days of the interview. Search-firm commissions receive priority scheduling.
What if the verdict is cautious?
Then you know before the placement rather than after. The candidate’s development report is written to be useful either way, and a cautious read at the shortlist stage costs a great deal less than a departure in month nine.
Can we commission it for more than one finalist?
Yes. Each candidate is assessed and reported on separately, at the same fee. Tell us the number on the scoping call so we can hold interview slots.