09/23/2026
What if organizations looked at potential derailers before making a promotion decision—not after?
Someone can be highly successful in their current role and still encounter challenges when the scope and complexity of their responsibilities increase.
Greater responsibility can mean:
- More complexity
- More influence
- More difficult decisions
- Larger teams
- Greater organizational impact
That's why understanding potential derailers before promotion can be an important part of assessing leadership readiness.
XBInsight's Leadership Readiness & Promotability Assessment considers potential derailers alongside Next-Level Fit, Ability, Skill, and Will to provide a more complete view of readiness.
The objective isn't to identify a "perfect" candidate.
It's to help organizations understand the strengths, readiness, development needs, and behavioral patterns that may need attention before someone takes on greater responsibility.
And that information can be valuable even when the answer isn't "promote now."
Sometimes the best talent decision is: "Not yet—and here's what we can do to get them ready."
That's how assessment data can become more than a promotion decision. It can become part of a leadership development strategy.
We explore this approach in our latest blog, “Building a Leadership Pipeline with Data.” Link in the comments.
How does your organization incorporate development needs and potential derailers into promotion decisions?