Moreover, the benchmarks that do exist are either very high level in nature (e.g., Ready, Conger,
& Hill, 2010; Silzer & Church, 2010), or based on samples with limited generalizability for
organizations looking to establish a high quality assessment program (e.g., American Medical
Association Enterprises, 2011; Hagemann & Mattone, 2011). In addition, the studies we were able
locate were focused solely on methods for identifying potential and not necessarily formal assessment
efforts, or anything to do with evaluating more senior executive populations. The latter is a
major omission in the practice literature as senior executives are a critical target population of
concern for organizations engaging in rigorous talent review processes today (Church & Waclawski,
2010). This is particularly true given the increasing involvement of the Board of Directors in
corporate succession planning efforts over the last 5 to 10 years