Leadership advisory
Answer the structural question before you open a search
Advisory work for CEOs, boards and CHROs facing a question about structure, succession or capability rather than a single vacancy.
Talk to an advisorThe work
Leadership Advisory and Human Capital Strategy
A scoped advisory engagement with a written deliverable. We help you define what the leadership team needs to look like, assess the leaders you already have, benchmark both against the market, and set out the succession and capability moves that follow. It can run before a search, alongside one, or entirely on its own.
Who it is for
- Boards planning CEO or executive succession
- CEOs reshaping an executive team for a new strategy
- CHROs building a workforce or leadership hiring plan
What you receive
- Written findings and recommendations
- Succession readiness view for critical roles
- Role and organization design options
- Talent market and compensation benchmarking
Approach
How the work runs
- 01
Framing
Agree the question, the scope and what a useful answer looks like.
- 02
Evidence gathering
Interviews, structure review and market benchmarking.
- 03
Analysis and options
Turn the evidence into choices rather than a report nobody uses.
- 04
Recommendations
A written deliverable and a sequenced plan.
Fit
When this approach makes sense
Best fit
- The question is structural and a search would be premature
- Succession coverage needs to be understood before anyone leaves
- You want an external read on leadership capability against the strategy
Consider another route when
- The role is already agreed and you simply need the best candidate found
- You are looking for individual executive coaching over a long period
- You want a psychometric product or a licensed assessment instrument
Not sure this is the right route?Try the Solution Finder Compare engagement models
Capabilities
Succession planning
Readiness mapping for critical roles, internal versus external options and a phased plan the board can act on.
Leadership assessment
Competency-based assessment of individuals against the capability the strategy actually requires.
Executive team effectiveness
Support for newly formed or reshaped teams, focused on mandate clarity, decision rights and working rhythm.
Role and organization design
Structure, span of control, role scope and the sequencing of appointments.
Talent market benchmarking
Compensation, structure and capability benchmarks drawn from live search and staffing activity.
Workforce planning
A build, buy and partner view across leadership, specialist talent, managed delivery and capability centers.
Leadership hiring strategy
How many appointments, in what order, through which model, and what each one depends on.
Board and CEO advisory
Counsel to chairs, nominating committees and CEOs on leadership structure and appointment risk.
Deliverables by stage
Written findings
What we found, stated plainly, including what is working.
Succession view
Readiness and coverage for the roles that carry the most risk.
Benchmark pack
Structure, scope and compensation comparisons for the roles in scope.
Organization options
Design alternatives with the trade-offs made explicit.
Workforce plan
A sequenced view of what to build, buy or partner for, and when.
Action plan
Prioritized recommendations with owners and dependencies.
Framing
- A written scope of work and schedule
Evidence gathering
- A consolidated evidence base, held confidentially
Analysis and options
- Draft findings and a set of options with implications
Recommendations
- Written findings, recommendations and a prioritized action plan
Execution support
- An executable hiring and capability plan, scoped separately
Engagement models
Advisory engagement
A scoped piece of thinking with a written deliverable.
Retained search
An exclusive, staged assignment for an appointment that has to be right.
Quality controls
Confidential by default
Individual assessment feedback is handled carefully and shared on an agreed basis.
Competency-based method
Assessment against defined competencies and evidence, not personality impressions.
Market grounded
Benchmarks come from live search and staffing activity rather than generic surveys.
No product to sell
We do not have a proprietary instrument to justify. The method fits the question.
Independent of the search decision
Advisory work is scoped separately and does not oblige you to run a search with us.
What to bring to a first conversation
- A clear sponsor and a decision the work is meant to support
- Organization charts, role scopes and any existing assessment data
- Access to the executives and board members in scope
- Agreement on how individual feedback will be handled
Advisory engagements usually begin with a framing conversation and a short written scope. Work can start once the scope and participants are agreed.
Common questions
Is this a psychometric assessment service?
No. HCP One does not sell a proprietary assessment product or licensed instrument. Our assessment work is competency-based, uses structured interviewing and evidence of past performance, and can sit alongside any instrument your organization already uses.
Can we use advisory work without committing to a search?
Yes. Advisory engagements are scoped and contracted separately. Many clients use them to decide whether a search is needed at all.
How long does an advisory engagement take?
It depends on the number of participants and the depth of benchmarking. Scope, participants and timeline are agreed in writing before the work starts.
Start here
Talk to an advisor
Bring the structural question. We will tell you whether it needs an advisory engagement, a search, or neither.