Berend Smeets
Leadership Assessments
Clear insight into suitability, leadership risk and performance in critical roles
“Clear insight leads to better decisions.”
Organisations continuously make decisions about leadership. At appointment, when leaders step into more demanding roles, and when effectiveness comes under pressure.
I advise organisations, investors and executive search firms on these decisions. Not based on profile or experience alone, but on how leaders actually perform in the specific role and context, especially as pressure and complexity increase.
My perspective is shaped by experience in senior management roles across both mid market and corporate environments, combined with expertise in leadership assessment and executive coaching. As a result, my focus is not on style or intent, but on how leaders make decisions, operate under pressure and drive results in practice.
This leads to a clear and independent view of how a leader is likely to perform in the role, where risk emerges and what this means for the likelihood of success and effective execution.
SELECTION
EFFECTIVENESS
DEVELOPMENT
SELECTION ASSESSMENTS
DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENTS
EXECUTIVE COACHING
My Approach
Leadership in context
Leadership cannot be separated from context. The question is not only who someone is or what they have done, but how they actually perform in a specific role, especially when pressure increases and interests diverge.
My approach is built around the interaction between individual, role and organisation. I assess what is required from a leader in a specific phase, within the team and the context in which they operate.
Through in-depth conversations with both candidate and client, a clear picture emerges of experience, decision-making and how someone operates within a team and organisation. Personality assessment, typically using Hogan Assessments, reveals underlying patterns in behaviour, drivers and risk, particularly under pressure.
This combination leads to a clear and independent judgement of how someone is likely to perform in the role. Not just descriptive, but translated into what this means for the decisions to be made and the likelihood of success.
Experience from practice
Pieter
CEO
In the selection of a new executive position, Berend helped us look beyond profile and experience. His assessment provided a clear view of how the candidate was likely to function within our leadership team.
Marcel
Partner Executive Search
Berend quickly develops a sharp understanding of leadership. His analysis clearly shows how someone operates under pressure and within a specific organizational context.
Suzanne
Investment Director
At leadership decision points, it is not only about suitability, but also about risk. Berend made clearly visible where a leader’s strengths lie and which areas of attention are critical for a successful start in the role.
My services
My work focuses on how leaders function in a specific role and organisational context, particularly under pressure. This determines the decisions they make and the likelihood of success in the role.
Selection
For suitability and leadership risk in appointments
Senior appointments shape the direction and performance of an organisation for years to come. The question is whether a leader truly fits the role, the context and the leadership team.
I provide a clear view of how someone makes decisions, what happens under pressure and the impact this has on leadership and collaboration.
By combining personality assessment with in-depth interviews and a rigorous analysis of role and organisational context, I create insight into suitability, leadership risk and likelihood of success.
This leads to an independent judgement. Does this person fit what is required here, and under which conditions does the likelihood of success increase. Clear, concise and directly usable for decision-making.
Effectiveness
For insight into performance and effectiveness in role
Sometimes a leader is already in role, but things are not working as intended. Decision-making slows down, tension increases within the team or results fall short.
The question is where it breaks down and what needs to change.
I make visible how someone actually operates in the role. How decisions are made, what happens under pressure and which patterns limit effectiveness.
By analysing individual, role and organisation together, it becomes clear where things get stuck and where the leverage for improvement lies.
This enables focused decisions. What should this leader do differently, what does the environment require and what is needed to restore momentum in leadership and collaboration.
Development
For strengthening effectiveness and leadership in role
In a new role, or when the context changes, it becomes clear how someone functions as a leader. At that point, it is no longer about intention, but about what someone actually does in decisions, conversations and leadership behaviour.
This often starts from an assessment, where development areas are directly linked to what the role requires. In the early phase of onboarding or later when effectiveness comes under pressure.
The starting point is how someone truly operates. Where decision-making slows down, where collaboration becomes strained and what happens as pressure increases.
In coaching, we make the underlying patterns visible and work towards different behaviour in practice. Strengthening effectiveness in line with the goals and results of the role.
Frequently Asked Questions
Every collaboration starts with a conversation about the question and the organizational context. The FAQs below provide more detail on the approach and when involvement adds value.
Invisible
1. When is a leadership assessment truly valuable?
When an important decision needs to be made about a leader, and it cannot be based on experience or profile alone.
In appointments to critical roles. When someone is stepping into a more demanding position. Or when there is doubt about how someone actually functions in the role.
Also when things look right on paper, but questions remain about effectiveness, collaboration or behaviour under pressure.
In those situations, I help create a clearer view of what to expect. Where it works, where risk sits and what is needed to be successful in the role. That provides a solid basis for a decision, and direction for what needs to happen next, for example in targeted development or coaching.
2. What does a leadership assessment deliver in practice?
A clear and well-founded view of how a leader operates in the role and context. How decisions are made, what happens under pressure and the impact this has on team, organisation and results. This makes visible where it works, where friction occurs and where risk emerges.
This leads to a clear and independent judgement on suitability, leadership risk and the likelihood of success in the role. Complemented by concrete guidance for decision-making and for what is needed to ensure effective performance in practice.
3. What distinguishes your approach from traditional assessment firms?
My focus is not on tests or competency frameworks, but on how someone actually performs in practice. In the role, in the specific context and under the pressure that comes with it.
Where many assessments remain focused on personality and general qualities, I look at how decisions are made, what happens as pressure increases and what that means for effectiveness and results.
My perspective is shaped by experience in senior management roles across both mid market and corporate environments. This ensures my analysis is directly aligned with what the role requires, not just with who someone is.
Personality assessment and in-depth interviews form the foundation, always combined with a rigorous analysis of role, team and organisation. This leads to a clear and independent judgement on suitability, leadership risk and the likelihood of success.
4. How do you work with executive search firms and private equity?
I work alongside existing processes, not in parallel and not on top of them.
In executive search, I engage at the moment that matters: when the shortlist is defined and the question shifts from profile and experience to actual suitability for the role and context.
I provide an independent and well-founded judgement on how a candidate is likely to perform. Not based on experience alone, but on behaviour, decision-making and impact, especially as pressure and complexity increase. This sharpens choices and deepens the discussion, without slowing down the process.
In private equity, the focus is on reducing leadership risk and increasing the likelihood of successful execution. This can be prior to an appointment or in the phase afterwards, for example when strengthening a management team or supporting a leader in a new or more demanding role.
In both cases, the objective is the same: fast and sharp insight into how leaders actually perform and what is required to be effective in the specific context. As a basis for better decisions and targeted interventions thereafter.
5. What does a process look like and what is the typical timeline?
The process is compact and focused on one objective: a clear and well-founded judgement.
We start with an intake to clarify the role, context and success criteria. What does the role require, where is the pressure and which risks are most critical. This is followed by an in-depth interview with the candidate, combined with personality assessment and, where relevant, a cognitive test.
The outcome is first discussed verbally, allowing for interpretation and direct translation to the role. This is followed by a concise and clear report outlining the key findings, the judgement and concrete points of attention.
The typical timeline is one to two weeks, depending on availability.
The result is a sharp and directly actionable judgement that supports immediate decision-making.
Schedule an initial conversation
In important leadership situations, an independent perspective can be valuable. An initial conversation explores the context and whether involvement makes sense.