Context

The Top HR Manager competition had been organised since 2009. In its first five editions, evaluation depended largely on project descriptions and jury interviews, which made it difficult to separate actual competence from self-presentation.

The business challenge

The organisers wanted to increase the objectivity and credibility of candidate evaluation while retaining a method relevant to real HR decisions.

What the diagnosis showed

• Assessments were vulnerable to subjectivity and differed between evaluators.
• Project descriptions did not always make the candidate’s personal contribution clear.
• At that time, there was no objective tool in Poland designed for this specific competition and professional context.
• Strong self-presentation could have more influence than day-to-day effectiveness as an HR manager.

What we did

• We created a competency model covering Cooperation, Initiative, Communication and Pro-business Activity.
• We designed a Situational Judgement Test based on decisions and dilemmas relevant to HR management.
• We built the scoring key and an online application for administering the assessment.
• From 2014 to 2019, results were reported to the jury; participants received individual reports and could request feedback.

Results

• The competition gained a tailored HR competency model and an innovative test, scoring system and online application.
• The jury received more comparable evidence about candidates’ competence.
• The credibility of the event increased and winners were selected on a stronger evidence base.
• More than 800 HR managers learned about their competency levels and development priorities.

What this case shows

Competency assessment becomes more useful when the model, situations and scoring rules reflect the real decisions of a specific role. A tailored method can improve selection quality while also giving participants developmental value.

Context

The fund had analysed the market opportunity and business model, but had much less reliable information about the people expected to deliver them. Delays, missing documents and a need for weekly oversight raised concerns about execution.

The business challenge

The fund wanted to increase the likelihood that the start-up would reach its next financing round efficiently. It needed evidence about the founders’ managerial and entrepreneurial potential rather than relying only on track record and investor intuition.

What the diagnosis showed

• The fund lacked detailed information about managerial and entrepreneurial competencies, motivation, energy and adaptability.
• The founder’s working style created delays and required more supervision than expected.
• Assessment of the founder and CTO showed different development needs and role risks.
• The CTO’s motivation was poorly matched to the role, with personal goals taking priority over the start-up’s goals.

What we did

• We assessed the founder and CTO using psychological methods focused on competence, motivation and role fit.
• The founder received development support in innovation, calculated risk-taking and proactive action.
• Consultations were organised around real tasks and decisions rather than abstract training.
• An external specialist verified the valuation and quality of programming work, and the fund introduced ongoing monitoring of technology delivery.

Results

• The team changed its way of working at several critical moments in the investment process.
• The fund reduced the risk of major, avoidable decisions based on incomplete information.
• Technology work became more transparent to the investor.
• The investment agreement was implemented within the planned parameters.

What this case shows

A promising market and business model do not remove people risk. Early assessment makes execution risks discussable and allows investors to choose proportionate support, governance and monitoring before problems become expensive.

Context

The design department operated as a set of individual contributors. Work was assigned separately, assistance was arranged ad hoc and the team rarely looked at priorities, capacity or client needs together.

The business challenge

The department needed to increase productivity and move from individual task execution towards cooperation—without losing specialist ownership of particular projects.

What the diagnosis showed

• The assessment of managers and board members showed reserves in both productivity and cooperation.
• We examined whether the team had clear goals and whether its work organisation supported those goals.
• We also analysed how the design department cooperated with the rest of the organisation and where information or responsibility was being lost.

What we did

• We ran workshops to define departmental goals aligned with organisational goals.
• The team identified the tasks and working practices required to achieve those goals.
• The workshops increased consistency of attitudes on issues that affected cooperation and decision-making.
• Consulting work focused on increasing the department’s role in preparing and negotiating offers for clients.

Results

• The department introduced weekly meetings to analyse priorities and optimise task allocation.
• Workloads became more balanced and visible.
• Designers joined client offer teams as consultants, bringing technical knowledge into commercial conversations earlier.
• The number of projects handled at the same time increased.

As a team, we feel less stressed and find it easier to handle larger workloads.

Client perspective

What this case shows

Team effectiveness depends on more than relationships. It grows when people have aligned goals, visible workloads, regular coordination and a clear contribution to processes beyond their own department.

Context

The new department head was a highly respected engineer. Promotion changed the nature of his work: technical excellence was no longer enough, because the role required planning, delegation, financial understanding and influence across the organisation.

The business challenge

The manager needed to stop treating his role as an extension of expert work and begin leading a large, geographically dispersed department while contributing effectively to company-wide decisions.

What the diagnosis showed

• There was a significant gap in operational and strategic planning.
• The manager used too narrow a range of influence tactics with employees.
• He found it difficult to interpret the expectations of the new role and understand the organisation as a whole.
• He lacked the basic ability to read and use the company’s financial documents in management decisions.

What we did

• A consultant worked with the manager in his real work environment for eight months.
• The programme included ten sessions lasting up to three hours and two shorter meetings with the CEO.
• Between sessions, the manager completed practical assignments that required him to solve current problems in a different way.
• Short telephone and email consultations supported decisions when new situations emerged.

Results

• He limited direct project work to expert support in exceptional or particularly difficult cases.
• Planning improved as he recognised that his time could no longer be organised around his former technical duties.
• He changed his communication style and became a valuable participant in senior management meetings.
• He moved from being primarily a colleague and friend to being a manager while preserving good relationships with the team.

With the support of the Gauss Institute consultants, I switched from AutoCAD to Excel.

Client perspective

What this case shows

Managerial development is most effective when learning is tied to real decisions, deadlines and consequences. The aim is not to replace technical expertise, but to help the person use it from a new organisational role.

Context

For three decades, the owners had built and managed the company themselves. Rapid growth changed the scale of operations, but recruitment still relied mainly on referrals and one familiar recruiter.

The business challenge

The company needed to change the composition of its management board. The owners had extensive business knowledge but no previous experience of recruiting executives at board level or designing a transition away from operational management.

What the diagnosis showed

• The formal board had five members, but the three owners made the real decisions; the other two members had limited authority.
• There was no effective board structure, clear set of regulations or regular decision-making cycle. Many decisions were made informally and in the moment.
• The owners were ready for change, but the assessment of competencies, motivation and potential revealed important gaps that the new board would need to cover.

What we did

• We prepared a multi-year transition plan for moving the owners from the management board to the supervisory board.
• We defined the requirements for each board role, linking them to the company’s strategy and the competency gaps identified in the diagnosis.
• We supported the selection of an executive search firm and coordinated cooperation between the owners, the recruiter and our assessment team.
• Candidates for CEO, finance and sales roles completed six to eight psychological tests and structured interviews focused on competence, motivation and role fit.

Results

• Three new board members were recruited.
• The company established a professional management board with clearer responsibilities and decision processes.
• The management structure was adapted to the company’s scale and growth plans.
• The owners moved to the supervisory board close to the agreed timetable.

I was surprised by how efficiently the new board worked. I did not know it was possible to operate in this way.

Client perspective

What this case shows

Succession from an owner-led board succeeds when recruitment, governance and the owners’ own transition are designed as one process. Assessing candidates only against generic executive criteria would not have addressed the company’s specific strategy or family context.

Context

The company had grown faster than its ownership and management arrangements. Three main shareholders remained closely involved in operational decisions while holding different views of the organisation’s future.

The business challenge

The owners needed to adapt the organisation to its new scale, reduce tensions between themselves and separate ownership decisions from day-to-day management without losing strategic control.

What the diagnosis showed

• The organisational structure no longer matched the company’s size and complexity.
• Ownership and management decisions were made through ineffective, partly informal processes.
• There was no coherent ownership strategy accepted by all three shareholders.
• Different visions of the company affected daily operations, generated conflict and reduced productivity.

What we did

• We developed psychological profiles of the owners and selected key managers to understand decision styles, motivation and potential sources of friction.
• We facilitated workshops in which the shareholders built an ownership strategy acceptable to all of them.
• We translated that ownership strategy into an organisational strategy and clearer governance principles.
• We supported changes to the board and used psychological assessment to help select people capable of working effectively in the new structure.

Results

• Ownership conflicts decreased because the shareholders had a transparent framework for strategic decisions.
• One of the main shareholders left the management board and moved into an expert and advisory role.
• A professional management board began operating with clearer responsibility for the business.
• Four years after the process began, the owners sold their shares in a transaction worth approximately PLN 500 million.

What this case shows

In a growing owner-managed company, professionalisation is not only a change of job titles. It requires an explicit ownership strategy, aligned organisational goals and governance that allows owners and executives to make different kinds of decisions at the right level.