How can I evaluate whether my leadership team actually has the natural drive and ability to run the business after I exit, rather than just relying on their past performance?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Past performance can be deceiving because it often reflects how well a person operates under your direct supervision, not how they will perform when you are gone. To truly assess if your leadership team can run the business independently, you must look beyond personality and evaluate their conative drives. Conation is the hardwired, innate way an individual naturally approaches problems and takes action. You can measure this using conative tests, such as the Aptive Index. These assessments will help you understand your team's natural pace and approach to tasks, their need for structure versus flexibility, and their drive for precision and detail. For example, a leader who is highly skilled but has a low drive for initiating change might struggle in an environment that requires rapid, independent decision-making post-sale. By mapping the conative profiles of your leadership team, you can identify critical gaps in your Accountability Chart. You can see who has the natural drive to lead and who might struggle without your presence. This allows you to proactively adjust roles, hire for missing strengths, and build a robust, self-managing leadership team that gives potential buyers the confidence to pay top dollar for your business.