Leadership Assessment Framework

EQ/IQ Leadership Assessment

A proprietary framework built specifically for senior technology leadership, combining emotional intelligence with strategic capability to reveal what truly drives executive success.

The Science Behind

The Agency Three EQ/IQ Leadership Assessment

Why technology leadership requires a different assessment approach

With over 25 years placing 500+ technology executives and interviewing 7,000+ senior technology leaders, we've identified a consistent pattern: the capabilities that get technology executives promoted (IQ) are fundamentally different from the capabilities that determine their effectiveness once they arrive (EQ).

Most organisations assess technology leaders using frameworks designed for general executives, missing what actually differentiates effective technology leadership. Technical capability and strategic vision are table stakes at C-suite level. What determines success is the emotional intelligence to navigate board psychology, translate complex technical decisions for non-technical peers, build credibility across the C-suite, and drive organisational change through political complexity.

The Agency Three EQ/IQ Assessment was built to reveal this gap.

Who this is for

The EQ/IQ Assessment is designed for:

Executives

Seeking evidence-based insight into how they're positioned for advancement, what specifically needs to develop, and where blind spots may be limiting progression.

Organisations

Evaluating technology leaders for readiness, identifying development needs that generic assessments miss, or building succession pipelines with clear capability benchmarks.

This isn't a psychometric test or 360 review. It's 25 years of executive assessment expertise applied to understanding the specific EQ/IQ balance that determines effectiveness for technology leaders at C-suite level.

What the assessment measures

Our proprietary framework, developed over 25 years and refined through collaboration with Harvard and MIT, assesses technology leaders across ten dimensions that determine executive effectiveness:

IQ Dimensions
(Technical & Strategic Excellence)

  • Technology Innovation & Transformation
  • Enterprise IT Leadership
  • Driving Commercial Outcomes
  • Enterprise Risk Management

EQ Dimensions
(Executive Effectiveness)

  • Strategic Impact – Executive presence and board-level influence
  • Leading Through Ambiguity – Decision-making under uncertainty and complexity
  • Leading & Motivating Others – Building high-performing culture
  • Leading & Embedding Change – Driving organisational transformation
  • Simplifying & Reducing Complexity – Translating technical to business language
  • Social Competence – Reading organisational dynamics and building peer credibility

Why EQ and IQ Both Matter

Senior technology leadership success is defined by two forces:

EQ (Emotional Quotient)

Reflects how a leader builds trust, communicates with clarity, creates followership, and navigates stakeholders under pressure. It captures the leadership behaviours that drive alignment and momentum across the organisation.

IQ (Intellectual Quotient)

Reflects how a leader thinks, prioritises, simplifies complexity, and drives commercially aligned outcomes. It measures judgement, strategic clarity, and execution discipline.

Together, EQ and IQ provide a balanced and realistic view of leadership capability, grounded in how executives are evaluated at C-suite level.

What makes this assessment different

Unlike generic leadership assessments, the EQ/IQ framework:

  • Is built specifically for technology executives – Recognises the unique dynamics of leading at the intersection of technology and business strategy
  • Identifies the hidden gaps – Reveals where strong IQ capabilities may be masking underdeveloped EQ skills that limit effectiveness
  • Provides actionable development pathways – Shows specifically what needs to strengthen for the executive to operate at the next level
  • Is evidence-based – Grounded in 25 years of pattern recognition from both sides of the table: what organisations assess when making advancement decisions, and what actually determines success once executives are in role

What you receive

Comprehensive diagnostic across all ten EQ/IQ dimensions

Detailed capability profile showing strengths, development areas, and blind spots

Clear assessment of how you're likely being perceived at executive level

Specific development pathway for strengthening executive positioning

90-minute confidential debrief with strategic counsel

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