Non-Executive Director
Also known as: Supervisory Board Member · Board Supervisor
Supervises management and strategy at arm's length, approves major decisions, assesses the executive and acts as employer of the organisation's directors.
A non-executive director does not run the organisation but monitors, advises and appoints, usually part time across a limited number of meetings each year. The distinction from an executive is fundamental, since there is no executive authority and information arrives mainly through management. Appointments fail in practice on role discipline, because former executives keep co managing in a supervisory seat instead of questioning and assessing.
Competencies to measure
These are the behavioural and ability constructs in this profile. Each one shows which hrmforce questionnaire measures it.
| Competencies to measure | Target level | hrmforce instrument | Assessment method | Behavioural anchor at target level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| independence Competency (50-framework): Independence | N5 | Big Fifty, 15PF | Personality questionnaire | Protects own professional judgement against pressure from stakeholders in senior forums and makes dissenting positions traceable and explainable. |
| integrity and dependability Competency (50-framework): Integrity Knockout | N5 | Big Fifty (Integrity Scale), 360 Feedback, Structured interview | Personality questionnaire | Sets the organisation's integrity standards, enforces them also with influential parties and explains the resulting choices publicly. |
| Developing vision Competency (50-framework): Vision Knockout | N5 | Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback | Assessment centre | Formulates a multi-year vision for the whole organisation, underpins it with scenarios and uses it as a test for investments. |
| Persuasiveness Competency (50-framework): Persuasiveness | N5 | Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback | Assessment centre | Wins board and external parties over to a far reaching change of course and sustains that support when resistance increases. |
| organisational awareness Competency (50-framework): Organizational Sensitivity | N5 | Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback | Situational Judgement Test | Sees through relations between organisational units and external parties and steers decision making by organising support at an early stage. |
| Entrepreneurship Competency (50-framework): Entrepreneurship | N5 | Big Fifty, Competency Check, Career Interest, 360 Feedback | Assessment centre | Sets up new activities or ventures for the organisation and carries the responsibility for investment and result. |
| Taking difficult personnel decisions Competency (50-framework): Decision-making ability | N5 | Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback | Assessment centre | Decides on far reaching reorganisation and dismissal cases, weighs legal and human consequences and accounts for the choice to board and works council. |
| Stress tolerance Competency (50-framework): Stress resilience | N5 | Big Fifty, 15PF, Mental Resilience (4C) | Personality questionnaire | Keeps the organisation workable in crises, takes decisions under high uncertainty and sets the standard for composed action under pressure. |
| Market orientation Competency (50-framework): Market Orientation | N5 | Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback | Assessment centre | Translates market developments into the strategic agenda of the organisation and repositions the offering for the longer term. |
| Decisiveness Competency (50-framework): Decision-making ability Knockout | N4 | Big Fifty, 360 Feedback | Situational Judgement Test | Cuts through conflicting advice, communicates the decision and states when it will be evaluated. |
| Dealing with ambiguity Competency (50-framework): Flexibility | N5 | Big Fifty, Mental Resilience (4C), Competency Check | Situational Judgement Test | Sets direction under high uncertainty, makes the remaining uncertainty explicit and keeps the organisation moving until a decision can be taken. |
Short profile
The ten heaviest skills in this profile. The full profile with every skill, behavioural anchor and assessment method is in the download.
| T | Skill | Target level | Weight | Knockout | Assessment method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | Stakeholder management | N5 | 5 | no | Assessment centre |
| G | independence | N5 | 5 | no | Personality questionnaire |
| G | integrity and dependability | N5 | 5 | yes | Personality questionnaire |
| G | Developing vision | N5 | 5 | yes | Assessment centre |
| V | Strategic thinking | N5 | 5 | yes | Assessment centre |
| V | Decision making in governing bodies | N5 | 5 | no | Assessment centre |
| K | Governance and compliance | N5 | 5 | yes | Knowledge test |
| K | Reading and interpreting financial reports | N5 | 5 | yes | Knowledge test |
| V | Critical thinking and source evaluation | N5 | 4 | no | Work sample test |
| V | Risk assessment | N5 | 4 | no | Work sample test |
See all 26 skills in the full profile
Assessment instruments for this job
Competency Check
Behavioral-Level Competency Assessment
360 Feedback
Multiple assessments based on behavioral anchors
Big Fifty
Personality questionnaire, 150 items, 25 factors
Knowledge test (client-specific)
Professional knowledge test, customized for each client
Work sample test
Representative work sample under standardized conditions
Structured interview
Behavioral interview with a fixed structure
15PF
Personality Profile, a shorter alternative to the Big Fifty
Mental Resilience (4C)
Mental Resilience According to the 4C Model
Big Fifty (Integrity Scale)
Ability Scan
Aptitude Test: Verbal, Numerical, and Abstract Reasoning Skills
Career Interest
Career interests, aligned with the RIASEC framework
Career Orientations
Career Anchors and Work Values
Development Review
Structured development interview
Portfolio
Evaluation of prior work against fixed criteria
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