🪜AXIS360 Instrument

First-Time Manager Transition Assessment

Diagnoses readiness for the specific psychological shift from individual contributor to manager

Grounded in Hill's (1992/2003) research on becoming a manager and Watkins' (2003) First 90 Days framework, this 30-item assessment measures readiness across six specific dimensions — Letting Go of Doing, Delegation Confidence, Managing Former Peers, Difficult Feedback, Strategic Time Allocation, and Managerial Authority — with automated risk-flag diagnosis for common first-time manager failure patterns.

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30
Items
~10 min
Completion time
6
Readiness dimensions
Risk flags
Auto-diagnosed
What

What's included

✓30 items across 6 dimensions specific to the IC-to-manager identity transition
✓Transition Readiness Index (0-100) with 4 risk bands
✓5 automated risk-flag patterns (e.g. 'Still Operating as an Individual Contributor')
✓12-page report with a full 90-day structured development plan
✓Manager's Manager Guide — coaching tips for the new manager's own manager
Why

Why this matters

!
The skills that get someone promoted — strong individual execution — are frequently the opposite of what the manager role actually needs: letting go, delegating, and coaching rather than doing. Hill's (1992) landmark research on this transition remains one of the most under-addressed gaps in internal promotion practice, and Gentry et al.'s (2010) CCL research puts first-time manager failure at roughly 60% within the first two years.
Ideal For
Internal first-time manager promotions and external first-line management hires, where practical transition readiness — not just competency scores — determines success.
How

How it works

1
Candidate completes the 30-item transition-readiness survey
2
AXIS360 computes the Transition Readiness Index and flags specific risk patterns
3
Report delivers a 90-day development plan targeting the exact gaps found

More leadership & development and where they are used

Situational Leadership AssessmentLearning Agility AssessmentLeadership Derailers AssessmentManagement SJTLeadership Development SolutionSuccession Planning SolutionManager Selection SolutionSample reports for every assessment
Using results responsibly. Assessment results describe tendencies and preferences at the time of testing; they are one input to a decision, not a verdict. Use them alongside a structured interview, work samples and references, tell candidates how their results will be used, and avoid treating any single score as a pass or fail line unless it has been validated for that purpose in your own setting.

Frequently asked questions

Should this replace the interview for an internal promotion?
No — it's designed to surface specific readiness gaps for a coaching conversation before or immediately after promotion, complementing rather than replacing the promotion decision process itself.
Can this be used for external management hires too?
Yes, particularly for candidates who would be managing for the first time in the new role, even if they have prior individual-contributor experience elsewhere.

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AXIS360 by NonVerbals Consulting · assess.nonverbals.com · nizam@nonverbals.com · +91 76767 09796