The influence of CEOs on public US companies has increased substantially over the last six decades. Indeed, there's a wide performance gulf between a great CEO and an average one. But organizations, in the past, have struggled finding truly exceptional leaders. 

A new report, “Develop and select the best CEOs,” describes how Korn Ferry’s Readiness Assessment puts candidates through a rigorous CEO simulation, where candidates address issues such as sluggish top-line growth, investor concerns over missed expectations, executive team alignment, and low employee engagement. The report shows how candidates who posted top scores on the assessment and then went on to become CEOs were nearly four times more likely to be top financial performers than other candidates were.