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Casey Lankow, PsyD · Principal, LDW

The Practitioner in the Loop: A Case Study in AI-Assisted Executive Assessment

How independent conceptualization keeps practitioner judgement primary
The Problem

Executive assessment is expensive – not only in fees, but in time and organizational bandwidth. A pre-launch startup making its first CEO hire found traditional high-touch assessment cost-prohibitive. The client and LDW partnered to test a new solution.

AI Support

Synthesizing and integrating heterogeneous inputs (i.e., psychometrics, candidate data, client-specific context) into a structured first draft. A task with clear inputs and evaluable output.

The Piloted Solution
1
Assessment Battery
Personality + Cognitive + Written Interview
Client-specific context gathered, such as organizational culture and job requirements
2
AI Multi-Agent Synthesis
Scans test data, resume, job context, cultural context into a structured draft report.
3
Independent Conceptualization
Two practitioners each form their conceptualization of the candidate from the data before looking at the draft.
Run in parallel, then compared
4
Alignment & Comparison
Practitioners compare conceptualizations against the draft
5
Finalize Report
Lead consultant finalizes the report: strengths, development areas, candidate-specific drill-down questions
6
Ongoing Office Hours
Consultant and hiring team discuss candidates and strategy in real time
Learning from the Field
Defensible human-in-the-loop

Independent conceptualization keeps the draft from becoming a cognitive anchor. A productive dialectic between algorithmic synthesis and practitioner interpretation.

Evolving role of practitioner

Mechanical synthesis compresses; interpretative, relational consultative work expands. The office hours became the center of the product.

PDF coming soon
Where Insight Leads
ldw-w.com