March 05, 2026

#483: Cyndi Gave | Stop Guessing If Your People Can Think

1 hour 35 minutes

How do you grow your leadership team when you can't afford a full C-suite, your best people are buried in tactical work, and you have no idea whether they can actually think strategically? Cyndi runs The Metis Group and has spent 30 years turning fuzzy leadership development into something tangible and measurable.

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In our first conversation, she walked us through her Job Scorecard, a tool that quantifies what a role actually requires instead of hiding behind vague job descriptions. Once you know what the job is, how do you know whether the person in it has the cognitive horsepower to own outcomes, not just execute tasks?

We unpacked the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test, the TriMetrix assessment, and why most behavioral assessments (DISC, Culture Index, Predictive Index) only tell you half the story. If you're trying to figure out whether to elevate your controller into a CFO, promote your best salesperson into a sales leader, or just understand why your team keeps waiting for you to tell them what to do — this episode is a roadmap.

Top 10 Takeaways

If you can't afford an off-the-shelf C-suite, then stop trying to buy one.

Elevate internal talent instead of chasing expensive fractional magic bullets.

The Job Scorecard is the foundation — quantify the role before you evaluate the person.

Every leadership role needs separate buckets for oversight and talent management.

Outsource the tactical to create space for strategic development.

A 5-year valuation goal is non-negotiable; without it, your leaders are flying blind.

The Watson-Glaser test quantifies critical thinking, and a raw score of 28+ is the magic number.

Behavioral assessments tell you how someone communicates — not whether they can think.

Strategic thinking has atrophied across all generations — and COVID made it worse.

If someone says, "Just tell me what to do," that's a red flag — not a work style.

Cyndi Gave is the founder of The Metis Group, a behavior-expert consultancy focused on getting the right people in the right seats — and getting extraordinary performance out of them. Celebrating 30 years in business in March 2025, Cyndi is a self-described "recovering HR person" who built her practice around tangible, process-driven tools that entrepreneurs actually have the patience to implement. Her specialties include the Job Scorecard, the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test, and the TriMetrix assessment — a three-part diagnostic that measures behaviors (DISC), motivators, and the Hartman Value Profile. Previously based in Michigan, Cyndi now operates out of Charlotte, North Carolina, and hosts a monthly leadership podcast through The Metis Group.

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction of Cyndi Gave and the leadership development challenge

(02:18) The Metis Group: 30 years making leadership tangible and measurable

(07:37) The demographic cliff and why internal talent development can't wait

(17:06) Can't afford a full C-suite? Stop trying to buy one

(29:00) Job scorecard: quantify the role before you evaluate the person

(44:00) Elevate internal talent: outsource tactical to make space for strategic

(47:00) "Just tell me what to do" is a red flag, not a work style

(01:00:41) Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test and the magic score of 28

(01:11:34) TriMetrix: behaviors, motivators, and the Hartman Value Profile

(01:20:55) Why using only one assessment gives you half the picture

Resources:
Cyndi Gave: https://themetissgroup.com/
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/

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By Ryan Tansom

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