A senior candidate’s résumé can show roles and results. Your letter should explain how those results were achieved and why the candidate can be trusted with greater scope.
Establish your vantage point
Describe the reporting, board, client, peer, or partnership relationship and how closely you observed the decisions discussed. Avoid implying direct knowledge when your view came through reports or third parties.
Make scale interpretable
Give non-confidential context for the number of people, business size, stakeholder complexity, time pressure, risk, or change involved. Scale helps the reader understand why the candidate’s judgment mattered.
Use two leadership proofs
- A consequential decision with competing constraints
- Influence across groups the candidate did not control
- A difficult ethical or personnel judgment
- Development of another leader or team
- A durable system or capability, not just a one-time win
Connect past evidence to future scope
Name the responsibilities of the target position and explain which observed behaviors predict readiness. Calibrate the conclusion: a strong recommendation for one role does not require claiming the person can succeed in any role.
Complete a confidentiality review
Remove unsupported attribution and protected details. Follow employer policy and use professional contact information. The strongest executive letter is specific enough to be credible and disciplined enough to be safe.
Show how the candidate exercises judgment at scale, develops others, and creates durable results—then connect that evidence to the precise next responsibility.
Keep the executive recommendations requirements in view.
Executive and employment references are not governed by one universal portal. Follow the destination’s prompt, your organization’s reference policy, and confidentiality rules. Use approved contact channels and disclose only information you are authorized to share.
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