INSTRUCTIONS

Stories about your behaviors, impact, and personal qualities told by others play an essential role in our evaluation of your application. Your letters of reference should provide specific examples and anecdotes that illustrate your ability and desire to make a difference in the world.

MBA Requirements

Two letters of reference:

• One reference from your current direct supervisor (or next best alternative) at work
• One reference from someone else who has supervised your work

Both letters of reference must be submitted by the deadline of the round in which you apply. You must not write, or have any involvement in, the drafting, translation, or submission of the letters.

Current Direct Supervisor Reference

You must obtain at least one recommendation from your current direct supervisor. We understand, however, that you may be in a situation that prevents you from providing a reference from your current direct supervisor. For example, you may:

• Be self-employed
• Work for a family business in which a family member is your supervisor
• Have begun a new position where your direct supervisor does not know you well
• Have not notified your direct supervisor that you are applying to business school
• Be a student

If you are unable to provide a letter from your current direct supervisor, use your judgment in finding an alternative source for your recommendation — a previous supervisor, an indirect manager, a client, a member of your board of directors, or any other individual who supervises your work.

If you don’t have full-time work experience, you may use a direct supervisor from a summer, part-time, or internship position. Alternatively, you may ask someone who managed you in an extracurricular, research, volunteer, or community activity.

Second Reference

The second reference should come from someone who has supervised your work. The strongest references typically come from your workplace. You may select a reference from your professional, community, or extracurricular experiences. Having two references from the same organization is fine. We recognize that work environments are fluid, so we give you the option of choosing the individual who can best represent your potential impact.

Choosing Your Recommenders

We are impressed by what a reference letter says, not by the title or background of the individual who wrote it or the writing skills of the recommender. You should choose individuals who:

• Know you well through significant, direct involvement with you within the last three years
• Will provide detailed anecdotes and examples to support their assertions
• Are sufficiently enthused to spend time writing a thoughtful letter

Deferred Enrollment

If you are currently a full-time student, we encourage you to select recommenders who have supervised your extra-curricular activities or work, such as internships or part-time jobs.

What We Ask Recommenders

Both of your recommenders will be asked to assess you on some character traits and competencies that contribute to successful leadership, and to answer three questions.

Submitting Letters of Reference

Your recommenders are required to submit their letters through the online application by the deadline of the round in which you apply. You are responsible for ensuring the letters are submitted on time. You will be able to see the status of each letter (either notified, started, or submitted) and also will be able to ask Stanford to send each recommender a reminder approximately one week before the application deadline date.

Register your recommenders.

Go to the “Letters of Reference” tab on the application, and enter each recommender’s information carefully. It is essential that you enter the recommender’s email address correctly so that your recommender can access the instructions and form. Read the waiver statement for each letter of reference and determine whether or not you will waive your right to review each recommendation. You cannot change this later. Your recommender receives an email with log in information. Your recommender completes and submits his/her recommendation. You and your recommender receive an email confirming the recommendation has been submitted. Do not email, mail, or fax letters of recommendation that have already been submitted through the online application.

QUESTIONS

Please comment briefly on the context of your interaction with the applicant. If applicable, describe the applicant’s role in your organization.(textbox, Limit 320 characters.)

Leadership Assessment

Listed below you will find a number of competencies that contribute to successful leadership. Within each category, please mark the one button corresponding to the behavior that the candidate most typically exhibits. We acknowledge that all candidates have both areas of strength and areas of development. If you select the highest rating, please provide specific examples in your letter.

Initiative *

• No basis for judgment
• Reluctant to take on new tasks; waits to be told what to do; defers to others
• Willing to step in and take charge when required to do so
• Takes charge spontaneously when problem needs attention
• Volunteers for new work challenges; proactively puts in extra effort to accomplish critical or difficult tasks
• Proactively seeks high-impact projects; steps up to challenges even when things are not going well

Results Orientation *

• No basis for judgment
• Focuses on fulfilling activities at hand; unsure how work relates to goals
• Takes actions to overcome obstacles to achieve goals
• Independently acts to exceed goals and plans for contingencies
• Documents activities and outcomes to learn from past; introduces incremental improvements to raise the effectiveness of team
• Invents new approaches with measurably better results; works to deliver best-in-class performance improvements

Communication, Professional Impression & Poise *

• No basis for judgment
• Struggles to get point across; neglects to understand audience’s input or perspective; lacks confidence and gets flustered under pressure
• Works to get point across; acknowledges feedback; reframes statements when necessary to make them clearer; speaks politely; remains composed in known circumstances
• Presents views clearly and logically structures content for a broad audience; listens and responds to feedback; prepares in advance to appear confident; leaves a positive and professional impression; responds confidently in unfamiliar situations
• Uses tailored language that appeals to specific groups; restates what others have said to check for understanding; comes across as confident; responds rapidly and strongly to crisis; looked to for advice and guidance
• Maintains composure when challenged; solicits opinions and concerns, discusses them openly and adjusts communication; when in strong conflict or crisis, remains cool under pressure; channels strong emotion into positive action

Influence and Collaboration *

• No basis for judgment
• Does not seek input and perspective of others
• Accepts input from others and engages them in problem solving
• Seeks first to understand perspectives of others; takes actions to gain their support for ideas and initiatives
• Uses tailored approaches to connect with others, influence, and achieve results
• Uses tailored influence approaches to create and leverage a network of strategically chosen individuals to improve collective outcomes

Respect for Others *

• No basis for judgment
• Unwilling to acknowledge others’ points of view
• Open to considering others’ views when confronted or offered
• Invites input from others because of expressed respect for them and their views
• Praises people publicly for their good actions; ensures that others’ opinions are heard before their own
• Uses empathy and personal experience to resolve conflicts and foster mutual respect; reinforces respect with public praise when individuals solicit and use input from others

Team Leadership *

• No basis for judgment
• Struggles to delegate effectively (e.g. micromanages); does not organize activities or provide appropriate information to complete tasks
• Assigns tasks and tells people what to do; checks when they are done
• Solicits ideas and perspectives from the team; structures activities; holds members accountable
• Actively engages the team to develop plans and resolve issues through collaboration; shows the impact of individual/team contributions
• Recruits others into duties or roles based on insight into individual abilities; rewards those who exceed expectations; provides strong organizational support

Developing Others *

• No basis for judgment
• Focuses only on own growth; critical of others’ efforts to develop
• Encourages people to develop; points out mistakes to help people develop and praises them for improvements
• Gives specific positive and negative behavioral feedback to support the development of others
• Provides overarching practical guiding principles and recommendations that are applicable in multiple situations to direct or focus efforts on specific areas of development
• Identifies potential in others; inspires others to develop by providing feedback, mentoring/coaching, and identifying new growth opportunities as well as supporting their effort to change

Trustworthiness/ Integrity *

• No basis for judgment
• Follows the crowd; takes path of least resistance; gives in under pressure
• Acts consistently with stated intentions, values, or beliefs when it is easy to do so
• Acts spontaneously and consistently with stated intentions, values, or beliefs despite opposition
• Initiates actions based on values or beliefs even though the actions may come with reputational risk; demonstrates the values of the team or organization publicly
• Demonstrates high personal integrity even at personal cost; holds people accountable to the team or organizational values

Adaptability/Resilience *

• No basis for judgment
• Prefers existing ways of doing things; fears failure; becomes anxious under challenging situations
• Adapts to new methods and procedures when required to do so; remains calm in unfamiliar situations until confronted with obstacle
• Champions adoption of new initiatives and processes; exhibits calm in unfamiliar situations until confronted with obstacle
• Seeks out disruptions as an opportunity for improvement; remains optimistic and forward-looking in difficult situations that may result in failure
• Energized by projects with high uncertainty but potential for high reward; seeks to be the first into unknown or unfamiliar situations; welcomes learning opportunities created by failure; learns from mistakes and rebounds quickly from setbacks

Self Awareness *

• No basis for judgment
• Lacks awareness of how he/she is perceived; denies or offers excuses when confronted
• Acknowledges fault or performance problem when confronted with concrete example or data
• Describes own key strengths and weaknesses accurately; welcomes feedback from others and discusses opportunities to change with select individuals
• Actively seeks out feedback to explicitly address desired improvement areas or build on strengths; explores reasons for problems openly, including own faults
• Seeks out challenging and potentially risky experiences to improve; identifies and engages with resources – people, processes, or content – to maximize strengths or mitigate weaknesses

Problem Solving *

• No basis for judgment
• Avoids problems; when faced with problems, sticks to what worked before, or chooses an obvious path
• Offers solutions when the risk is low; focuses on immediate, short-term implications instead of the big picture
• Looks beyond the obvious; identifies and focuses on the critical information needed to understand a problem, identifies root cause(s), and comes up with reasonable solutions
• Gathers and analyzes key information using complex methods or several layers deep; integrates perspectives from a variety of sources to arrive at unexpected but practical and effective solutions
• Applies logic to break complex problems down into manageable parts or sub-problems; solves tough and interconnected problems and can explain how the pieces are connected

Strategic Orientation *

• No basis for judgment
• Focuses on completing work without understanding implications
• Understands immediate issues or implications of work or analysis
• Develops insights or recommendations within area of responsibility that have improved near-term business performance
• Develops insights or recommendations within area of responsibility that have shaped team/organization strategy and will have impact on long-term business performance
• Develops insights or recommendations beyond area of responsibility with impact on long-term business strategy and performance

Please feel free to comment if you need to clarify the ratings you have assigned. [textbox]

Summary

Based on your professional experience, how would you rate this candidate compared to her/his peer group? [select]

Overall, I [select]

Reference Questions

The most useful recommendations provide detailed descriptions, candid anecdotes, and specific evidence that highlight the candidate’s behavior, actions and impact on those around her or him. This kind of information helps distinguish the very best individuals from a pool of many well-qualified candidates. Please write your answers to the following questions in a separate document and upload that document into the online application.

Questions:

1. How does the applicant’s performance compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples. (E.g., what are the applicant’s principal strengths?) – Up to 500 words
2. Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant?s response. – Up to 500 words
3. (Optional) Is there anything else we should know?

Please do not include graphics or icons such as company letterhead.

Save your recommendation form before uploading your document by clicking on the Save button below. To upload your document:

• Click on the Choose File or Browse button
• Locate your document and click on Open in the pop-up window
• Click on the Save button

Once you have uploaded your letter, a “View uploaded document” link will appear below to the right. You can ignore the “No file chosen” or “No file selected” message if the View link is there.

Upload letter