Malvika Patil
- Apr 5
- 10 min read

Duke Fuqua MBA Recommendation Questions 2023 - 2024

Duke Fuqua says that it is in “the business of building a better society”. The school believes that societal leadership is the answer to an increasingly polarized society, and businesses are at the forefront of ushering in social change. The school is also highly committed to racial and gender equity and emphasizes the need for a diverse, global cohort that brings a variety of experiences and perspectives to the classroom.

So, if you are applying to Duke Fuqua, ensure that your narrative aligns well with Fuqua’s values – societal leadership, initiative to engage and activate the business community, and commitment to inclusivity – both in your essays and your recommendations.

How Many Letters of Recommendation Does Duke Fuqua Require?

Duke Fuqua requires one letter of recommendation. Reapplicants can choose to use the same recommendation from their last year or submit a new one.

Ideally, you will get your Fuqua recommendation from your current supervisor or manager, or from the supervisor or manager at your most recent firm, as they are best equipped to discuss your professional skills and aptitude. However, recommendations from someone who has closely collaborated with you in a volunteering activity or a service oriented role are also accepted.

Duke Fuqua verifies the credentials of the recommender you choose, and you are strongly discouraged to request a recommendation from a family member, relative, or a professor.

Fuqua also accepts endorsement letters from current students as well as alumni. In case you submit an endorsement letter before you submit your MBA application, you may be eligible to receive an application fee waiver.

Duke Fuqua uses the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation format to frame its recommendation questions.

Duke Fuqua MBA Recommendation Questions

Recommender Information

Context of Relationship:

Current employer
Previous employer
University / Academic
Extracurricular / community
Other

Nature of Relationship:

Direct Supervisor
Other Supervisor
Advisor / mentor
Colleague / Peer
Direct Report
Indirect report
Client / Customer
Business Partner / Investor
Vendor
Professor Instructor
Other

How long have you known the applicant?

During which period of time have you had the most frequent contact with the applicant?

If you are affiliated with The Fuqua School of Business or Duke University, please select the option that most closely matches.

Faculty
Fuqua School of Business Graduate
Staff
Not affiliated
Other

Leadership Assessment Grid

In this section, you will find 16 competencies and character traits that contribute to successful leadership. The competencies and character traits are grouped into five categories:

Achievement
Influence
People
Personal Qualities
Cognitive Abilities

For each competency, please select the one button that corresponds to the behavior that you have seen the applicant most consistently exhibit. We acknowledge that all applicants have both areas of strength and areas of development. Your candid and honest appraisal will assist in evaluation of the applicant. Please assume that each level builds upon behaviors of the previous level.

Achievement

Initiative: Acts ahead of need/anticipates problems

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: Focuses on and drives toward delivering on goals, objectives, and performance improvement

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

Influence

Communication, Professional Impression, & Poise: Delivers messages and ideas in a way that engages an audience and achieves buy-in; uses listening and other attending behaviors to reach shared understanding; remains calm and measured even in time of crisis or conflict

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
Present 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
Structures content for senior-level meetings; maintains composure when challenged; solicits opinions and concerns, discusses them openly and adjusts communication; remains cool under pressure during conflict or crisis; channels emotion into positive action

Influence and Collaboration: Engages and works with people over whom one has no direct control

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

People

Respect for Others: Acknowledges the value of others’ views and actions

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: Manages and empowers a team of formal or informal direct reports, including virtual teams

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: Helps people develop their performance and ability over time

No basis for judgment
Focuses only on one’s 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

Personal Qualities

Trustworthiness/ Integrity: Acts consistently in line with or follows explicit values, beliefs, or intentions

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: Adapts to changing demands and circumstances without difficulty. Maintains calm optimism in the face of challenge, problems, or apparent failure

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 level-headedness in most environments including challenging ones; persists until obstacle is overcome
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: Aware of and seeks out additional input on own strengths and weaknesses

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

Cognitive

Problem Solving: Frames problems, analyzes situations, identifies key issues, conducts analysis on the issues, and produces acceptable solution

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: Thinks beyond one’s span of control and into the future to reshape the approach or scope of work

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

Optional Question: Is there anything about your competency ratings on which you’d like to comment?

Based on your professional experience, how do you rate this applicant compared to her/ his peer group?

Below Average
Average
Very Good (well above average)
Excellent (top 10%)
Outstanding (top 5%)
The best encountered in my career

Overall, I…this applicant to The Fuqua School of Business.

Do Not Recommend this applicant
Recommend this applicant with Reservations
Recommend this applicant
Enthusiastically recommend this applicant

Recommendation Questions

Please answer the following questions and provide specific examples where possible.

Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization. (Recommended word count: 50 words)
How does the performance of the applicant compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? (E.g. what are the applicant’s principal strengths?) (Recommended word count: 500 words)
Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (Recommended word count: 500 words)
(Optional) Is there anything else we should know?

Analysis

Leadership Assessment

Here’s what Duke Fuqua's Leadership Assessment rating scale looks like:

The Fuqua Letters of Recommendation form provides your recommender with a grid of 12 leadership competencies grouped under five major categories: Achievement, Influence, People, Personal Qualities and Cognitive Abilities.

As your recommender checks the options for each of these competencies, they will find a unique rating scale designed to measure the applicant’s degree of engagement and workplace attitude.

As consultants, we recommend that you ask your recommender not to choose the highest ratings for all competencies. This may suggest that the answers lack authenticity. Ideally, you should choose the highest ratings for 9-10 questions, second highest for 2-3 questions and the third highest for 1, considering this an area for improvement.

For the optional question, advise your recommender to add their comments about the ratings, especially the lowest marked rating. Overall, your recommender should select 'Enthusiastically Recommend this applicant to Duke Fuqua.'

Recommendation Questions

1. Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization. (Recommended word count: 50 words)

This recommender question first asks your recommender to establish their relationship with you. This asserts that they are capable of assessing your skill level fairly. They must then briefly explain the frequency of their interactions with you and the role you play in the firm.

2. How does the performance of the applicant compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? (E.g. what are the applicant’s principal strengths?) (Recommended word count: 500 words)

This is a clear ‘Strengths’ question. So, the response of your recommender must include their assessment of your performance in the workplace, the strengths and qualities you possess, and how they compare to your peers who work in similar roles.

Generally, we recommend they add 2-3 anecdotes that each discuss a distinct quality or strength. This is to back your recommender’s claim with a real life example that demonstrates quantifiable impact.

This can be done by using the SCAR method of writing. Start by explaining the Situation, discuss the Challenge or task at hand, the Actions that you took, and the Results you were able to achieve.

Finally, make sure that the strengths are well aligned with Duke Fuqua’s values, because business schools prefer applicants who fit into their culture.

3. Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (Recommended word count: 500 words)

This question requires your recommender to discuss a personal or a professional weakness. This could be something they realized during their overall interactions with you, or a weakness you displayed in a particularly stressful situation. In either case, they should explain this using an example, specify the guidance they offered on improving in this area, and explain how you took it constructively. The ideal structure to use here is the SCAR method. Focus on the results and what you learned through this experience.

Note: As an applicant, we understand your urge to want to showcase your best self in the applications. However, schools have this question for a reason. They want to see that you will be able to take feedback on board and improve yourself. Therefore, fight your urge to mask a strength as a weakness and share a genuine example to portray your profile holistically.

4. (Optional) Is there anything else we should know?

Optional essays are truly optional! If there is something crucial your recommender didn’t get the chance to discuss in the recommender form, only then encourage your recommenders to write this answer. Typically, this prompt is left blank.

Our complete Recommender Guide course on MBAConsultant.com has all the advice (and sample letters based on real applicants) you need to create a compelling letter of recommendation.