Interviewing is something that a lot of people stress over. I am here to tell you that it is important to do your best to hire the right candidate…with that being said, it’s ALWAYS a guess. Take the ego out of it and just make the best call you can. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it crashes and burns.
When it comes to leaders, it’s important to remember that they are also a guess…there is just as much risk as with an individual contributor.
So how should you interview a potential leader for your company? Get as specific as you can. It’s important for you to get a good understanding of how he responds in high pressure situations, in failure, in success and so on. The best way is to ask very specific questions like, “Tell me about a time when a team you were leading failed. How did that impact you individually and how did you communicate the failure both to the team and your own leaders?” Questions like this get right to the heart of it, you will listen for ownership, humility and team impact. If they blame everyone and don’t take ownership, then that is a major red flag. If they take all the blame and don’t work to hold people accountable…that is a different red flag.
What if the leader has no actual leadership experience? If that is the case, I would recommend hiring someone from within the teams to take on this role. Someone that is ACTUALLY interested in becoming a leader…your best technical resource may be your worst leader. Plus you already know them.
If you don’t have that person in your teams and you are hiring from outside the company…make sure you ask as many questions around their leadership values as possible. Like “Talk me through what kind of leadership style you work the best with and is that the same way you lead?” If they can’t get into specifics on what has worked for them or that they would look to emulate, they probably aren’t ready to jump into leadership.
The key is to ask as many situational questions you can, even if they have led before. Ask them how their leaders handled difficult situations for the teams they were a part of.
I hope this was helpful! Thanks for being here! Take care!
