Whether you are seeking a Managing Director, Chief Revenue Officer, VP Sales, CEO or any operational leader, the following list is one you can use to measure your candidate pool. There are many reasons to hire leaders, but if aggressive growth is what you are seeking then take a look at this list and use the questions below during your interview process.
Top 7 Competencies of Leaders:
- Strategic mindset
- Capable of tactical hands-on execution
- Ability to inspire others: It is imperative that your new leader instill confidence and motivation to the team.
- Ability to lead and manage equally well
- Structure
- Calm under pressure
- Analytical mindset
Here is a list of behavioral-based questions that you can ask to uncover real life examples of the competencies we seek in leaders:
Strategic mindset: Ask: Give me an example of a company or group restructuring that you were the architect of, what was the goal, vision and desired outcome?
Capable of tactical hands on execution: Ask: In the same scenario above, walk me through the exact steps you took to execute on this restructuring, what were the challenges and what was the outcome?
Ability to inspire others: Ask: Give me an example of someone/team who reports to you who was underperforming, what were the steps that you took to try and turn around their performance and what was the outcome?
Ability to lead and manage equally well: Ask: What is your definition of leadership and management, are they the same or different. Which one (s) are you and which are you better at and why?
Structure Ask: Give me an example of how you led your last management meeting, what was your preparation, execution and follow up steps?
Calm under pressure Ask: What is the biggest challenge you have been through in your life, what was it, what did you learn from it?
Analytical mindset Ask: In your current role what are the KPI’s for your team, how is each group doing against them and what do you think your year end results will be based on these trends? What are the most important indicators for these groups’ success/failure?
Asking for real life examples that put people out of their comfort zone will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of the people you interview. Adding the above questions to your process is only part of the hiring puzzle, but adding this step can hopefully yield you detailed information to make the right hiring decision the first time!
