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 I work in the IT department of a retail company and my current boss, a Senior Vice President, is moving to another division.  All the directs have been invited to meet with his potential replacements.  We haven't been given any guidelines on what we are allowed to ask or what feedback we are expected to give to upper management.  What are some questions you might ask the candidates?

ehyde111's picture

 

When I interview potential hires (either as my directs or for other positions in the company), I refer back to the interviewing series and use it in reverse.  That is, I ask the general questions about leadership style, strengths, weaknesses, and significant accomplishments.  I cannot give specifics (I am not in IT), but, I would ask the candidate to describe successes he/she had with their previous team, describe challenges with previous teams.  One of the best questions that I always use for leaders is " Please tell me about the last critical decision you had to make."  It tells me a lot about their processes and priorities.   What to avoid?  I would stay away from asking much in the way of far-reaching strategy type questions.  I'm sure the EVP, CEO level will cover them. 

Feedback to the organization.  There is an old cast, The interview results capture meeting, That will explain how to report.  In short, 4 areas.  I have used this in the past to give feedback for higher level positions, and, it was well accepted by the organization.

That listed below is taken from the show notes

Interpersonal:

how well did they interact with you, and why do you say that?

Cultural:

 

how well you think they fit with the firm, and why do you say that?

Skills:

what you saw in the 4 behavioral questions, including communication of the answers, and why do you say that?

 

Technical:

This is the 4th, and it only applies if you can add value, and again, WHY YOU SAY THAT.

 

-Chris

mmann's picture
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I'll give you two meaty questions with guidelines for interpret ting their answers:

  1. It's sometimes important to deal with a negative attitude to build team motivation.  Give me an example of a time when you confronted a negative attitude successfully with the result of building teamwork and morale.
    -Did the candidate recognize a negative attitude in him/her self, or another person?  Did they have insight into the causes, and take constructive corrective action?  Was there a reaction to an attitude problem with little evidence for productive action?
    -Listen to determine if the candidate confronts negative attitudes, or tolerates them.  Confronting them professionally demonstrates stronger team building skills.  Do they allow the abuse of a team member?  Do they show task
    and people concern?
     
  2. At times we are all required to deal with difficult people.  An even more demanding factor is to be of service to a difficult person.  When have you been successful with this type of situation at work?
    - Did the candidate direct behavior genuinely to both another person's wants and his/her own dignity?  Was there a strong emotional reaction, such as anger/hurt/loss of self-control/submissiveness/dependency?
    -Listen to determine if the candidate is "you" oriented and able to skillfully compromise.  Was the candidate accepting of others and tolerant of their differences?  Were they able to maturely accommodate the difficult person?

     

--Michael

 

Mark's picture
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This is much tougher than most folks realize.  Interviewing someone very senior isn't trivial...which makes me think that you WON'T be interviewing him.  In fact, unless you've been specifically told that you are SUPPOSED to interview him or her, I would definitely assume that they would be quite surprised if you then did so.

Not knowing the subtleties, I'd say to NOT prepare to interview them (if you give me more details, I'll be happy to adjust my guidance.)

That said then, what DO you do?  I'm going to go further in my supposition and say that it's unlikely even that you're going to be left alone with this person in any sort of situation that would presage an interview. I'd guess you're going to be in a group, and he or she will answer questions in that forum, or he/she's going to make some comments and then open up the floor.  It might even end up as him or her walking through and saying hello to everyone.

If I thought I had a chance for a question or two, I'd pick these:

- What are your initial impressions about where we are and how you can contribute?  This is a softball, but it does give him or her a platform, and you can probably glean a little from that.

- Can you give us a brief overview of your experience?  Again, a softball (which is, based on my little information, my best guess) but it gives them a chance to sell you on why they're right.

And I would suggest you keep any feedback private, and watered down.

It's a privilege,

Mark