Seven interview questions that will help you to recruit the right leader

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When considering fitness for leadership, it is essential that careful thought is given to a wide range of factors. After all, recruitment into leadership positions is not just about finding those that are the best match for your organisation, it is also about identifying those that are not.

The process of leadership recruitment can be time-consuming and expensive. Depending on the level of seniority, it can take days or weeks and involve batteries of tests and examinations, all intended to reach informed judgements about candidate suitability.

Even then, there is no guarantee of securing the right candidate for appointment. That is because an interview process, no matter how intricate its design, is an artificial construct and offers only a snapshot in time. A bit like a soldier participating in basic training, prior to deployment, even the most rigorous and demanding battlefield simulations cannot prepare them for the intensity of actual battlefield conditions.

So, how can you increase the prospect of landing the most suitable candidate for your leadership vacancy? Set out below are seven interview questions that will help you to recruit the right leader.

1. Can you give an example of the difference that your leadership has made?

Those who make an impact as leaders, understand the distinctive difference between effort and results. The purpose of this question, therefore, is to tease out whether the candidate clearly understands that differentiation. A candidate looking to demonstrate their leadership skills should be able to describe what worked, under what conditions and for whom. As someone who understands that successful leadership produces legacy, they should also be able to articulate measurable change in terms of organisational effectiveness as well as the empowerment of people. A candidate who does not understand this differentiation may be inclined to say a lot about effort but will be much less inclined to evidence follow-through.

2. What would others say about your leadership skills?

This question will reveal whether or not the candidate can recognise themselves. The desire to actively seek out feedback reveals an appetite for learning. Therefore, a truly self-aware candidate should not only have a good understanding of how others view their leadership capability but should also be able to discern whether such insights are accurate. A candidate seeking a leadership position who does not have this level of spatial appreciation, is at best casually indifferent and at worst, profoundly ignorant. It is hard to imagine how a person who does not care what others think, can show empathy for what they feel.

3. What was your biggest success and why?

The purpose of this question is to test the maturity of the candidate’s relationship with success. Here you should look immediately for tone and tenor. Whilst it is right to expect a candidate to describe their own unique contribution to successful outcomes, you should also expect the candidate to pointedly socialise their experience of success. In other words, the candidate should recognise that success is not just for them, but also for those within the organisation at large. Candidates who lack this level of maturity, are more likely to contextualise success in competitive terms and less likely to recognise themselves in the success of others.

4. Can you describe a situation when something that you were responsible for failed?

This question is fundamentally a test of professional accountability and integrity. Many, otherwise excellent candidates, have fallen at this hurdle. The key points to look for here are the extent to which the candidate is comfortable with leadership vulnerability. In their response to this question, you should expect the candidate to explain what went wrong, why it went wrong, what they learnt and what they did next. A candidate who contorts their response by describing something that went wrong, whilst at the same time trying to explain why it was not really their fault, demonstrates a high-level of deception.

3. Can you describe an occasion when you have engaged in formal or informal mentoring?

The purpose of this question is to test the candidate’s interest in and aptitude for nurturing those around them. Here, the candidate should be able to describe occasions when they have used their influence to guide, direct and motivate others. They should be able to explain not just what they have done, but why they did it and the effect that it had. By contrast a candidate who struggles to formulate a cogent response to this question, demonstrates a penchant for insularity. People who seek appointment to leadership positions, without previously showing any interest in leading, are not just deceiving themselves but are likely to deceive others.

6. Describe an occasion when you have had to make a difficult decision?

The leadership test here is one of judgement. Fundamentally, does the candidate present a scenario that was difficult for others but not necessarily difficult for the candidate or was it a difficult for the candidate because it was difficult for others? If you guessed that the intention here is to evaluate the candidate’s capacity for empathy as opposed to detachment, then you guessed right. The ideal candidate must be able to evidence concern without cluttering their thinking with emotion or sentimentality. By contrast, a candidate without this nuanced approach will focus on what they did, with limited appreciation of its impact or aftermath.

7. Describe your areas for professional or personal development?

This is another question that invites candidates to be self-revelatory. The expected response here would be one that not only describes areas for professional development, but also offers insight into the persona of the candidate. In terms of professional learning needs, expect the candidate to articulate these in the context of their added value for others. Essentially, is the candidate looking at development through the prism of their own personal lens or are they considering whether what benefits them, will also benefit others? This contrasts sharply with a candidate who sees development purely through the lens of self-service.

Recruitment is not an exact science, but neither is it an exercise in random chance. Not unlike a surgical process, if you know what you want when you go in, you are more likely to emerge with what you want, when you come out. As this blog makes clear, the margins for error in organisational recruitment are especially narrow when the appointment of leaders is at issue. This is not just because of the spans of control for which leaders are accountable, but equally because those in positions of leadership are custodians of organisational culture. More than simply a process therefore, the way in which employers recruit leaders is an integral part of the art and science of organisational design.