How to hire a great business leader and the 10 questions you should ask
Here’s $5000 - now leave!
That’s the famous ‘Offer’ that Amazon proposes annually to its fulfilment centre workers to weed out unmotivated workers.
The Offer also incorporates some cunning Behavioural Economics to help committed workers to become even more devoted to their position.
It’s a creative way to manage the performance of a mature team.
The idea must have come from the mind of a member of the creative leadership club.
Someone who you would like to have in your company.
But how do you find these leaders that inject imagination, intelligence and progress into business?
“People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”
Hiring a great leader
On Youtube you can see a very young Mark Zuckerberg saying that you should hire people with tons of raw intelligence.
Then later in his career, Zuckerberg says what works really well when hiring leaders is the heuristic of “Would I want to work for this person?”
Pretty good advice.
Contrast that with Elon Musk’s way of discovering great leadership qualities during the hiring process…
Ask repeat questions when hiring for a leadership role
Obviously, the context of your industry, your company values and the vacant role will inform the type of questions you would put to a potential leader at interview.
Elon Musk wants to hear examples of overcoming adversity leading to success.
The important part here, that you can apply is the plural = examples!
Not just one example.
If a particular characteristic is super important to this role, then double down on asking for repeated examples of evidence of that behaviour.
The applicant gave you a great example of a time they dealt with a toxic employee.
And what about another example? Or a variant of it?
“Tell us another time when you dealt with a conflict between team mates”
If the person is truly skilled in a particular area, they will be able to give you many examples of their ability to work successfully through that type of situation.
How to find out if someone is a good leader
People management related questions like the above have to come into the equation and are a good place to start.
Because a leader has to get other people to agree to follow them.
This requires a great deal of the X-factor of being able to get along with people.
Because…
“You don’t lead people by hitting them over the head.
That’s assault, not leadership.”
It’s all about teamwork, right?
Studies now show that the ability to cooperate with a team is now a far better indicator of success than anyone’s individual intelligence.
“Great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people”
So, spend time questioning whether your candidate has spent their time reading, experiencing and acting on the qualities of leadership, so that they know how to handle excellent team dynamics.
10 questions to ask when hiring for a leadership role
Of course you will need to ask technical questions specific to your role, but mix and match these questions below in any order… apart from number 10, which always comes as the interview closes :)
What is your favourite leadership quote? And can you give examples of how you have lived by it?
(Should lead to a fruitful discussion on what the candidate believes are the best characteristics of effective leadership)Are you a big risk taker?
(Risk should be measured and backed with supporting data, not just crazy ideas out on a whim)Describe the situation that led up to the last person you fired.
(Humility should be present in this answer - did they hire the wrong person, could they have done things earlier to rectify a worsening situation, did they act too late?)When did a direct report last come to you with an innovative idea?
(A good leader will encourage open exchange of ideas and process improvements, so they should have numerous examples)When did you disagree with a directive, but you did it anyway?
(Look for how they dealt with their own leader, and then how they transmitted this disagreement on to their own team in a positive way)What is not on your CV that has aided you in your leadership roles?
(Range of experience brings so much to the workplace when problem solving - you probably don’t want a one-trick pony in a leadership position. Separation between home life and work life is also the mark of a good leader who knows how to reap the benefits of a healthy work-life balance)How do you persuade people to do what you want?
(A good leader shouldn’t have to persuade too much. They will have already created an environment of motivated people working together for all-round improvement.)What happens when someone disagrees with you?
(The atmosphere to be able to disagree should be present with good leaders, as colleagues feel safe to raise matters that should be considered, so it’s a red flag if the candidate says that no=one ever disagrees with them)What’s the worst workplace decision you ever made?
(No-one is perfect. Becoming good at something requires lots of hard work and lots of mistakes along the way. Humility and learning should be present in some concrete examples here, otherwise you might be dealing with a big ego, which is not great for any leader or team mate.)You have to choose to fight between a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses. Which do you choose to fight and why?
(This is a great cross reference question to ask at the end of an interview. It will confirm what characteristics and beliefs have already been revealed in the interview. It also lets you discover if the person can deal calmly with unexpected situations and problem-solving - which is a huge part of everyday business leadership)
Remember, if a particular area is important, ask the related question at least twice!
oh, and one last thing…
