How can you identify candidates passionate about team building?

I think this is an irrelevant question. In my professional opinion, you shouldn't care about how "passionate" an employee is about anything- you should care whether they are capable and open to doing a particular task or tasks.

You should ask an individual during interview what does collaboration mean to them and ask them examples from their life span/ career span how they have collaborated with various teams / people of which they are proud of and results there by ..

Adding a personal touch to the assessment of a candidate's motivation can be insightful. For example, asking them to describe a moment when they felt most proud of their team could reveal their true passion for collective success. Furthermore, gauging their reaction to hypothetical team challenges can provide clues about their dedication to team cohesion and their ability to inspire others.

What does it say about any candidate for a leadership role who does not derive some sense of personal satisfaction in helping to bring together a fantastic team? I like to encourage directs to bring what they love to work-make their job interesting to themselves. Clocking in each day to perform a function that an employee doesn't even feel engaged in implies the individual is there simply to make a paycheck. Ask candidates questions that assess these types of characteristics. Ask them questions that seemingly have nothing to so with the role to better assess candidate interests and priorities. For example, trying asking something like," what accomplishment are you most proud of? Then use probing questions for deeper investigation.

I think understanding the goals of the individual as they relate to team members is key Realizing everyone's team building style is not the same. I think sometimes we ignore that everyone brings a different way of execution of team building

When evaluating a candidate's skills, it's beneficial to consider not only their past team experiences but also their potential for future growth. Discussing times when they had to adapt to new team dynamics or learn from a team failure can showcase their resilience and commitment to personal development within a team context.

Observing a candidate's behavior in a group setting can be very telling. Setting up a collaborative task during the interview process and watching how the candidate navigates the group dynamics can offer a realistic preview of their team-building aptitudes in action. It's the small interactions, such as how they react when others speak or how they offer support, that can truly highlight their team-oriented nature.

When and where possible, I like to employ job shadowing. Pay them for a half days work to shadow a peer that is highly engaged. The. Get feedback from the team. Ask whether the candidate is someone they want on their team. It helps ensure team buy-in and culture fit. The downside to watch for is that it can hinder diversity of thought and background as we tend to be drawn to people like us. Pointing that out and considering how diversity builds better teams is important.

Exploring a candidate's potential involves understanding their long-term vision for their role within a team. Inquiring about the kind of team culture they aspire to create or be part of can indicate their depth of insight into team dynamics. Additionally, their willingness to seek out mentorship or training to enhance their team-building skills can demonstrate a proactive approach to team leadership and collaboration.

Beyond the structured assessment of skills and behavior, it's important to consider a candidate's intrinsic qualities that might impact their team-building abilities. For instance, a candidate's sense of humor, patience, and ability to listen are intangible yet critical attributes that contribute to team spirit and cohesion.

With so many great perspectives and ideas already my only add would be that prior long term trends and or key events in behaviour/performance often foretell what will happen going forward. Interviewing around these areas with as open ended of questions as you can should give quality insight.