3 Interview Questions to Help you Avoid Hiring or Promoting Bad Managers

Historically speaking, people have been promoted to management positions because of past performance and technical prowess. Most lack the people skills and talent to effectively manage other people. Gallup reports that only 1 in 10 managers naturally possess the talent and skill to manage others and another 2 have basic managerial talent. Many more managers are endowed with some of the necessary traits, although few have the unique combination of talent needed to help a team achieve excellence in a way that improves a company's performance significantly. That means roughly 30% are effectively managing their teams while 70% are flying blindly and, in many cases, wreaking havoc in the workplace. Not surprisingly, research conducted by the (CEB) Corporate Executive Board shows that 60 percent of managers fail within the first 24 months of their new position. And the main reason managers fail is that they were not trained properly on how to manage other people and be an effective leader in the first place. This has caused enormous problems in the workplace, including rising voluntary turnover. There is a lot riding on managers. They can either make leaders and companies or break them, especially when it comes to talent retention. That being said, many of these managers can be trained. Although, it always helps to start with the right foundation. That is the purpose of this article. 

When selecting external candidates for management, above average levels of people skills, emotional intelligence, and leadership ability should be the main qualifiers. Yes, a certain amount of career-relevant performance and technical ability is important too. But without the former the latter generally causes disengagement, reduced productivity, and high turnover. If a candidate scores high in both areas, that is great. However, I would always err on the side of people skills. emotional intelligence, and natural leadership ability. Below are 3 questions I have used over the years to avoid hiring bad managers. 

Hiring 

1. Give me two examples of something you did recently either personally or professionally to help another person. 

If the candidate is a selfish and/or self-centered individual, he or she will struggle to provide even one example.

2. Over the past week, you have been working on a project with a long-standing co-worker and notice that you are doing most of the work. What steps would you take and why?

If the candidate’s solution is to confront the co-worker about their underperformance or report the issue to a manager, then I would move on to the next candidate. This could be an indication that they view the world in black and white terms and perhaps see life as a zero-sum game. If, on the other hand, their solution is to ask their colleague if they are OK, determine the reason for underperformance, and help them get back on track, I would continue moving forward with the interview.

3. Hypothetically speaking, imagine that you are a student for a moment. Your teacher discloses important information to you, and you alone, which is crucial to passing an exam scheduled next week. Armed with that knowledge, he or she then asks you to choose one of three options. Other than the outcomes suggested in each option, there are no further negative consequences or repercussions regarding your decision. 

The options are as follows: 

A. You can retain the information and not share with anyone, in which case, you are likely to be the only student to pass the exam. 

B. Alternatively, you can share the information with a few of your closest friends, in which case, you as well as your friends are likely to pass the exam. 

C. You can share the information with all your classmates, in which case, every student will have a chance to pass the exam. By choosing option C, however, you will be required to serve a week of detention. 

Make the call - A, B or C! Then explain your decision.

If the candidate’s answer is A or B, they most likely possess extraordinarily little leadership ability. If their answer is C, and they have made the decision because being fair to everyone is the right thing to do, then you have a natural leader in front of you. 

Promoting

If you are promoting from within, in addition to using the interview questions above, you can also observe a candidate’s behavior. Rather than searching for a top performer or a technical wizard, you should be seeking a solid performer who always shares his or knowledge with team members. The employee who does not think twice about training a co-worker or rolling up his or her sleeves to help a teammate. The employee who is more concerned about the team's success than his or her own. 

In summary, many managers can be trained. Although, there are some that cannot. These bad managers wreak havoc in the workplace and cause employees to leave by the droves. As I stated previously, it always pays to start with a solid foundation. If you do due diligence by asking targeted interview questions like the examples above, and you observe the behavior of internal candidates, the odds of selecting great managers will increase exponentially. 

Are your managers struggling to deliver feedback and motivate employees? Is your turnover ratio rising? Are your new recruits exiting stage left, faster than you can train them? 

What would it do for you and the company if you could train, reskill, and transform your managers into high-performing superstars, who reduce turnover by 50% or more? 

What if your managers could literally turn job-hopping employees into high-performing, life-long, loyal employees (Lifers)? What would that be worth?

Truth is superstar frontline managers are worth their weight in Gold! They are truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Would you like to create some superstar frontline managers? I outline the details in my free resource below:

 “A Leader’s Guide to Creating Superstar Frontline Managers.”

Regards,

David Roppo

Coach & Consultant

#leadership #management #talentacquisition