Advice On Interviewing

No matter what role, what level, what function, no matter what I am technically deep-diving on per the interview panel … I’m always evaluating these three things. Over 25 years of hiring, the biggest hiring mistakes I have made come down to compromising on one of these three areas.

 CLARITY*: Do they create clarity?

1. clarity of thought: do they answer the question asked with confidence and easy to follow, well-considered rationale?
2. clarity of communication: can they express themselves clearly and in an organized way?
3. clarity of intent: can they discern what I'm asking and pace themselves in the interview?
4. clarity of story: at the end of day - did they leave me with a clear, powerful story?

#derailer/watch-out: answers ramble, no clear framework for structuring the response, no sense of pacing answers during the interview, missing the point of the question.

ENERGY*: Do they evidence Driver Mindset, Spark, Endurance? 

• Driver Mindset - They show, don't tell, that they live by the notion of unconditional responsibility: “I am Responsible for my life. I cannot control everything that happens, but I can control my approach.” The opposite of this is a passenger mindset in which someone shows they are more inclined to the mindset that “Life happens to me and other people are to blame.” The person who exudes driver mindset will reflect, look for a way forward, learn humbly and share those learnings freely.
• Spark - You can tell folks who spark energy and those who drain it a mile away. Energy sparklers, those who exude and seem to create energy, are an often underestimated add to any team. Everybody likes working with somebody who gives them energy. This does not need to show up as being super extraverted or charismatic. It shows up as someone who is enthusiastic about the work they do and and they spread that enthusiasm to others. They like challenging themselves and others to higher and higher standards while being respectful, direct, and caring.
• Endurance - Work is hard, things go wrong and get tough. Is this someone whose energy will persist and grow in adversity, will they stay and make us better? Or is the energy contingent on everything going great and if it gets hard, they will lose interest.

#derailer/watch-out: job hops without explanation, many mentions of “others” being to blame or not getting it without self-awareness of one’s part in a bad situation.

IN IT FOR OTHERS -> Do they show a deep motivation in serving other people, especially customers and teammates?

• Looking for folks that are true empowers of representative and inclusive teams (either as an individual contributor or a person in a positional management spot). 
• They are reflective about what creates trust and psychological safety and they work hard to engender this to unleash the humanity and potential in everyone around them.
• They will bring in the best, representative leaders at every level and actively help them develop, grow, and pioneer the most effective/efficient/awesome ways of doing things based on experience and raw smarts. They may have playbooks from previous experiences, but they're open and willing to throw them out or evolve them based on a new context and set of conditions.
• They are in it for others and they have a legacy of people saying - "I am better because I was i) empowered by him/her/them or ii) I was on his/her/their team."

#derailer/watch-out: too many “I's”, not enough “We's”, lack of humility, can talk about accomplishments but not as much about failures and learnings

Footnotes and additional reading:

• All things by Frances Frei and Anne Morris - including: Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You The Leader's Guide and Frances' Ted Talk on How to Build & Rebuild Trust
• * Satya Nadella on interviewing: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Looks for These 2 Traits Before He'll Hire Anyone
• Molly Graham: ‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups
• Google reWork: Identify dynamics of effective teams
• Amy Edmonson's: Building a psychologically safe workplace | Amy Edmondson | TEDxHGSE