How Effective is Your Leadership Skill .. or Your New Hire? 5 Questions.

 1) What do you feel are important leadership traits?

2) Describe an instance where you demonstrated resilience or perseverance?

 3) Describe when you modified & improved your role and responsibilities without being asked?

 4) Describe a time when you had to give feedback or a performance review? 

 5) Tell me about a personal development goal you set for yourself.

1)  Leadership Skills --- What do you feel are important leadership traits?----Seeks to understand their perception on leadership skills that relate to effective outcomes.

Mike's Answer:    Challenge: “It’s important to establish trust and credibility with staff as it’s the foundation. Actions: Showing respect and appreciating their efforts. Asking questions and actively listening to them. Understanding each person’s internal motivators. Not micromanaging but empowering them to take accountability and responsibility for outcomes. Empathetically understanding how they feel. Providing feedback in non-critical, self directive way to improve learning about mistakes and what they would do differently in the future. Of course, if someone repeatedly commits the same mistakes, then a more rigid approach is used. Results: Strong relationships are established, build on trust, respect and appreciation for each individual’s value, capabilities and intelligence.”

2)  Resilience Question  ---  Describe an instance where you demonstrated resilience or perseverance?  Demonstrate how they make things happen not the concentrating on obstacles.

Jan's Answer:     Challenge: “During a team meeting, several members were taking a negative attitude toward the success of the project and de-motivating everyone. Actions: To shift the thinking, I began asking positive, solution-focused questions on what is working now and what could we do to make things even better. Results: Slowly people began responding with ideas. The meeting ended on a positive note with everyone supporting the initiatives and steps to move forward.”

3)  Personal Initiative & Accountability Question  --  Describe when you modified and improved your role & responsibilities without being asked? People who take initiative without being told are internally motivated and usually high performers.

Meg's Answer:    Challenge: “Every job I’ve held has required improvements. I have never waited for my boss (or management) to push me to act as I recognize that it’s impossible for them to know how everything works and doesn’t work. Actions: First, I clearly identify the situation, then design a plan to improve the process and outcome. Next I meet with my superior to discuss my ideas and get approval to implement. Results: The change improves performance, results and management is happy that improvements were designed and implemented.”

4) Performance Feedback Skill Question --- Describe a time when you had to give feedback or a performance review to a staff member?   Feedback is always associated with demotivation and anger. Demonstrates how they do it differently for a positive outcome.

Robert's Answer:     Challenge:  “The purpose of giving feedback is to create awareness and provoke change --- not criticize as it’s ineffective. Being on the other end of the feedback for years, I learned how to do it differently to achieve the purpose. I know they are mentally defensive and emotionally charged. They are experiencing mental stress similar to physical pain which is why and feedback feels like criticism and viewed as negative. I also know they are mentally resisting any mention of changing their thinking and behaviors. Actions: Equipped with that knowledge, my approach: I keep the mood light to relieve tension and stress.   I convey a feeling that they are in control of the process and not being attacked; I mention that not all the results are 100% accurate and we will focus only the realities;  I clarify the purpose of the program is not to criticize them but to identify areas they could improve to strengthen their skills; Together we discuss each strength. I ask them what they could do to leverage it to make it even better. We discuss the improvement areas. I ask them ‘brain friendly’ questions to envision a situation related to it and what happened. Then what they would do differently next time.  Finally, they agree to complete a personal development plan related to the improvement areas and what they will do to improve and how. I offer ongoing support and resources to help them achieve their goals.  Periodically we meet to discuss their successes and things that didn’t work out, what they are doing to avoid a repeat.  Results: The approach slowly defused their mental stress, angers and physical pain as they see the benefits to them for personal development, growth and potential advancement. They follow their development plan and we begin seeing the  difference in their thinking, performance and outcomes.”

5) Tell me about a personal development goal you set for yourself ?  Focuses on if and how they continually improve themselves.

 Lee's answer:    Challenge: “I began to realize that my negotiation skills were just not achieving the results that I and the company expected. Actions: So I researched and found an impressive two-day Negotiation Skills workshop. I attended, stayed engaged, focused on the activities to practice the techniques --- and learned many new skills. To ensure the knowledge stayed within my brain, I deliberately practiced the techniques and principles daily with colleagues, strangers and friends. Results: The constant practice embedded the knowledge and skills which became almost automatic when I was involved in client negotiations. Planning, preparation, negotiations and outcomes improved by 70%.”

  What's  your answers ?  or theirs?

Margie S Poon    Co-author of "5 Stages to Recruit Best of the Best" and "Performance Conversations Management Toolkit" - Principal Consultant, Paradigm21 Group, a seasoned  executive coach, career development and leadership trainer.  For more questions, write to [email protected].  Learn more: www.Paradigm21.com/book/book.html