Assesing Executive Character Part 1

Organizational Psychologists acknowledge that there are no fool-proof methods to reveal one of the most important human qualities—integrity—but with many years of  experience on retained executive search consultants we can provide some practical suggestions for evaluating executive character and decision-making. The goal is to reduce the risk of hiring an executive who should not have been selected.

The key is a thoughtful selection process. It can be simple and effective, if a conscious effort is made to follow certain basic principles.

Guidance

Red flags may arise at any point in the executive selection process. The key is to follow a thorough, disciplined approach to identify signals and to trust your intuition when something may not seem to ring true. A Behavior-based Interviewing approach will help you get at the essentials. The basic premise behind behavioral interviewing is that the most accurate prediction of future performance is past performance. By asking a series of questions designed to engage a candidate in describing how he/she behaved in past situations, you will learn far more about the candidate’s values than from a “traditional” interview.

Specifically, consider the following at each stage of the candidate evaluation process:

• Before the interview
  • Review the resume, formulate your overall impression and evaluate the “big picture” with your own assessment.
    • Does career progression make sense? Any chronological gaps?
    • Are achievements believable and verifiable?
    • Do you personally know executives whom you might confidentially call as references at current or previous employers?
  • Ask your Human Resources executive for his/her assessment of the candidate before your interview and know the depth of his/her screening at that point.
    • Often, the highest executive in the selection process mistakenly believes that a candidate has been fully evaluated; so, he/she thinks their interview is less critical, more conversational and focused on “selling” the candidate on joining the company, when it should be another hard-hitting interview.
• During the interview
  • Ask the candidate self-descriptive questions.
    • “Take me behind the decisions for your career moves.” Do you sense discomfort when the candidate shares why he/she made certain changes?
    • “Describe yourself.” If the candidates sprinkle the conversation with how honest they are, beware. Generally, people who are honest do not talk about it repeatedly.
    • “Who is the best CEO you have ever worked for and why?” This will give you insight into the candidate’s own values (both ethical and non-ethical values). Listen to what is said and be alert to what is not.
  • Ask tough questions- venture outside the “comfort zone.”
    • “Have you ever been fired? If so, tell me about it.”
    • “Is there anything missing from your resume that I should know? Is there work related information that I should learn from you now rather than from someone else later?”
  • Get to the heart (for ethical values).
    • “All of us are different and desire different things from life. What drives you?”
    • “Tell me about a major decision you faced with others, one that would impact customers, employees and/or shareholders in a significant way. Were there philosophical differences among the decision-makers? If so what were the issues and how were they resolved? Did you agree with the outcome?”

Note: This is the first of three posts to give you easy-to-apply principles to use in your selection process.