Best practices when interviewing executives
Initially I understood that behind this question there was often an assumption that the Polish business environment is different and that special techniques are necessary here.
However, after 15 years of executive search, I see this question very differently. Although many senior executives have conducted hundreds of interviews during their career, they only rarely recruit for the most senior and important positions. When they do need to look outside of their organization or own contacts, there is a great deal of uncertainty. Only rarely do senior executives have the opportunity to compare notes on their interview techniques or experiences, so this week I have gathered together some of the best practices regarding interview questions and techniques.
Interesting Questions & Approaches
According to the COO of a mid-sized American Engineering group, "The most insightful interviews are in-depth, nothing-to-hide discussions." He focuses on motivation and drive because for him after you narrow the list to a qualified long-list, "the best results come from candidates who have the motivation and drive we know our organization needs." In his organization, with a vast geographical coverage, self-motivation was perceived as an essential success factor. If he could not get to the bottom of an executive's motivation, he would not consider him.
To the contrary, one regional finance director focused a significant part of his interview with CFOs on reviewing their balance sheets. He almost ignored the personal aspect of the communication. His view was that personality doesn't make a good CFO, rather the ability to understand and work constructively with numbers.
A Partner at a global strategy consultancy likes to ask a question that he calls the 'little brother' test. During an interview he finds the most obsure/complicated thing on the candidate's resume and asks him to explain it to him as though he were the candidate's 6-year old brother. It is a test he has designed from years of experience to see how synthetically and simply a candidate can explain very complex things. His view was that this was a critical success factor in strategy consulting.
There are as many interview tactics as there are interviewers. However, a common theme among the most skilled interviewers relates to questions that elicit the self-awareness of the candidate and his/her ability to communicate this in the workplace - often these questions are connected directly to previous failures and mistakes. A self-aware and mature executive, whether for a CEO position or mid-manager role, knows that he/she cannot be good at everything and is secure enough to build effective teams and share the credit with them. Another common feature of these most sophisticated interviewers is that they make their assessment of candidates and then carefully check references in detail.
Cross-Culture and Corporate Culture
Good interview practices in Poland are similar to good interview practices elsewhere.
However, as candidates, senior Polish executives have far less experience interviewing for jobs than their Western counterparts, particularly U.S. executives. As a result, they can appear much more authentic as personalities than their Western counterparts and are also more likely to make 'mistakes' during the interview process - especially with respect to some of the unwritten rules of interview behavior that international executives are taught (but also don't always follow).
These differences in style - especially when executives interview in a non-native language - should be taken into account when interviewing for mid-management or specialist roles. On the other hand at the most senior levels, especially in roles with international exposure, it is reasonable to set expectations on the ability of the executive to work in both the local and international settings.
In most instances, corporate culture fit between the candidate and his/her employer is a far more important success factor than cross-cultural business issues.
Today it is recognized that all companies have a specific set of cultural values - behaviors and rewards that are recognized within the organization and allow executives to accomplish things. The fit of an executive, his/her interests, decision-style and expectations are paramount to both short and long-term success because without a good fit it becomes difficult to influence and move an organization - even for the most determined executive (and this is why true 'culture change' and restructuring are such difficult and long-term processes).
In Poland, already within the first five or six years of the open market it became clear that most organizations had developed and implemented their own corporate cultures and values (to the extent that it is even visible during the recruitment process).
Reference Checking
Reference checking is a tricky tool. Anyone who has been in Poland (or CEE) for more than 5 or 6 years knows that it used to be relatively easy to have phenomenal business results - revenues routinely rose by 40% or more. How do you verify the reference against a marketplace or corporate goals?
Besides, anything more involved than a simple verification of the facts actually requires that you interview the referee. Knowing the perspective of the referee and asking targeted questions requires assessing the interview process carefully and checking with other interviewers. What areas of concern or doubt exist? What issues were raised during the interviews that cannot be answered without checking some background facts? Not only did the person perform, but how did they accomplish their tasks/goals? And finally, is the candidate's self-assessment of the situation/previous job/experience the same as the referee's? Why or why not?
Matthew Tebeau, the Managing Partner of Ray and Berndtson Poland and the Baltic States
However, after 15 years of executive search, I see this question very differently. Although many senior executives have conducted hundreds of interviews during their career, they only rarely recruit for the most senior and important positions. When they do need to look outside of their organization or own contacts, there is a great deal of uncertainty. Only rarely do senior executives have the opportunity to compare notes on their interview techniques or experiences, so this week I have gathered together some of the best practices regarding interview questions and techniques.
Interesting Questions & Approaches
According to the COO of a mid-sized American Engineering group, "The most insightful interviews are in-depth, nothing-to-hide discussions." He focuses on motivation and drive because for him after you narrow the list to a qualified long-list, "the best results come from candidates who have the motivation and drive we know our organization needs." In his organization, with a vast geographical coverage, self-motivation was perceived as an essential success factor. If he could not get to the bottom of an executive's motivation, he would not consider him.
To the contrary, one regional finance director focused a significant part of his interview with CFOs on reviewing their balance sheets. He almost ignored the personal aspect of the communication. His view was that personality doesn't make a good CFO, rather the ability to understand and work constructively with numbers.
A Partner at a global strategy consultancy likes to ask a question that he calls the 'little brother' test. During an interview he finds the most obsure/complicated thing on the candidate's resume and asks him to explain it to him as though he were the candidate's 6-year old brother. It is a test he has designed from years of experience to see how synthetically and simply a candidate can explain very complex things. His view was that this was a critical success factor in strategy consulting.
There are as many interview tactics as there are interviewers. However, a common theme among the most skilled interviewers relates to questions that elicit the self-awareness of the candidate and his/her ability to communicate this in the workplace - often these questions are connected directly to previous failures and mistakes. A self-aware and mature executive, whether for a CEO position or mid-manager role, knows that he/she cannot be good at everything and is secure enough to build effective teams and share the credit with them. Another common feature of these most sophisticated interviewers is that they make their assessment of candidates and then carefully check references in detail.
Cross-Culture and Corporate Culture
Good interview practices in Poland are similar to good interview practices elsewhere.
However, as candidates, senior Polish executives have far less experience interviewing for jobs than their Western counterparts, particularly U.S. executives. As a result, they can appear much more authentic as personalities than their Western counterparts and are also more likely to make 'mistakes' during the interview process - especially with respect to some of the unwritten rules of interview behavior that international executives are taught (but also don't always follow).
These differences in style - especially when executives interview in a non-native language - should be taken into account when interviewing for mid-management or specialist roles. On the other hand at the most senior levels, especially in roles with international exposure, it is reasonable to set expectations on the ability of the executive to work in both the local and international settings.
In most instances, corporate culture fit between the candidate and his/her employer is a far more important success factor than cross-cultural business issues.
Today it is recognized that all companies have a specific set of cultural values - behaviors and rewards that are recognized within the organization and allow executives to accomplish things. The fit of an executive, his/her interests, decision-style and expectations are paramount to both short and long-term success because without a good fit it becomes difficult to influence and move an organization - even for the most determined executive (and this is why true 'culture change' and restructuring are such difficult and long-term processes).
In Poland, already within the first five or six years of the open market it became clear that most organizations had developed and implemented their own corporate cultures and values (to the extent that it is even visible during the recruitment process).
Reference Checking
Reference checking is a tricky tool. Anyone who has been in Poland (or CEE) for more than 5 or 6 years knows that it used to be relatively easy to have phenomenal business results - revenues routinely rose by 40% or more. How do you verify the reference against a marketplace or corporate goals?
Besides, anything more involved than a simple verification of the facts actually requires that you interview the referee. Knowing the perspective of the referee and asking targeted questions requires assessing the interview process carefully and checking with other interviewers. What areas of concern or doubt exist? What issues were raised during the interviews that cannot be answered without checking some background facts? Not only did the person perform, but how did they accomplish their tasks/goals? And finally, is the candidate's self-assessment of the situation/previous job/experience the same as the referee's? Why or why not?
Matthew Tebeau, the Managing Partner of Ray and Berndtson Poland and the Baltic States
