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Little things can be revealing in an interview and a skilledinterviewer can look beneath the surface to discover the realcandidate. Selecting the right people to lead and build effective executiveteams is critical to developing successful organizations and theinterviewing process can be the most important step. Hiring ineffective leaders can lead to a variety of negativeoutcomes for an organization including diminished morale businessperformance. That's why companies will often turn to executive selection expertslike Dean Stamoulis, who heads the Global Executive AssessmentPractice for New York City-based Russell Reynolds Associates. He has conducted hundreds of interviews for top level positionsduring the past 18 years. Employing his background in industrialorganizational psychology, he has the ability to delve beneath thesuperficial surface to determine the real substance and skills ofcandidates. "What you see is not always what you get and that's why it isimportant to be able to provide a full assessment of a candidateincluding traits and characteristics not readily apparent in aninterview or with provided background information," said Stamouliswho is author of "Senior Executive Assessment: A Key to ResponsibleCorporate Governance." He noted that too often interviewers become enamored with acharismatic candidate who makes a good first impression, instead oflooking at relevant past performance and other indicators ofleadership. It can work the other way, as well. Some of the best executives donot make great first impressions. Looking deeper than the initialperception of a candidate can reveal skills needed for the positionas well as leadership talents. "Many interviewers truly do not focus on the key elements neededfor the position. It's not that hard but a lot of people don't doit," he said. One reason is that job descriptions are often too broad, he said.I-O psychologists can help organizations conduct a job assessmentoutlining the kind of skills needed for the position. They alsopossess the knowledge that can identify genuine leadership andpersonality traits of effective leaders and make valid predictionsof likely success. What are some of the traits Stamoulis looks for in candidates? There are many, he says, but certainly breadth of knowledge andattention are important. A full and rich conversation coveringdifferent facets of the business, including both the historical andsociological elements shows breadth about the business. "For example being able to discern how societal and economicchanges are impacting or could impact the market. That shows theability to see the big picture," he said. "I recently had a CEO candidate observe that no amount oftechnological advancement was going to improve the prospects ofFrench businesses in Germany due to historic cultural problem thathe described in detail and insight. It turned out he was exactlyright," he said. "I also look for people comfortable with change and ambiguity andshowing evidence of thriving in these conditions, which arereflective of many businesses. People who are not just tolerating change but embracing it,"Stamoulis said. It is important to look for balance during the interview. If thecandidate only uses superlatives to describe previous performance,then he or she is not showing the ability to be self critical anddemonstrating continuous improvement and learning from mistakes,Stamoulis said. "I often have data about the candidate that helps in the interview,such as the results of personality and cognitive testing. "Theright kind of testing can provide key information about a person. "Looking at those results makes me a better interviewer.Personality data provides corroborating evidence of what I observe.I am able to hone my ability to spot signs or signals about acandidate, signs that may be overt or subtle," Stamoulis said. What is not said is an important consideration as well. "If aninterviewee doesn't mention others he or she led and name keycontributors to past successes, that might indicate he or she istaking credit for others' work and ideas. Does the candidate comeacross as arrogant or narcissistic? If so, it shows there might notbe a connection with colleagues," he said. And if the candidate is prone to blaming others for failed programsand making excuses it is likely they are not taking responsibilityfor their behavior and actions. Also the interviewer should look for evidence of compassion,courage, reflection, decisiveness and the ability to pause andthink before answering. The executive assessment includes elementsof optimism and realism and accurate judgment. "We're looking for abalance of traits," he explained. Stamoulis suggests in depth interviews. "A couple of hours shouldbe sufficient to discern factors about the candidate," he said. A revealing interview is really a conversation that skillfullyleads a candidate to talk about leadership and business acumen. "Iavoid the typical questions. The goal is to get interviewees totalk, not only about their past experience and the job but aboutthemselves. The passion which they use to describe their previouswork, their career and their life outside work can be revealing. Ilook for the message behind what they are saying," Stamoulis said. "Genuine interaction is the goal of a good interview because itreveals much about the qualities of the person." "It's always a good sign when someone stretches my thinking aboutsome aspect of the industry. If they are keeping me on the edge ofmy seat with their thinking, I'm thinking we are looking at a goodcandidate,". Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Custom Sticky Notes , Sticky Note Memo Set Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Personalized Sticky Notes today!
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