It is certainly
difficult for an appraiser to ascertain what he should ask a prospective CEO
candidate.
Before
that, an interviewer should recognize the need for qualities, a CEO should have.
He should
focus on those questions which would give him a glimpse of the candidate’s perspective and abilities.
For
instance, you may ask a CEO candidate whether he faced any crisis situation in
the places where he worked earlier, and how well he managed it. Crisis
management is the hallmark of a successful CEO, and it’s a must have character trait of a CEO.
If you interview
an insider, you questions might be a bit different since you know him well and
you are also aware of his qualities and style of working.
The
interviews conducted then would be more of a formality. Your company had
already filtered and picked him for the top job. It’s just a case of passing
information to him of the company’s desire so that he prepares himself mentally
before he sits on the chair of CEO.
What if
the candidate is unknown to you?
The interviewer
then faces an uphill task. The questions that you put across to him become exceedingly
significant.
It’s not
only question that you should be asking. You need to watch him, watch his
answers, his body language, how confident he is while answering.
You could
begin by asking him ‘what are the leadership traits that a CEO should have?’
his answers will help you to analyze the candidate's perception of running a company.
It would also show you what are the qualities he is willing to inculcate in himself, his idea of
running a company and how he visualizes things.
You may ask
him ‘have you ever faced a leadership challenge where you needed to motivate
your employees?'
His perspective
to your question is extremely crucial as it would give you an understanding of
the man’s character and man management skills.
Motivating
employees is perhaps one of the significant traits of a CEO and his answers
would help you decide whether he is the ideal candidate for you, or just the
one you should avoid.
Finally,
find out his temperament, and the best way to learn is to
ask him ‘had he ever been criticized, and how well he dealt with it?’
The list
of questions never ends, if you are not satisfied with his answers, you may
well decide to shoot some more barrage of questions.
The
bottom-line though, is to find the right candidate for your company, a man who
would be worthy of a CEO.
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