Preparation and Execution of the Executive Interview

1. Communicating Value in
the Executive Interview
Lee Konczak
Olin Business School
July 8, 2009

2. Objectives
 Re-affirming what you already know
 Which executive competencies are most important?
 Adding to what you already know
 What does the research say?
 Preparing for the executive selection process
 Interviews
 Executive Assessments
 Questions and Comments

3. CONTEXT

4. U.S. Demographic Trends
 Aging workforce - mature workers are the fastest
growing age segment
 Baby-Boomer retirements will lead to a worker shortage
- 10 million by 2010
 Shortage of educated candidates - colleges will graduate
too few candidates to fill the technical, information-
intensive and judgment-intensive jobs 5 years from now
 Tightening labor markets - with labor force growth at
2-3% per decade, the competition for talent will
intensify
4 J. O‟Toole and E. E. Lawler III. The New American Workplace (2006)

5. Noteworthy Statistics
 McKinsey study – “the pipeline for future
leaders is broken”
 Only 3% responded affirmatively to the statement,
“We develop people well”
 Identifying and preparing future leaders
continues to be an important area of concern
amongst line executives

6. Bench Strength
Conference Board Research
 1997
 About half of respondents rated their company‟s
leadership strength as either excellent or good
 2001
 About 1/3 of respondents rated their company‟s
leadership capacity to meet business challenges or to
respond to sudden change as excellent or good
J. Barrett & J. Beeson (2002) Developing Business Leaders for 2010. New York: The Conference Board

7. Bench Strength
Conference Board Research
 Perhaps more concerning:
 Companies do not appear prepared to react to the
crisis
 Less than half of survey respondents reported that
developing future leaders is a major priority for their
senior leaders

8. Finding Talent
Selection Forecast Study – 2006-2007
 Staffing directors and hiring managers report:
 Fewer qualified applicants
 62% in ‟06 vs. 44% in ‟04
 Increased difficulty finding qualified applicants
 50% in ‟06 vs. 40% in „04
A. Howard, S. Erker & N. Bruce (2007). Selection Forecast 2006-2007. Pittsburgh: DDI.

9. Developing Leadership Talent
Talent Management Study - 2006
Satisfaction with Talent Management
%
Components of Talent Management Satisfied
Executive/High-Potential Programs 44
Coaching and Development 42
Succession Management 18
Early Identification of Leadership Potential 15
Assessing Readiness for Promotion 11
R. S. Wellins & K. Caver (2006). 2006 Talent Management Strategies Conference. Pittsburgh: DDI.

10. Key Takeaways
 Leadership talent will continue to be hard to
find . . . despite economic conditions
 Retention of top talent is becoming an issue
 It‟s a buyer‟s market right now – applicants can
expect a more detailed and thorough screening
process
 Over-qualified applicants – employers are
concerned about long-term fit and commitment
once the economy recovers

11. Which executive competencies
are most important?
 Take 5 minutes to discuss this question with the
1 or 2 people sitting near you
 Be prepared to share your ideas

12. Research on Executive Success
 It‟s all about competencies - “the universal
common denominator”
 Multi-rater database – 1994 to present
 A sample of 6000 people from > 140 companies
 47,000 bosses, peers, direct reports & customers
rated individual contributors, managers &executives
 Ratings on 67 competencies and 19 career stallers or
“de-railers”
 Criteria: performance ratings, promotions,
terminations

13. The Five Best Predictors of
Promotion – Managers & Execs
Relationships Learning Motivation &
Energy
•Boss Relationships •Learning on the Fly •Drive for Results
•Peer Relationships
•Customer Focus

14. What gets people fired?
Relationships & Networks
Managers Executives
Lower ratings in: Lower ratings in:
•Approachability •Comfort Around Senior
•Patience Management
•Political Savvy •Listening
•Integrity & Trust •Peer Relationships
Higher ratings in: Higher ratings in:
•Insensitive to Others •Defensiveness
•Lack of Ethics & Values •Political Missteps
•Lack of Ethics & Values

15. What gets people fired?
Not delivering on work
Managers Executives
Lower ratings in: Lower ratings in:
•Managing & measuring work •Drive for Results
•Organizing •Customer Focus
•Functional/Technical Skills
Higher ratings in: Higher ratings in:
•Poor Administrator •Poor Administrator
•Failure to Staff Effectively
•Non-strategic

16. Which competencies matter?
 Price-of-admission competencies
 Competitive-edge competencies

17. Price-Of-Admission Competencies
 Strategic  Courage
 Decision Quality  Standing Alone
 Functional/Technical  Energy and Drive
Expertise  Action Oriented
 Intellectual Horsepower  Perseverance
 Learning on the Fly  Drive for Results
 Problem Solving  Personal and Interpersonal
 Operating Skills
 Total Work Systems  Customer Focus
 Integrity & Trust

18. Competitive-Edge Competencies
 Strategic  Personal/Interpersonal
 Dealing with Ambiguity  Managing Vision &
 Creativity Purpose
 Strategic Agility  Motivating Others
 Innovation Management  Building Effective
Teams
 Operating
 Planning

19. The Punch Line?
 Companies are likely to use “competencies” in
their selection processes
 Large applicant pools – tests and assessments
may precede an interview
 Price-of-admission competencies will get you an
interview
 The “competitive-edge competencies” will get
you an offer

20. Preparing for the selection
process
 Interviews
 What you can expect and how to prepare?
 Executive assessments
 Purpose and examples

21. Talent Assessment Study
•40 Fortune 1000 firms
•Broad spectrum of industries including
banking/finance, manufacturing, telecommunications,
utilities, healthcare, and service
Annual Revenue Frequency Percent
$5 billion or less 14 37
Between $5-$10 billion 6 16
Between $10-$20 billion 8 21
Greater than $20 billion 10 26
Konczak, L. J. & O’Leary, L. R. (2009). Assessing Talent: Current Practices and Future Trends in Screening and Hiring.
Under editorial review., People & Strategy.

22. Talent Assessment
Tools Individual Supervisors Sr. Managers
Contributor & Managers & Executives
Structured Interviews 95% 92% 79%
Cognitive Ability Tests 35% 28% 40%
Personality Tests 28% 33% 40%
Work Sample Tests 28% 10% 15%
Job Knowledge Tests 28% 0% 0%
Role Plays 20% 23% 15%
Assessment Centers 23% 8% 13%
Konczak, L. J. & O’Leary, L. R. (2009). Assessing Talent: Current Practices and Future Trends in Screening and Hiring.
Under editorial review., People & Strategy.

23. Structured Interviews
 Based on competencies
 Ask about previous experience and performance
 “Describe a time when . . . ”
 May ask about future situations
 “How would you handle . . . ”
 Scoring system to facilitate comparisons across
candidates

24. Structured Interviews
 Strategic Agility
 Future-oriented
 Anticipates future consequences and trends accurately
 Articulates a clear vision of the future
 Creates competitive strategies and plans
 “Tell me about a time when you recognized the
need to change your business strategy.”
 What was the situation?
 What data and information led you to the decision?
 What actions did you take? How did you get others on-
board with the change?
 What was the outcome?

25. Structured Interviews
 Building Effective Teams
 Creates a sense of belonging, team spirit and commitment
 Fosters open dialogue
 Defines success in terms of the whole team
 “Tell me about a time when you experienced
difficulty engaging a member of your senior
team.”
 What was the situation?
 How did the issue surface itself on the team?
 What actions did you take? What was the outcome?
 In retrospect, what might you have done differently to
address the issue?

26. General Manager, Distribution
Competency: Building Relationships
Develops and maintains positive relationships with others to achieve business objectives
Interview Question
Tell me about actions you have taken to help several departments work together to
solve a business problem.
•What was the business situation?
•What steps did you take?
•What obstacles did you face? How did you overcome them?
•What was the business result, i.e., sales/revenue, cost reduction, customer
satisfaction?
Behavioral Indicators to Watch For
- Builds strategic relationships
- Maintains relationships with other groups within the organization
- Gains support and commitment from key stakeholders when needed
- Understands and manages the organization‟s political environment
- Maintains positive working relationships with supervisor, peers and team

27. Executive Assessments
 Cognitive Ability Tests
 Critical thinking and analysis
 Pattern recognition and trends
 Problem solving capability
 Personality Tests
 Work style
 Relationship management and teaming
 Stress tolerance
 Leadership tendencies

28. Executive Assessments
 Sample Report

29. How to prepare
 Analyze each job opportunity in terms of
competencies
 Price-of-admission and Competitive-edge
 Anticipate the process
 What types of questions will likely be asked?
 Which competencies are most important?
 Prepare and practice
 Prepare interview responses and rehearse
 Be who you are
 Know your strengths and liabilities

30. References on Competencies
 The Leadership Machine
 Lombardo and Eichinger
 For Your Improvement: A Guide for
Development and Improvement
 Lombardo and Eichinger

31. Discussion
 Questions and comments?